KGV's Virtual NGO Fair

Featuring an exclusive interview with Mr. Beard

The NGO fair. Most students have probably heard of it but not as many actually know the purpose behind the fair. As its name might suggest, the NGO fair connects

students to non-government organizations that the school is partnered with. Along with that, the fair also serves as an inspiration for Year 9 students who are soon beginning their MYP program later this year and to year 12 students, especially those who are struggling to find service experience for their CAS with the ongoing pandemic. Not to mention, this first ever virtual NGO fair in KGV history would provide vital feedback and helps serve as a test for future fairs that may be hosted online.

Exclusive interview with Mr. Beard

As previously said, this was the first-ever virtual NGO fair and without surprise, it came hand in hand with difficulties for Mr. Beard and the team. According to Mr. Beard, a CAS and Service Learning Coordinator as well as the coordinating teacher of the NGO fair, and several students part of making the NGO fair, one of the most difficult problems was getting NGOs interested considering the time and extra effort it would take for them to prepare for a virtual presentation. After that came the assigning of 550 students to 27 NGOs for 3 sessions, which thankfully was done with ease due to the cooperation of the students. On the bright side, more NGOs than expected signed up for the fair, which meant the school could provide students with a greater range of opportunities for either MYP or CAS. Getting the school to allow a fair and being able to allocate enough time for each session was also quite a difficult task as only one period was allocated to the fair, meaning that each session was only 20 minutes long. In the end, the NGO fair ran smoothly with generally positive feedback from the student body, giving rise to hopes for another virtual NGO fair, if needed. However, Mr. Beard hopes for a physical, face to face, NGO fair next year as that would lead to a greater amount of interaction between NGOs and students. Nevertheless, if next year’s fair also has to be online, students can expect features such as Kahoots and break out rooms.

NGO's that the students were introduced to.