Hola!

My name is Eric and I am currently an incoming senior of Mills High School located in Millbrae, California. Today I was given the opportunity to become the El Lider Del Dia for Global Business Day.

The theme of the day was impartiality. The glimpsers of Delegation 3 were instructed to keep an open mind and ask tactful questions while on a tour of Falcondo, a multinational Canadian mining company operating in the mountains right above Bonao. Through the global business seminar after breakfast, we learned that Falcondo is providing jobs for the local community in Bonao as well as financial assistance for local families. However, its practices are rejected by the local community for their harming effects on the environment. With impartiality in the back of their minds, the glimpsers set out for a tour to Falcondo to become educated by effects of mining in a local community.

Our visit to Falcondo was split into two main parts. The first part was an educational presentation by a representative of Falcondo about its restoration efforts of the mountains after they have been mined of nickel.The second part was a bus tour within Falcondos facility. The tour guides took us to a greenhouse where over 400,000 trees are sprouted each year. However, not enough depth was placed into how Falcondo gives back to the local community itself and its impact on Bonao.

The most exciting part of today was that we glimpsers were given the chance to visit Club Falcondo! A country club located inside Bonao, Club Falcondo is an exclusive country club that only allows access to employees of Falcondo. We were given the opportunity to relax in the club and take a swim in their beautiful pool. I really enjoyed my time at Club Falcondo and I am sure my fellow glimpsers did as well. After countless selfies in the pool, our swim was interrupted by a thunderstorm that rolled through Bonao. Nevertheless, our time spent at Club Falcondo was amazing.

The question of the day was what responsibilities, if any, do multinational companies have to protect and/or improve the environment of countries in which they operate? I believe the main responsibility of a foreign country is that a company must give back for the amount of impact it places on the local environment. The local environment may include the health of the region, the local community and businesses, and the local people. Any harm done to any of these must be reversed.Honestly though, I was pleasantly surprised that Falcondo focuses much of its resources on the restoration of the land they mine. I hope that my fellow glimpsers may have come to realize that there are many sides to evaluate any global business today.

With warm regards,

Eric Pang