28 February 2020- The Ministry of State (MOS) had the pleasure of welcoming 37 Eight Grade Students from George B. Harris (GBH) Elementary School accompanied by their teachers and parents for a tour of the Office at the National Capitol in Ngerulmud.
Three of the Ministry of State’s staff, namely, Mr. Smau Erungel, Ms. Melinda Lawrence, and Mr. Jordan Yuri, prepared a presentation for the students informing them of the roles and mandate of the two main offices under the Ministry of State: 1) The Bureau of Foreign Affairs and Trade and 2) The Bureau of Domestic Affairs. The Ministry of State presenters also had a set of questions for the students to answer in order to win some prizes. MOS Chief of Staff/Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jeffrey Antol along with Chief of Protocol, Mr. Danny Higa, expressed their appreciation to GBH Elementary School for choosing the Ministry of State as their field trip site.
Mr. Antol encouraged the students to do well in school and and urged the students to considerthe field of foreign relations when pursuing higher education and upon return, contribute to the Republic’s nation building. Mr. Antol and Mr. Higa also informed the students that protocol and diplomacy is not new to Palau as it is embedded in our customs and culture, putting emphasis on the term “respect”, which is a core value both to Palau culture as well as the conduct of diplomacy and protocol.
MOS provided cold refreshments and brought students to tour other offices at the National Capitol including the Minister of State’s office before returning to Koror.