Online Talk on Body & Mind in the Post-Pandemic Era: An Interview with the Organizing Committee Members

Reported by:
Lim Shu Mih JR3S(4)

On the 16th of July 2022, a talk on the Body and Mind in the Post-Pandemic Era was held. This event was organised mainly for the Junior Middle One to Senior Middle Two students. It lasted more than two hours from 10 a.m. till 12:30 p.m.
Following up several days after the talk, the Newsletter Club made an interview with the event’s organizing committee. We were honored to interview three committee members, namely Fong Chloe from Sr1ScA, Tan Yong Hui from Sr1ComA, and Chan Le Xuan from J2Z(5).

The following are the contents of the interview:

1. What was the purpose for organizing the event?
Firstly, the event had been planned quite a while ago. Originally, the event was held to raise everyone’s awareness of pandemic prevention but the committee soon realised that our society is already in the post pandemic era, so instead, by organizing the Body and Mind in the Post-Pandemic Era talk, they wished that every student could learn to pay more attention to their physical and mental well-being following the disruption of the pandemic.
2. What did you experience during the pandemic?

Yong Hui: The distance between people undoubtedly widened. Many people only used their phones to communicate with others.

Fong Chloe: What I experienced the most was the difference in time management. Especially during the pandemic period and after the pandemic, the comparison of returning to physical classes is very obvious especially when the event was held. Because I have a lot of activities to attend, online classes reduced the time I used to spend on the road, but now physical classes have resumed and being on the road has taken up a lot of my time. Thus, the most life-changing experience for me is time management during the pandemic.

3. What memorable things and difficulties did you face during the preparation of the event?

The main problem faced in the event was the lack of committee members, as there were only three students organizing it. Although the activity was relatively simple, the three committee members were nearly overloaded with preparations, because at times, it was necessary to modify the poster, presentation slides or the emcee script. Including the need to control the field and convey problems at that time, these things require more manpower, so it was obvious that the committee was largely understaffed. Of course, this problem has later been addressed, and the whole process was quite smooth, including the communication among the members of the organizing committee.

4. What is the difference between hosting physical events and online events?

The difference between physical and online events is quite clear. The event is considered an online event. Although it was an online talk, the preparation was done physically. Online activities are actually easier to manage because the committees do not need to worry about the factors of venue and the SOP. For example, the speaker of the event lives in East Malaysia, but since the talk was online, the committee was able to invite him as a guest speaker. However, there is also a disadvantage in online activities, which is that students may not be paying attention to the talk. The recent talks have mostly been online and rarely in physical settings, including handover work, and committees seldom have physical communication because all meetings are usually held online. In conclusion, the committee members still recommend having online events, because it can indeed relieve a lot of trouble, which allows the events to be carried out smoothly.

5.What did you learn from being in the organizing committee of this event?

Yong Hui: I stayed at the school to do activities with other members of the organizing committee, it was the first time I knew how the school organized talks and how they worked things out behind the scenes. I gained a lot from this experience.

Fong Chloe: I have participated in similar activities before, so I actually have more experience in these types of activities. First, I learned more about the content of the talk. Throughout the event, I learned a lot such as important lines of communication and attention to detail. In the process of preparation, the problem that we encountered was that the presenters were unable to present the talk that well in an online setting.

Le Xuan: I gained a better understanding of the process of organizing a talk. I was basically in charge of the posters, so by utilizing suggestions from teachers, I learned something from that sector.