Students represent Pakistan

Tackling current political and economic issues facing Pakistan is the challenge for two bright, young Broome Senior High School students as part of a student Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Year 10 students Emma Douglass and Carina Pretorius are preparing to represent their high school, along with representatives of 106 other WA schools, as they take part in a student CHOGM event in Perth next month.

In the lead-up to the event, each school has been allocated a Commonwealth country, and students will focus on that country’s significant issues, such as the fight against diseases.

They will then be expected to articulate their ideas and proposals to the meeting for extensive discussion.

The Broome students have begun research and preparation on the project and said Pakistan was proving to be an interesting and different country to study.

“There’s a lot of diversity in their culture – we’re gaining a lot of knowledge and awareness about the country and its history,” Emma said. During their studies, the students received support from history teacher Lisa Mellersh and humanities head Chris Nedkoff.

Mr Nedkoff said student CHOGM was an effective way to engage students in learning more about the Commonwealth.

“It’s about enhancing their understanding of how the government system operates,” he said. “It’s more about widening the horizons of young people to think about things they haven’t seen before.”

Student CHOGMs will be held on September 26- 27, ahead of CHOGM 2011, on October 28-30, which will bring together more than 50 world leaders.