Conferences: Where responsibility meets bottom line

Overseas MBA courses have a CSR component, says Williams.

WITH Malaysia emerging as a regional leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR), it seems only right that it hosts an international conference on the issue.

"Malaysia is one of the leading countries in CSR, certainly among developing countries and in Southeast Asia," says OWW consulting managing director Dr Geoffrey Williams, "because CSR is part of the National Integrity Plan and the government-linked companies transformation programme."

Also, there are many tax incentives for companies to put in CSR programmes and to be listed on the stock exchange, companies have to report their CSR activities.

The International Corporate Social Responsibility Conference 2008 will be the meeting place of local and international companies, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and fund managers.

Jointly organised by OWW Consulting, RUSS Consulting and the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the conference promises to go further than any CSR conference that was held here before.
Another reason for holding the conference in Malaysia is that there are many foreign investors who want to invest in Malaysia who would only do so in companies with good CSR.

"We have some of the world's leading fund managers coming representing funds worth about US$200 billion (RM700 billion)," he adds.

The two-day conference - themed "where responsibility meets bottom line" - will cover CSR and socially responsible investment as well as a workshop on putting into practice what was covered during the event.

"This would be a good place for companies to talk directly with local community groups and fund managers," says Williams.

Among the people who have confirmed their participation are those from the United Nations Global Compact, the Principles for Responsible Investment, the Global Reporting Initiative, as well various NGOs.

"We hope through our promotion of CSR, universities will take it up as part of their programmes, especially in MBA courses.

"Overseas MBA courses have a CSR component and some of the universities here are thinking of doing it," says Williams.

The International Corporate Social Responsibility Conference 2008 will be held from July 29-31 at Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

Early bird discounts are available before May 15. Visit www.csrconferences.com.

Best practices: New wave teachers set trend

Teachers drew inspiration for their lesson plans from field trips to different parts of Hanoi.

The Fourth Microsoft Partners in Learning Regional Innovative Teachers’ Conference 2008 recently held in Hanoi, Vietnam, is a showcase for the benefits of information technology-integrated learning, writes SUZIEANA UDA NAGU.

Woodman says challenges were similar across Asia Pacific.

Schools have the capacity to be the smallest units of innovation, says Quah.

Maznah is Malaysia's Innovative Teacher of the Year.

ARM teachers with training and resources to incorporate information technology (IT) in the classroom and they will transform education.

This is what some 150 innovative teachers from 21 countries around Asia Pacific and North America had proven at the Fourth Microsoft Partners in Learning (PIL) Regional Innovative Teachers’ Conference 2008 held recently in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Organised under the Microsoft’s flagship PIL programme, the conference was co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Asia Pacific).

PIL is a global initiative to empower schools to enhance student learning through teacher development and leadership.
At the four-day conference, teachers — many of whom are award winners in their respective countries — exhibited innovative teaching and learning tools as well as project-based lesson plans they use in their classrooms.

These ranged from interactive reading intervention software for slow readers to podcasts of biology lessons which had benefited thousands of students all over the world.

A podcast is a series of digital-media files distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players, such as an MP3 player, and computers.

Microsoft Asia Pacific public sector programmes director Vincent Quah says: “The event was a showcase for the benefits of IT-integrated learning. It also underscored (Microsoft’s) notion that schools have the capacity to be the best and smallest units of innovation.

“This is something which Microsoft discovered since it organised the first conference five years ago in Singapore,” adds Quah.

Aimed at sharing best practices in the innovative use of technology in education and recognising teachers’ creativity, innovation and dedication to their work, the inaugural conference brought together more than 120 teachers from 16 Asia Pacific countries as well as top Asian education leaders and policy makers.

Subsequent conferences were held in South Korea and Cambodia.

The quality of teaching tools exhibited by the primary and secondary school teachers have improved year by year — so much so that the Asia Pacific conference was regarded as the “gold standard against which Microsoft measures its innovative teachers’ conferences held in other parts of the world”.

The conference has gained the attention of educationists from countries outside of Asia Pacific over the years.

Delegates from Canada and the United States as well as two new Asia Pacific countries — Republic of Nauru and Republic of Vanuatu — joined the recent conference.

One of the highlights of the Hanoi seminar was the poster competition for the Innovative Teachers of the Year awards conferred on a teacher with the best project from each country. Countries which had fewer than three participants were not eligible for the contest.

Maznah Zaini from SK Sungai Rawang, Sungai Pelek, Selangor, was picked as Malaysia’s Innovative Teacher of the Year for her early reading intervention software. Maznah was among eight teachers who represented Malaysia at the conference.

Another focal point of the convention was the special collaborative project where teachers of different nationalities worked in groups to develop specific teaching and learning materials for education in sustainable development.

Teachers drew inspiration for their lesson plans — on topics such as ethnicity, water conservation, impact of urbanisation and values and beliefs — from field trips to different parts of Hanoi.

The recent convention also marked the end of the first stage of Microsoft’s five-year commitment to the Innovative Schools programme under the PIL initiative.

The challenges faced in the five-year period were similar across Asia Pacific, says Microsoft Government and Education Team senior director Lauren Woodman.

“One was to establish the right partnerships. We made sure that our engagement was done through ministries of education, non-governmental organisations, multilateral institutions and teacher communities, so that we could really listen to local needs,” she adds.

In addition, the experience of one country is not easily replicated elsewhere.

Microsoft also announced the extension of the Innovative Schools initiative at the conference. The programme will continue to assist over 2,000 schools by providing intellectual property, technology expertise, experiential knowledge and community support within the next five years.

The next step, says Quah, is to think about “the form and format of the second wave of five years of engagement with governments”.

Woodman says: “We are looking at the key driver for innovation as a way for us to scale this programme up.”

NEWS: Reaching out to teenagers

ASK teenagers about the problems they face during adolescence, and pimples and acne are sure to top the list.

About 80% of teens and young adults get breakouts at least once a month.

This often makes teenagers miserable and embarrassed, and they sometimes shy away from friends and hide in their rooms as they wait for the pimples to clear.

To help teenagers cope with this, Clearasil recently launched its Face to Face secondary school campaign to educate teenagers on the different types of breakouts and the causes of pimples.

The campaign aims to boost the self-confidence of teenagers by teaching them proper skincare techniques and instilling healthy eating habits.

The two-month-long campaign, which kicked off at SMK Seksyen 10, Kota Damansara, Selangor, in March, also had the organisers taking road shows to more than 10,000 teenagers in 20 secondary schools in the Klang Valley.

“Clearasil is all about the self-confidence that comes from having visibly clearer skin,” said Reckitt Benckiser (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd marketing manager Tiffany Tang.

“We want to provide teenagers with accurate information about breakouts and pimples, and debunk myths about skincare.”

Besides taking students through the basics of a good skincare regime, the Clearasil team also organised question-and-answer sessions and games, which had attractive prizes up for grabs.

NEWS: A model conference

MONT' Kiara International School recently hosted the fifth annual Malaysian Model United Nations (MYMUN) conference.

Themed “UN Millennium Development Goals”, the three-day conference brought students from different countries together to promote global citizenship and leadership.

Through sharing opinions, the participants arrived at a better understanding of different perspectives on global issues. They also explored ways to work together on possible solutions.

Mont' Kiara International School students preparing their presentations for the UN conference.

The guest speaker at the conference was Henrik Nordentoft from the United Nations (UN) High Commission for Refugees.

Mont’ Kiara middle school students entertained the 250 delegates – including students from China, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand – with the sights and sounds of Malaysia through dance and drums, as the participants lobbied, debated and voted.

The delegates were also each assigned a UN country and asked to research its perspectives on aspects such as the environment, disarmament, human rights, and the general assembly.

Issues discussed included measures to halt and reverse the decline of the health of the world’s coral reefs, the situation of refugees in the Darfur (Sudan) area, implications of climate change for agricultural sustainability in developing and developed countries, a review of the Kyoto Protocol goals in light of recent official reports, and ways to combat the illegal arms trade in South Asia.

Organised by Mont’ Kiara International School students, the conference saw the participants taking on roles as the UN secretary general, deputy generals, chairs of committees, and administrative staff.

There was even a team producing a daily newspaper that reported on the on-going events at the conference.

NEWS: Young scientists

Oracle, in collaboration with the Education Ministry and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, is inviting all Malaysian students and teachers to participate in its “Future Scientists Malaysia contest” via its educational portal Think.com.

Think.com is a web-based educational environment that provides students and teachers with personal web pages, along with powerful communication and collaboration tools, at no cost.

Members work within a protected online community and engage in project-based learning through a host of collaborative learning activities. They can stay connected to their classrooms from home, school or the library.

Currently, over 800 schools and 4,065 teachers are involved in Think.com but the plan is to roll it out to another 4,000 Malaysian public schools by the end of this year. The contest is open for registration from now till May 20.

Projects can be in the form of artefacts, an experiment or survey, or any valid science project.

They must be posted on the team’s respective Think.com project space, with content creation to be completed by June 20. The contest, which aims to encourage project-based learning, is also open to teachers using Think.Com.

The grand prize winners from both the primary and secondary schools, together with their coaches, will attend a luncheon hosted by Oracle and get to meet a National Young Scientist, to be recommended by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

NEWS: Cyber safety

HE used to sit on the dirt floor in India, learning with chalk and slates. So said Business Software Alliance (BSA) director of anti-piracy in Asia, Tarun Sawney.

Those were the days when computers were associated with science fiction, and only seen in movies like Star Trek.

“But now, most of you are on the Internet every day,” Sawney said, at the recent launch of BSA's web educational initiative, B4USurf.

From left: Ng, Sawney and Dr Parmjit Singh watching APIIT Smart School students access the B4USurf website at the launch.

“And I often read about under-aged teenagers having sex with strangers they meet on the Internet, cases of cyber bullying, and even websites promoting assisted suicide.”

These problems, as well as others like the proliferation of spyware, viruses and hacking, prompted BSA to provide resources to promote awareness on the dangers in cyber space.

The B4USurf website (www.b4usurf.org) – recently launched in Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines – contains information, safety tips, lesson plans, quizzes, and even an online game and posters for students, teachers and parents.

“We want schools to educate their students and encourage them to visit the website,” Sawney said.

“So, we're getting education ministries to buy into the campaign.”

Senior special officer to Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong, Ng Boon Keng, officiated the launch at APIIT Smart School recently.

“It is vital that schools have appropriate policies and procedures in place to deal with cyber safety,” Ng said, in a speech on behalf of Dr Wee.

“As technology continues to evolve and play a more significant role in our children's lives, we must take more precautions to keep them safe.”

Ng also urged other schools to participate in the campaign.

APIIT Education Group managing director, Dr Parmjit Singh, believes that schools are perfectly positioned to play key roles in educating teachers and students on this aspect.

“Nowadays, children are curious at a younger and younger age,” he noted.

“As educators, we have the responsibility to highlight the benefits of the Internet to our children.

“However, at the same time, we also need to manage and minimise risks for young users by educating them on the potential dangers online.”

NEWS: 魏家祥：增進學生知識‧星洲華文資訊賽有意義

（雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也）教育部副部長魏家祥說，有百萬讀者的星州日報是一份有影響力的報紙，在發展華文教育及推動各種文教活動不遺餘力，而進入第七年的星洲全國華文資訊電腦作答比賽是其中一項極有意義的活動。

• 在魏家祥和卜亞烈見證下，第七屆星洲全國華文資訊電腦作答比賽的合作夥伴簽署協議書，前排左起是李毅強、張成富 (Dato Patrick Teoh Seng Foo)、劉聯城、陳鍾財、吳金峰、盧月香及高銘良。（圖：星洲日報）
  
  他說，這項比賽打破傳統比賽形式的局限，參賽者可在任何指定英華美總院或分院上網作答，與全國千名不同學校的參賽者一起進行比賽。

他今日（週三，30日）為2008年學生閱報計劃系列活動暨第七屆星洲全國華文資訊電腦作答比賽主持推介禮時說，通過互聯網的先進科技工藝，學生可以更快捷掌握時事、資訊工藝及文教等常識。

學生不熱衷課外活動

他說，大馬學生多是“一心只讀案頭書，兩耳不聞窗外事”，脫離了現實及缺乏強烈求知欲，也不熱衷於課外活動.

“這與國家教育哲理注重德智體美勞的培養背道而馳。教育部已檢討課外活動比重，以免學生倚重學術知識和考試，忽略了身心平衡的發展。”

另外，他指出，華文全球發展趨勢迅速，英國語言學家大衛卡拉多（David Graddol）預測中文50年後將成為世界上最多人使用的語言，而在未來10年將變成世界各國人民必須學習的外語.

出席者有星洲日報總編輯卜亞烈、董總總務高銘良、教總副主席李毅強校長、全國校長職工會總會長彭忠良校長、馬來西亞國民型華文中學校長理事會雪州委員盧月 香校長、吉隆坡華文科督學彭德生、雪州華校督學游雅倫、吉隆坡華小校長理事會主席陳清順校長、雪州華校教師公會主席吳清良校長、Dynabook電腦公 司、Edutech電腦公司代表及Multiple電腦公司的代表等。

劉聯成：增加保健汽車題目

星洲日報總經理（公共聯繫）劉聯成說，學生閱報計劃的小學生問答比賽增加有關保健的題目，中學的星洲全國華文資訊電腦作答比賽則增加保健和汽車的題目。

他說，這項調整主要讓學生掌握更全面的知識，而增設的《健康寶典》小手冊，目的是要讓莘莘學子從小汲取保健知識，以便他們健康成長。

“這項促進閱讀興趣、提昇華文水平及加強保健意識三合一的項目，會受到家長、教師及學生的歡迎。”

他說，一般上，學生在教室與校外生活環境的學習有失衡的現象，課業知識非常強，對外知識則相對比較弱；學生閱報計劃能彌補這一方面的不足。

除了星洲日報推行的這兩項活動，他也希望學生通過更多管道吸取各項有關的知識，以成為知識豐富的新生代。

他說，星洲日報的學生閱報計劃將不斷地加以革新與改進，並歡迎師長提供建設性意見，以把這項計劃辦得更完善。

雪隆31華小獲贈報

在星洲日報主辦的2008年學生閱報計劃下，雪隆31所華小將獲得贈報。

這項計劃的系列活動包括第十三屆全國學生閱報計劃電腦作答比賽、全國有獎填字游戲比賽及第十一屆全國專輯製作比賽，公開給小學生參與。

CCM PHARMACEUTICALS 通過其下品牌CHAMPS贊助2008年學生閱報計劃的系列活動。活動經費是23萬6675令吉。

CCM高級業務經理吳金峰說，該集團這10年來和星洲日報學生閱報計劃緊密配合，持續不斷地贊助學生閱報計劃，在中小學領域裡推展一系列有意義的教育活動。

公開給所有中學生參加

2008年第七屆星洲全國華文資訊電腦作答比賽公開給所有在籍的中學生，國民型中學或獨中生都可報名參加。

這項活動是由星洲日報主辦，董教總及馬來西亞國民型華文中學校長理事會協辦；主要贊助APM提供4萬5000令吉經費，Flavettes則贊助2萬令吉現金及產品；萊那集團提供技術支援。

掌握網絡科技無往不利

APM總經理陳鍾財說，掌握網絡科技技術可以通往無邊界的知識領域，當懂得越多知識，就會越覺得自己所懂得是那麼貧乏。

他認為，知識投資是獲得高“利息”回酬；而網絡上有各種免費資訊，如全球暖化和財務管理，鼓勵終身學習。

萊那集團主席拿督張成富 (Dato Patrick Teoh Seng Foo)說，在全球化的競爭，每一個人都要自我增值，掌握資訊才能面對當前的挑戰。

他說，電腦教育是知識與科技的結合，是通往知識的大道。