GISS COMMITTEE

ABOUT THE COMMITTEE

The GISS Committee is various committee’s that are all working together in order to plan the Global Issues Service Summit that is taking place in Mozambique in 2015. There are numerous committees and each one has a role and a goal. However there is also a common goal for all which is to successfully plan a summit that will help students from all over the world learn about educational sustainability. The main committee is referred to as the steering committee. The steering committee is composed of all chairs and vice-chairs of the individual committees. Meetings are held in order to update one another about everything that is going on and what has been done and what still requires work.

MY ROLE IN THE COMMITTEE

I’m the chair of the Finance Committee. The finance committee is in charge of obtaining donations and sponsorships to cover all financial expenditures. The committee is brainstorms on possible sponsors, contacts them, puts for a plan and ways in which the given person/company could help and why, and then confirm the sponsorship.  

OUTCOMES

1.     Increased awareness of your strengths and areas for growth – Through my role in the GISS committee I learnt numerous things about myself, many similar to the awareness I gained through being a member in the prom committee. Being in GISS I strengthened my writing skills as well as my persuasive skills. I learnt how to work well with people I do not know very well. An area for growth is once again balance. Learning how to balance everything starting from school work to work from the GISS committee, to work from the prom committee, exercise and etc.

2.     Undertaking new challenges – Just like the prom committee this was an unfamiliar situation to me. It was my first time working with certain members of the committee’s which was a small challenge in the beginning. However, with time I learnt about the members strengths and weaknesses and was able to delegate the work better. Another challenge I faced was writing the email and letters to parents/possible sponsors. The language had to be very formal and although I had the necessary vocabulary it was my first time targeting an older audience. In the beginning it was very time consuming to write the letters however with time it became more of a habit.

3.     Working collaboratively with others – The committee’s (Steering and finance committee) are composed of numerous people. The people that are part of each committee vary from grade 9 to grade 12. This was the first time I was working with many of the people. i am habituated to working with people from my own grade however this was a completely new experience. I was working with people that I did not know very well therefore I was getting to know them as people as well as members.

4.     Show perseverance and commitment – Being part of the finance committee and the steering committee requires me to be committed. Committed to being the chair and following through with my roles, committed to attending all meeting, committed to doing my best. At times with a lot going on it can be an overwhelming experience. When it starts to be an overwhelming experience one needs to persevere and remember that I have committed to this. Perseverance is much needed in an experience like this because there is so much to do in such a short period of time.

5.     Develop new skills – The major skill I developed through this experience was how to communicate in a more formal and persuasive manner. Throughout my time in the committee I had to write numerous letters and contact numerous different people who varied from parents to CEO’s of big companies. In order to convince the given person to either donate or sponsor the event I firstly needed to use formal language to show that I could be taken seriously and secondly I had to use numerous persuasive techniques to appeal to the given person. This was new to me as it was the first time I was in such position.

6.     Engaged with issues of global importance – GISS is a Global Issues Service Summit which aims to educate students from all over the world on issues of global importance. The topic and theme for the 2015 summit is – Educational Sustainability. By being part of the preparations of the summit I am engaging in an issue of global importance. My role in the committee is helping and allowing students to learn about this global matter that is important.

EVIDENCE