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2013 GYLC心得
陳品樺 普台高中
如何具備一個國際領導人該有的特質？如何敞開心房，尊重每一個文化？如何巧妙地化解文化差異及衝突？而價值觀、信念、以及文化的相關性是甚麼？藉由在GYLC的學習和成長，我也逐一找到答案。
記憶猶新，當我一踏入維也納國際機場時，心中惴惴不安，彷彿有千萬隻小蟻在啃噬我的自制力，瞬間，我開始納悶為何要丟自己獨自一人，面對其他來自40個國家，241位優秀聰穎的青年學子?
被焦慮佔領心神的我在找不到GYLC工作人員的情況下，不禁亂了陣腳，明明近在咫尺的事物，宛如海底撈針一般，在我費了九牛二虎之力，終於完成了初步報到手續後，一切似乎有了轉機，我看到一位有著一頭金色波浪長捲髮、碧綠色眼睛的白人女孩正在向我微笑，我鼓起勇氣亦步亦趨地向她走進，努力克制心中的緊張不安，和她打了招呼，這就是我們友誼的開始，她是琳恩，是一位來自沙烏地阿拉伯的朋友，在我們暢談自己的文化中，也發現彼此的不同，她告訴我，即使在風氣開放的國際學校中，只要與異性單獨相處，老師便會認為那是行為、價值觀的偏差，而女性們所要穿戴的面紗、長袍也有簡單化的趨勢，更成為當地時尚潮流的指標。
在這次旅途中，最讓我印象深刻的是模擬會議，而我是歐洲環境署（EEA）的代表，在每個小組中，有來自政府、企業、民間團體的成員，彼此擁有的資料可能不一，目標也不盡相同，甚至還有差點發生衝突的狀況，面對紛爭，我們表現的是尊重不是放縱，大家也都絞盡腦汁地試圖想出一個雙贏的方法。相對地，文化之間的矛盾更是無可避免的，譬如有一個住在印度的中國女孩，在一次和我的談話中，我們不經意地觸及到敏感的兩岸政治議題，抱有不同信念的我們，雖然將場面瞬間冰凍，但這並沒有影響我們對彼此的態度，因為我們選擇尊重每一個想法，而價值觀的差異造就信念的不同，而一群抱持相同信念的人，成就一個文化，所以當我們輕易地嘲笑別的文化時，不如先去了解它的由來，而不是一昧地用主觀意識評斷他人。
Global Young Leadership
Conference，全球青少年領袖會議，顧名思義就是要學習如何成為一個跨國界的領導人，孟子曰：「民為貴，社稷次之，君為輕。」永遠將蒼天百姓放在第一位，GYLC不僅開闊我的視野，也讓我用不同的角度觀賞這美麗的世界，十天的旅程，一輩子的感動。
2013 GYLC Experience
Ho, Hsuan Yin
America is the land of liberty, the land of dreams, and the land of greatness.
It is widely known to be the "melting pot" of all cultures. People from diverse
backgrounds would cluster in America for something big and something great. And
Global Young Leadership Conference is certainly one of them.
GYLC is a unique program allowing scholars to try their best & achieve something
spectacular. I was enrolled in the pre-program as well; therefore I got to the
hotel 3 days prior than most of the people. This gave me the opportunity to know
more people and familiarize myself to the United States. Before this program, I
have never been onto the land of United States. I was like a toddler, curious
about everything and joyful about every new discovery. In the pre-program, the
GYLC staff planned a series of meaningful activities that will prepare us for
the competitive live in the core conference. There is one activity that I think
I will never forget: the numbers game. The game goes like this, there are
consecutive numbers from 1 to 30, and there are a series of rules that you have
to obey or fatal penalties will be declared. The rules are simple yet hard. 1.
All numbers must be touched one by one. No skipping numbers and it has to be in
the correct order. 2. All team members have to participate. 3. Time runs out
when its 20 minutes or 5 routines. Rules are as simple as those. Disobeying any
will have a 10 second penalty. The aim is to complete 5 routines as soon as
possible. However, what should a group of bright young leaders do when there are
numbers lying on the ground and rules in their minds? After 20 seconds of silent
confusion in the room, I decided I would break the ice. I stepped on the card
that says "1". Soon, my teammates helped me found number 2, 3, and so on. Fairly
quickly, I've finished my route. However, time is running short and our director
doesn't seem satisfied. "There is got to be another way to complete this,"
everyone thought. Suddenly, someone suggested we assign a number for each of us.
This is the right solution. We finish one route almost half the time it took for
the previous one. Soon, our group completed our request for 5 routes. After this
game, we analyzed our actions. The entire game ran under shouting and yelling.
The classroom felt like market and the students were not leaders. We did not use
our leader's quality to help us through this game, some were screaming trying to
take control, and some were laying back waiting for commands. The aim of this
activity is to let us cooperate not let a few get in charge. When our number is
approaching, we should stand in place preparing for its coming, not reposing at
the back and wait till other people to yell your name. This activity really
helped me understanding the meaning of collaboration and leadership. If the
leader only knows how to shout, then he/she will be the epic fail for this game.
A leader is able to drive a group out of panic and maintain order. A leader is a
good listener that organizes ideas from all people without excluding anybody. A
leader has the ability to engage everybody, discover everyone's talent, and use
everyone's strength to lead a group to success. A leader has to obey to others
as well, do not be ignorant, do not be self-centered, and do not feel that
everyone is under your command. That will be when revolution comes.
The uniqueness of GYLC for me is the hands-on feeling. They don't teach you the
pedantic way by telling you leaders should have this and thus qualities, but
they teach you by letting you experience it. Through many of the activities, I
was empowered by the real-life feeling of what a real leader should be like.
People often say, "experience teach you the best", in GYLC, the experience is
unforgettable, the effect is chronic, and the lesson I've learnt is powerful and
beneficial to the rest of my life. Finally, to end my GYLC reflection, I would
like to conclude by sharing with you one of my favorite quotes from GYLC, "Do
not cry because it's over. Smile because it had happened." Thank you, Ariel Ho
2013 GYLC
Chen Huan Hsu
This is definitely a precious experience worth remembering, a journey that
opened my eyes to a whole new world.
At first, I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep at the night before the trip,
fearing that I might have a hard time making foreign friends. However, the
clouds of doubt immediately dispersed upon meeting my "Russian Comrades" and the
best FA---Kelvin. Together, we delved into the rich history and the promising
future of the Russian Federation through LGM discussions. We feasted our eyes on
the historical sites of DC, Philadelphia and New York. Most of all, we spent
countless moments of joy as a lovely family. I finally realized that each LGM
group is like a miniature of UN, with its members from different countries of
the world shaping a better future for all humanity. Youth as we are, we
entertain high hopes for the future and simultaneously build up our own
leadership spirit.
Undoubtedly, the best part of GYLC is that we have a chance to sit inside a
conference room in UN voting for resolutions. Though it was no easy task to
prepare for the General Assembly, thanks to the guidance of Kelvin, we never
failed to obtain the best interest for the Russian Federation. I really enjoyed
being the ambassador during the Security Council over the Cyprus issue. Writing
the opening statement as well as negotiating with other delegates became not a
heavy burden but an interesting challenge I enjoyed taking. After the successful
simulations, we marched on the real deal----the commission meeting. I was in the
Water Supply subcommission affiliated to the Health Commission. During the
process of brewing the resolution, I came up with a fantastic and feasible idea
called "Water Bank" in order to reach fair distribution of water. Unfortunately,
since we couldn't reach the consensus that the headquarters of the Water Bank
should be established in Siberia, Russian Federation turned its point to the
healthcare subcommission. If the "Water Bank" got approved by all nations, it
could have been a catalyst to the change of our fate!
In retrospect, there's so much great memory that I'll cherish forever. The
moments of pure fun, heated debate, and the thrill to live in history and pave a
glorious way for our future, will stay in my mind for good. It is time that my
new chapter of leadership commenced!
2012 GYLC心得
鄭宇均
俯首蔚藍的天空，隻隻雲朵好似溫暖的搖籃，搖啊搖！心之膠卷播映著自己穿西裝準備資料的緊張、在曼哈頓帶著墨鏡的神氣，搖啊搖！霎時間，失去平衡的我，在高樓大廈林立的天際飛揚著！美國，我來了！
還來不及欣賞華盛頓的風光，早已昏頭大睡，出發前夕，本來一派輕鬆的我突然緊張起來，我真的可以去參加青年領袖會議嗎？懷著忐忑不安的心，就這樣冒險去了！一見到上百位從各國來的精英，要和這些外國人一起邁向領袖之路，我好興奮！我被分派到沙烏地阿拉伯組，本來還很擔心同伴都跟我不同隊，但一見到那熱情洋溢的氣氛，好熱啊！首先讓我驚奇的是，有一個在世界地圖上，國土比台灣小的Trinidad
and
Tobago，他們居然是報名人數最多的國家！而且他們每個人看起來都相當有自信，根本就是如假包換的外交官，在小組討論時扮演起重要的角色。我們先從國際觀的角度切入，彼此似乎都對各自國家有刻板印象，經過一番瞭解，顛覆了我的思維。
我最開心的是文化交流時間，聽著各國的趣聞軼事，不亦樂乎！輪到我上場時，我想帶給大家的並不是那些可以搜尋到的資料，而是正港的親民文化，大家聽我娓娓道來，笑得合不攏嘴！他們紛紛表示一定要來拜訪台灣。但台灣的國際地位仍被某些人作為攻擊我的武器，我自信地解釋，大家也都相當支持我！
GYLC總共開了兩次大會，第一次是有關於塞普勒斯問題的安理會，當時我在閱讀資料時，真的一個頭兩個大，連吃飯時間都不願浪費珍貴的一秒鐘。同桌的紐西蘭人立刻幫我介紹了整個時空大半的背景，她說在學校選修中文也相當吃力，深切領悟到我們在語言學習路上的顛頗！不僅閱讀是個耐心的訓練，接踵而來的障礙，是英文的口音，剛開始我真的聽不懂大家在說什麼，這樣就會影響到我無法投入大家的討論，還好情況有好轉，漸入佳境。我認為自己在學校可以在台上暢所欲言，但是我看見有許多國家代表，雖然英文也不是他們的母語，卻能流利的使用，融入大家，我想這驅使我要更努力地學習英文！
第二次的大會，就是盛重的模擬聯合國，我們花了幾天時間充分瞭解自己代表國的背景，討論國家的利益和各國談判的籌碼。在全員踴躍討論下，我看見大家的思考高度都相當成熟，小組討論總是能聽見不同的聲音，讓自己恍然大悟，總會有幾個人扮演著組長的角色，領導大家！可是有時候，他們會不願採納別人的意見，只顧著自己的想法。我想領袖，理當是傾聽、尊重，而非一味地將自己的觀點不偏不倚地直灌人心。
大家分別挑選自己有興趣的領域，我是代表衛生領域小組，但我的組員都紛紛跑去當主席和書記，只留下我孤軍奮戰。還記得當時只能用微笑佯裝，內心的恐懼不斷張牙舞爪，這樣的背景下，我發表了最有自信的演講，博得台下的肯定。只要對自己有自信，我可以做得到！不要害怕錯誤，享受在台上的魅力！
還記得開大會前夕，各國的談判實在爾虞我詐，辛苦的奔波後，我們紛紛投票決定自己國家在各領域的立場。當時我正想著，領袖不僅要有魅力，更要有聰慧的頭腦。在大會圓滿落幕後，女孩換上高跟鞋、小禮服，男生以帥氣的英姿翩翩起舞，向我們的成功，掌舵起當晚的舞會。
參加GYLC也不是只有生硬的開會討論，在華府，我參訪許多景點，其中大屠殺博物館最為深刻，聽著影片的娓娓道來，眼淚如潰堤的水壩，止不住。紐約是我相當憧憬的城市，徜徉著都會的步伐，目睹了自由女神的光彩，逛著蘇活區、五號大道的店鋪，櫥窗琳琅滿目，吸引我扛起一袋袋的戰利品，滿載而歸。吹著漁港的海風，吃著道地新鮮的海產，遇見親切，還幫我們打折的服務生。
小小探險家的美國夢仍縈繞著，途中的瓶頸，即便被絆倒了，也要趕緊面帶微笑站穩步伐，異國的新奇，溫存了我的青春。
2012 GYLC心得
劉宣瑜
It is said that life is considered a box of chocolate, because you’ll never know
what your next bite tastes like. There are unpredictable events happening every
moment which enrich our lives. To me, I am really grateful to have such a
wonderful experience of attending GYLC. It all started this summer when I took a
14 hour flight to Washington D.C. At there, I had the fabulous and rare
opportunity to participate in the Global Young Leader Conference.
I was allotted into Turkey group on the day of arrival. To be honest, I was
reluctant at first since the issues on Cyprus would be our main debate topic,
which I considered to be quite complicated. However, this thought was completely
forgotten once I met my friendly teammates. Shortly after, everyone had already
got acquainted and I was pretty amazed by how quickly I propelled into GYLC
mode. Never in my wildest dreams would I have known that these were the people I
would spend one of my most meaningful summers with, and that they would change
my life forever.
We spent two wonderful weeks having LGM meetings, writing numerous resolutions,
preparing for different summits, listening to speeches given by celebrities,
diplomats, politicians, business leaders and even professors, and sightseeing
the magnificent of New York and Washington DC. We visited the United Nations, a
variety of museums and had the privilege to go into Columbia University and NYU,
which are my dream schools.
Besides having tons of fun, we had serious summits which we need to dress formal
clothes and absorb lots of knowledge. We learned how the Security Council and
United Nations work to maintain global peace and how the decisions and policies
are made between countries. We also realized that some tragedies from the past
bring access to the improvements and impacts that help us create a better
future. Another key element in GYLC is the Cross Cultural Communication. We all
tried to deal with conflict and difficult situations amongst a myriad of
different ethnicities and cultures. By participating as a global citizen, I
gained a lot and now possess the skills and global insights I will need to
change the world.
I believe that the important lessons I learned in GYLC will benefit me in the
future. Even until today, I can still remember each incredible people I met
during the conference. We are all different nationalities, but we bonded
together as one and made this conference rock. Just like the concluding quote
read to four hundred scholars in GYLC on the last day, “Don’t cry because it’s
over. Smile because it happened.” This amazing summer will definitely be etched
deeply in my heart forever.
To sum up, attending GYLC is indeed an unforgettable and remarkable experience
which broadens my horizons and inspires me to regard every encounter in life as
a granted gift. I promise to take advantage of this experience to enrich my life
and devote myself to making this world a better place. Throughout this
fascinating conference, I not only did train both mentally and physically, but
also learned to be independent, absorbed a lot of knowledge, and had an amazing
time. Most importantly, I met friends from all over the world who taught me a
variety of distinctive cultures and life-time experiences. I will pass on the
GYLC SPIRIT till the world is covered by the love we dedicated and shared. Last
but not the least, I strongly recommend that everyone should seize the
opportunity to challenge their selves by attending GYLC. It will satisfy your
thirst of knowledge and engrave you the most
“supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” memory.
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