Miscellaneous

Model United Nations – My experience

Is the sun setting on Gender Equality?

From a time when women were worshipped in different forms, our world has witnessed a profound evolution in the role and status of women. The issue of women empowerment is devoid of borders, reverberating not only within our local communities but also globally. This issue of gender equality is a subject that has always resonated deeply within me.

In a complex tapestry of viewpoints, a variety of stances come to light. On one hand are the maiden’s kin who are of the rooted notion that nurturing a daughter is financially demanding. The key reasons include the inability of the family to afford “her” education vs “his”, societal bias on educated women being an affront to the male dominated family ecosystem, perceived inability of the family “to marry” her if she is educated enough and others. Therefore, women start off with a  high level of disadvantage. To the same cluster belong others in professional environment or other domains, who consistently harbour envy of women’s progress and growth. On the other end of the spectrum are fervent advocators for gender equality who believe that women’s empowerment is not just a pursuit for the advancement of one half of humanity; it is the pursuit of a better world for all.

Within this array of perspectives, my belief aligns with the ardent advocators. I firmly believe that there is a myriad of hardships that a woman is forced to undergo. Firstly, even though women bring substantial money to the family either as a secondary income or bread winners in many cases, they do not get involved in the financial decisions made by the family due to the thought of financial decisions being “his” cup of tea. Secondly, despite women’s education and workforce entry, gender pay disparities persist and exacerbate with motherhood. Finally, the stereotyping of women’s lack of empowerment is often reflected in entertainment medium like advertising, cinema and other forms of social media.

The resolution of this issue is indeed an uphill task, yet attainable. As a student, I intend to actively participate in awareness campaigns addressing gender inequality. In addition, my friends and I aim to visit remote areas of the country such as tribal areas to spread the ray of education and impart skills among the illiterate stimulating women’s awareness of their rights and men’s understanding of the societal benefits it brings along.

Model United Nations – My experience

By definition, Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations where students play the role of delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world issues with the policies and perspectives of their assigned country. For example, a student may be assigned United States and will have to solve global topics such as nuclear non-proliferation or climate change from the policies and perspectives of United States.

MUN2020 was my first experience and everything seemed obscure to me. Firstly, when I came to know about MUN, I contacted my senior to know about the procedures. She gave me an allotment in HRC and then in DISEC (Disarmament and International Security Committee) as the PM of Bangladesh. However, I was very much interested in economics, so I coaxed her that I particularly wished to be a part of World Economic Forum (WEF). Finally, I was given a place in WEF and was appointed Ashraf Ghani, the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, two days prior to the MUN.

Agendas were announced beforehand and I had to start my research on the agenda which was “Institutions and Economy post covid-19”. I would like to make a long story short about the procedures of MUN. At the beginning of each committee session, the Chairperson conducts a roll call in which the delegates should respond by saying either ‘present’ or ‘present and voting’. The meeting was held online and instead of placards, we had to raise our hands. So, the Chairperson asked all the delegates, who wished to make a speech, to press on the ‘raise hand’ option after which their names were placed on the General Speakers List (GSL). There were two types of caucuses – moderated caucus and unmoderated caucus. Moderated caucus is a kind of a formal debate where delegates are called upon by the Chairperson to address their opinions about the agenda for a specific amount of time. Unmoderated caucus is an informal debate where the rules of procedure are suspended and the delegates can discuss about the following mod-caucus topics. After the solutions were suggested by all the delegates, at the end of the session, we had to prepare a draft resolution where all of our suggestions were placed. In my opinion, the most important tip for first-timers is that we ought to be thorough with the agenda and clear with the speech we make as there may be questions asked by delegates pertaining to our speech.

These days, a person participating in MUN has become a dime a dozen. On one hand, my first-time experience was really commendable. I learnt a lot of economic topics and this has triggered a strong sense of love for economics. On the other hand, I feel that MUN could have been better in terms of the rules of procedure and the debating process. However, as a coin has two faces, in my opinion, even MUN has its own merits and demerits. On the whole, it was a wonderful experience and I am exhilarated about the following MUNs.

INTERNET – A NECESSARY EVIL?

A famous adage of Bill Gates goes like this – “The Internet is becoming the town square of the global village of tomorrow.” This quote has been proved right by the current developments in Technology. The use of Internet has heralded a significant revolution in the global world. It has indeed shrunk the globe and brought people together. From a 3-year-old child to a golden ager, everyone knows how to use the Internet. It is not surprising that such a useful forum has brought a drastic change in our lives. The Internet has reduced distances, broken all man-made barriers and has facilitated a lot of activities, like online shopping, to move with ease albeit at a low cost. However, several questions arise when talking about Internet – “Is the use of Internet always beneficial?”, “Are humans becoming slaves of Internet?”. These questions ponder our mind every now and then. In this essay, I would like to elucidate my reflections into words and give a laconic view of the issue.

Internet is the talk of the world. Some people believe that the use of Internet has changed our lives significantly in a deplorable way and say it has many deleterious effects. It has not only made us victims to many cyber-crimes but also has reduced social human interactions. A person in the vicinity, in the same building or in the same room use mobile phones and gadgets to interact with one another. After drugs and alcohol, Internet is the third most addictive thing.

Internet has ruined children’s lives particularly as they have become compulsive of social networking gaming sites, or even gambling websites. The impending future of our country is dependent on these juveniles.

A menacing disorder caused by Internet which is known as the Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) ruins lives by causing neurological complications, psychological disturbances, and social problems. Surveys in the United States and Europe have indicated alarming prevalence rates between 1.5 and 8.2%. In addition, with the emergence of more and more social media platforms and sites, people have shifted to more electronic interaction and this has resulted in a loss of human touch. This is also a leading cause of depression and a major negative impact on our lives. While some people claim that Internet has innumerable detrimental effects, others feel that Internet is still a bonanza and has shaped our lives in an effective way.

Internet has served as a utilitarian network which has connected people from all over the world. Although Internet is often maligned in our global world, it is truly an effective resource which has indeed played a pivotal role in our lives. A father from US can connect with his son who is living in India only with the help of this asset. School learning and telecommuting has gained a new shape only because of Internet. It has not only helped millions of students across the globe in their learning with the help of useful portals like Youtube, Google, various productive apps, etc, but also has facilitated “work from home” options in adverse situations like the case of Covid – 19 pandemic. Online shopping needs no words to be described. Groceries, vegetables, fruits, garments, etc everything arrive at our doorstep just with one click. However, the addiction of Internet is still a grave issue even amidst these merits.

What if the Internet used today is wiped out tomorrow? Thus, we must realize that too much reliance on Internet is a serious issue. With every advancement in Internet, come its uses and misuses. It is our responsibility to strike a balance and use it with caution. One must not forget that human is the master of technology, and not its slave.

A VALUABLE REMINISCENCE

In John Quincy Adam’s words, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are a leader.” Leadership refers to the quality of leading people. Every school typically is headed by a principal, administrator as well as the co-ordinators. The school’s management team is supported by a Student Council. My school conducts democratic election every year by which the leaders are elected.

On 26^th August 2020, I was elected as the Assistant Arts Secretary. The previous week, I got in on the act of contesting for the council member seats. I campaigned during the election to secure one of those seats. I was pretty nervous as it was my first time standing as a candidate for the post of a leader. I believe that I possess all the qualities to become an ideal leader. From childhood, I loved taking on challenges, helping and leading others. To me, being a leader is a joy. But along with joy, comes certain duties and responsibilities.  Fortunately, the day was unforgettable in my life. As the Assistant Arts Secretary, I am really grateful and pleased for this position.

The role of an Arts Secretary involves planning, organising and effectively carrying out art festivals and functions. Every year, my school conducts a Market Day where the students are allowed to sell their creative and artistic works to their friends and parents. The money collected from this sale is donated to many old age homes and organisations helping disabled people. I am really excited to be a part of this benevolent activity. It is the role of the Arts Secretary to conduct and administer this event. Nonetheless, due to the covid-19 impact, this year, I will have to conduct these events in the online platform. It is not easy to conduct a virtual event. I may have to conduct these events through Microsoft Teams this year where the students will post their works. This is going to be a thrilling and challenging experience as this is unusual to all my teachers and friends. I believe that this will open way to display my leadership skills and administrative capability to all my fellow classmates.

In conclusion, I hope that I will discharge all my duties and responsibilities with utmost diligence. In addition, I will definitely work hard with commitment and perseverance to fill the golden place with decors.