Type
Topic
Country
Speaking another language
From birth, I have spoken English, and English only. It wasn't until recently that I realised the world isn't always going to auto-translate things for me, simply because I was ignorant enough to believe it would. The truth is, as a white, British, native English speaker, it's never been expected of me that I go out of my way to study another's dialect. Fortunately, throughout my life, my parents have repeatedly stressed to me the importance of having a second, or even third language under your belt. My father, with his broken essential-phrase-book dialects, has managed to befriend people from...
Part 1: A Mennonite identity
In writing all this and speaking with the wonderful lady who inspires me every day, my mom, I've learned a lot about myself and who we are as a people, all people. I'm sharing a part of myself as I write this. I'm sharing a part of my family, which scares me. I don't trust the general public with my family history. We're a private people for a reason. But what I will say are the things I wish everyone could know. This will be in bullet style, general sentences because I tried writing essays about the different aspects of the Mennonite identity and it is just too long. - The Mennonite religion...
Towards the teaching of indigenous languages in schools
Aruskipt'asipxañanakasakipunirakispawa is an Aymara word that means "we are compelled to communicate", translated by Aymara teacher Juan de Dios Yapita. As a young Aymara, belonging to this indigenous people, I feel proud of my culture. Unfortunately, I am one of many who with affliction do not know the language of their parents and grandparents. The school offers us education and values, which are usually far from our original culture. Making it difficult to access materials, teachers and the learning of our native language. That is why the teaching of indigenous languages is fundamental...
9 Questions about communication
We must invest in women and girls on the move to unlock their potential
Worldwide, young people account for a significant proportion of people on the move, and 50% of young people on the move were women and girls. In 2020, 35.5 million children under the age of 18 were living outside of their country of birth. Over a third of these children, an estimated 13 million, were refugees and asylum seekers. This matters for young people’s learning and livelihoods: in its 2021 Education Report, UNHCR highlighted that young people in crisis-affected regions were 30% less likely to complete their primary education and half as likely to complete their secondary education. And...
Climate Change: Individual steps to mitigate the impact
Every step matters when it comes to climate change. The details of our daily behaviors are the key to mitigating the impact of climate change. Therefore, every step we take and every decision we make as individuals will eventually affect the global efforts related to climate change. We need to act responsibly towards our local environment if we aspire to limit the effects of climate change, and our individual actions define what kind of future we want. Each one of us is a solution to these environmental changes. Thus, we must be more sensitive when dealing with the changes we forced on our...
Another language
I think that we need another language. A language of passion and love. A language of heart and hope. We need a new language of compassion, sympathy, and integrity. The language of hugs and embraces. A language of eyes and expressions. When we love, we should express the love we feel. When we care, we should show the care we hold dear. We should be humans before it is too late. The language we share is humanity and our universe is one. We share the sky and the ground. We share the dreams and hopes. We are one, inside and out. We are humans in time and space. We are the children of oceans and...
Forever
‘Forever’ For as long as I can remember, I've always assigned very little value to this one word. I never really thought about it much. Perhaps, I firmly relied on the assumption that ‘forever’ was one of those inherently constant things in life, like the sure way the scorching sun bites harder in the desert. My severe disillusionment came with the shock of losing a loved one. Its saddening, isn't it? The way it takes a reminder of how brief life is to actually appreciate it. But, I'm relearning. I've come to recognize that despite how fleeting or infinite forever might seem, the truth is, the...
I am The Girl
To support me give me back my space of freedom. Don't talk for me and let me do it myself; let me voice my own thoughts, my own visions... my own dreams. I am a girl and you can see me in the face of every girl starving every day for education but not allowed to fulfill it. You can hear me in those little girls' voices as they cry refusing to get married at the age of nine. You can see me in the footsteps of the girls marching to cross borders and seas running away from war and violence. If you want to help me hand me a pen and a book and let me write my own future and draw my own path. Then...
Young freethinkers
"Dead Poets Society" is a movie that stirred a whole set of questions inside of my head about our educational system. This movie was made in 1989, and it's already been 27 years since it's release. One of my friends recommended it to me, telling me that the movie is issuing a very interesting subject. From the very beginning I was addicted to the story. The characters were well played and they moved me all the way; I loved how dreamy their minds were; reading poetry and enjoying the art of literature. What I liked most was the provocative questions raised by Mr. Keating (their teacher) and his...
Climate change: Today and not tomorrow!
Earth is the only home we have. We are destined to cultivate life on earth. As a matter of fact, the changes that happen to the earth will eventually affect our lives. Mother Nature has always embraced our reckless decisions and brutal practices. For centuries, we have built factories without considerations, invaded woods to establish civilizations and colonized oceans for the interests of our nations. Thus, here comes the time to reap what we sow. Now we are facing the aftermaths of our actions. Despite, the existence of laws and regulations that are supposed to protect our environment, there...
The Activist
These words are mine and what I claim is what I believe in. I do not assume that my opinion is the ultimate truth. However, this is how I see the world. I don’t claim myself as the perfect activist and I am not giving myself the right to define what a true activist is. Yet, let me draw for you the picture of the activist who lives inside my head. An activist is a limitless person— they belong to the whole universe. They are a person who sees the world as their own home. An activist is part of everything and belongs to everyone. They treat people as human beings and not as commodities. An...
They bullied us, now we are stronger
My parents had me after eight years of marriage; I was their first child and you can imagine what kind of a treatment I had. I was a loved kid and both of them tried to provide me with everything I needed. Without a bad intention, but rather out of a pure love, my mother did not pay attention to my diet, so I grew up as an overweight child. Before school I did not understand what the word ‘fat’ meant but after my first day there I knew that I was different, physically speaking. The kids kept laughing at me and as time passed they started calling me names. Whenever I tried to integrate I failed...
Climate change: Facts and not fantasies
When winter is not winter anymore and it is around 30 C° in a supposedly rainy season, you have to know that something hideous is happening to our world. Conventions have been signed and agreements have been sealed. But the same question remains: When are we going to implement them? The answer to this question is in the hands of those who have the political and social power to change things; and right there lays the twist. And, before talking about it let me first amplify some facts related to climate change. Working on my Master degree thesis on Translations, I chose to translate forty pages...
Hopes and dreams
A seven billion voice, a seven billion hope and a seven billion dream. The number is big, the earth is round and it is the only place we have. Different races, different beliefs, different backgrounds and different souls but we all live under one sky, we all admire the same stars and we all breathe the same air. We all have a heart, see with two eyes, hold with two hands and walk on two feet, some of us may grow wiser and some others may fall every time they walk. Maybe we see things differently for example I like winter; a cloudy sky and a rainy day, it happens that you like it when it is...
Part 2: Where will they go
Here are my feelings on the Mennonite Identity, (continued) I think there's a lot of sadness, inherent to a lot of people in the faith and in the families. But there is so much love. That's what I hope my family is remembered for, because that's how I remember them. Mennonites are complicated, their descendants are complicated. But my family was pretty amazing. They weren't all the stereotypes people might think about them. The thing is a part of me has known that it is more than possible there will be no more Mennonites in America in the next few centuries. I am not personally of the faith by...
United Methodist Church future?
These are my thoughts on the recent United Methodist Church (UMC) decision to continue to not allow the marriages of same sex couples in the church, and any openly LGBTQ+ person to be ordained as a pastor. So I love the UMC with all my heart. I also love women and men (romantically) and I don't personally think those two sentences contradict each other, despite any decision our conference recently made. But I also do not want any of us to be in pain or the church to break. I believe there were parts of the conference's vote that I did not previously understand, and I think we should. I just...
Celebrating International Youth Day
When I was younger, I balked when hearing phrases like “time may be moving slow now, but as you get older, it will fly by.” However, I’ve slowly begun to realize just how accurate those statements were. Major milestones like graduating college, high school, and getting a first car all kind of blend together, because time is truly moving so fast. When you think about it, it’s unfortunate that everything moves at such a fast pace that there’s limited time to stop and reflect on the past. However, admittedly, days filled with classes, meetings, and community events are an exciting way to keep...
My environment
I am a youth who is witnessing the impact of climate change and environmental degradation- the loss of trees due to uncontrollable cutting and burning of trees to be used as charcoal. How have we let the ideas of investment and development bring about more destruction than good? Selfishness and greed are affecting a lot of poor people who depend on natural resources. I ask myself, what am I doing wrong as an individual? What is Zambia or every Zambian doing wrong? What can I do to bring positive change? What can we as youth do to protect our environment? I believe there is need to promote...