Carmel Convent School students at United Nations office in Geneva.
Chandigarh, June 3, 2014: A group of 21 students and teachers of Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, Chandigarh returned today from a visit of United Nations office and CERN - the European Organization for Nuclear Research - in Switzerland, as part of their enhanced studies and international exchange programme facilitated by Yuvsatta, an NGO.
The group was led by Sister Swati Maria, the School Principal and from Switzerland they also went to a St. Peter’s International School in Barcelona, Spain crossing by road the beautiful French cities of Nice, Cannes, Avignon and Republic of Monaco.
“As during the visit the students were exposed to numerous scientific subjects, including the structure of matter and fundamental forces and the study of elementary particles. So we learned a lot by visiting the large research center of CERN, which is spread out over nearly all Geneva,” shared high-school student Devayanshi Kaura.
Swati Maria, Principal added that “In addition, the students received first hand knowledge about the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, and participated in a seminar hosted by CERN researchers. And their main purpose was to inculcate the spirit of global citizenship and thinking that we all humans are equal and part of a larger global family, which came alive in the international exchange visit of St. Peters International School in Barcelona, Spain”.
As part of their stay, the students also visited the Palais des Nations- the UN headquarters in Geneva. During the visit, they were informed about the current activities of the United Nations, learned about the history of the Palais des Nations, formerly the headquarters of the League of Nations. They later met the Ambassador and Representative of India at United Nations Dilip Sinha at High Commission of India in Geneva, where they exchanged ideas on strengthening gender equality and removing poverty and injustice from the world.
A significant part of the visit for all students was to meet and exchange gifts with warm and friendly students of St. Peter’s International School in Barcelona, Spain, where the focus of studies is to make their students changemakers, equipped with a range of skills in science, technology, humanities, design and communications.
Muskan Sharma a participating student said that during the visit they made many Spanish friends cherished Spanish food served to them in the School and came back with lot of memorable memories.
“International education is a key tool for building "bridges", connections between countries and cultures. In addition, when ordinary people of any age travel outside their comfort zones as international students, their "us vs. them" mentality will likely change into a multicultural respect for others, resulting in a stronger worldwide coalition of friendship, understanding and goodwill. The delegation’s visit is an expression of the spirit of curiosity and the joy of creation that characterize the high school students, those who would be the generation of tomorrow’s world,” said Pramod Sharma, Coordinator of Yuvsatta who arranged the programme.
“This is a one life time experience that few are awarded”, said accompanying teacher Ritu Yadav. “I think that these ten days of participating in an international exchange programme were the best days of my life and I will never forget them and the people I met", added another students Aeshna Jain.