Zico Luck Elvister October 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

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Zico Luck Elvister is a 17-year-old student at Keningau Vocational College located in the interior region of Sabah, Malaysia. Zico is a student whose main means of communication is through sign language due to a hearing impairment. Despite this, Zico has inspired students of special needs and people from the rural communities in the state with his accomplishments in chess tournaments at the national and international level. He was the 1st runner up of Malaysian Lions International English Chess Competition for special needs category in 2019. He was also the 1st runner up for the same category in the national Malaysian Chess Tournament for the Disabled in 2019. He achieved this feat at such a young age despite coming from an economically disadvantaged and remote area. He has successfully paved the way for other students of special needs to venture into chess tournaments and has revived the community ‘s interest in the sport.

Stefanus Lucas October 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

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Stefanus Lucas is a special education teacher at Sekolah Rendah Pendidikan Khas, Sabah, Malaysia. Stefanus has advocated for and changed the perceptions of people with disabilities in Sabah, Malaysia. He has done this by sharing the beautiful experiences of individuals with disabilities on social media and through promoting his special education classes. His inspirational message of “focusing on ability, not disability” is very evident in his music classes and the impact that music can have on people ‘s lives. Music unites people and allows individuals to communicate ideas and feelings. It includes everyone as everyone can take part in making music together. Stefanus also focuses on our similarities and how we are all human beings who need each other ‘s love and support.  To see his classes, click on the link: https://youtu.be/4l_CFHwHyiI

Kumaresan Muniandy September 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

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Kumaresan Muniandy is a special education teacher with a degree and master’s degree in special education. He has 10 years of special education teaching experience. At Merbok Special Education Vocational School, he trained students in vocational skills to become skilled workers and venture into the field of entrepreneurship. He also contributed in developing transition program modules for career development which was adopted by special education teachers throughout Malaysia. His expertise in the field of career transition allows him to be one of the experts in training special education teachers at Seameo Sen Malaysia. He has been given various awards such as Excellent Service Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, Innovation Teacher Award, Innovative Teacher Award  and Special Education Icon Award. He has written 23 research papers related to career transition and advocacy among SEN students, as well as provided much needed training for educators, industry and the community.  To see some of his work, click on the link below: https://youtu.be/0oGENqf2mx0

Charnin Ming Suntaranond September 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

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Charnin, also known as Ming, attends the International School of Bangkok (ISB) and is a valued member of his grade 3 class.  He will be moving to grade 4 this year, has many friends and learns alongside 35 other students. He loves art, especially drawing. He is an outstanding artist and his teammates go to him for guidance and instruction. Having Ming in ISB classes, taught the school to think about differentiation in a whole new way. His presence inspired deeper thought into how students are taught, making a positive impact on everyone. Ming works in partnerships, small groups, and is more confident and proud of his accomplishments because of peer feedback. Being a valued team-member has improved Ming ‘s ability to follow directions, seek support from teammates and work alongside others on projects. Ming has had a profound impact on classroom culture. Inclusion means that all students develop social, communication, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to get along with others in diverse communities. Ming’s outgoing, kind, funny nature established a network of friends that exemplifies ISB’s values of respect, care, integrity and gratitude.

Sara Asakura August 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

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Sara is originally from Japan and has completed grade one at the International School of Bangkok. Sara is a little ray of sunshine and everyone that meets her or interacts with her is smiling! She is much loved by her peers, adults and anyone that meets her. She loves painting, music and dancing, playing with dolls and the iPad. Sara is quick to smile and laugh with others. She has a great sense of fun. Sara can be determined and when this is focussed on her learning, it is a big help to her. She has had a great year in first grade and has made so much progress and growth with her learning and interaction with others. Sara has had such a positive impact on her peers. It has highlighted the students ‘ kindness, inclusiveness, caring and understanding of everyone being different and having different needs.

Bee Giek Choo June 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

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Bee Giek Choo is a teacher who strongly believes that each and every child deserves the right to receive quality education in life.

As the Head of Learning Support at Nobel International School, she helps to ensure SEN students in school receive equal opportunities of learning as their peers. She develops  ideas and training to support accommodations for SEN students which help to reduce the obstacles that impede their learning. Also, she is working to change school policy in assessing student  learning for students with literacy or mathematical reasoning learning disabilities. The success of the accommodations and the change in the school policy have been a major achievement for SEN students at the school. She is now working on integrating assistive technologies in inclusive classrooms which will further benefit the students with learning needs.

Congratulations Bee Giek Choo!