Student mission flying the flag

By Dita De Boni

Sixty students are making sure the best of Apec echoes around the Pacific ring even after the dignitaries have gone home.

The students are part of the Virtual Trade Mission, interviewing the leading lights of Apec, including Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Their interviews will be broadcast throughout the Americas and Asia in the weeks after the summit.

It is part of a series called @APEC that will be screened on national television channels and also edited into educational videos for use in US schools and workplaces.

Most of the New Zealand contingent are graduates of the Students Young Achievers Forum held at the end of June.

Student Claire Godber says questioning the top Apec figures has been testing but "great practice for the future."

She says the students did filming throughout Friday and Saturday, compiling 21 interviews at TVNZ's studios.

The programme has endorsement from the international business community, including United Airlines, AT&T, the US Department of Commerce and US Secretary of Commerce William Daley, the honorary co-chairman of @APEC. Mr Daley said the programme was important in that it would enable Americans to understand the benefits of trade.

"The [mission's] participation in the Apec summit is a terrific way for American students and educators to see first-hand why trade matters."