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Let’s choose what we post online carefully
Mind
My mind…works like a cave Dark, mildew with ancient treasures marked across the Musky slippery floors. The rumble in my head almost as hollow As the wind that passes through the Tunnels, unmarked by men. Sometimes the wind could chatter and echo through And the voices could grow louder. As darkness engulfs Little creatures scamper away They’ve made a home in there... My mind With statues of a past life With stories left behind as memories With decay, and stones crumpling from age. My mind As the words to this Slowly diminish to a silent buzz As I live through the day.
More sport, less screen time - for every child
How the internet helps me make informed choices
We live in a world that is awash with information, some of which can build us and some that can destroy us in just a click of a button. Access to the Internet is increasing worldwide. Between 2000 and 2015, global Internet penetration grew seven-fold from 6.5 percent to 43 percent. Yet millions of people still lack access to quality, credible information. In some instances, this lack of information can be life-threatening; in others it constrains social and economic growth. For a couple of months through Union National des Femmes Djiboutian (UNFD) I have been part of its online Life skills...
So, you think you are safe online?
Staying safe online is an important issue for young people using the internet, with cyberbullying becoming an increasingly serious problem all over the world. It must be noted, that technology is threatening child development by disrupting the crucial learning relationship between adults and children and has exposed many children to different vices of society. The advent of smartphones and social media nevertheless mean that today’s environment is now far more complex for young people to negotiate. The digital world is reducing contact time between the generations – a development with...
Increasing digital access and skills to prepare Djiboutian youths for the digital economy
In its 2063 Agenda, the African Union states that one of its main aspirations is “an Africa, whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth.” Over the next few decades, us young Africans will play a critical and vital role in the social and economic development of the continent. Africa is facing a demographic explosion which will see its population double to more than two billion people in the next generation. This is happening in my country Djibouti, which has less than 1 million citizens now. In the digital age that we are...
Re-visiting Djiboutian curriculum to re-skill young people for digital jobs
The Government of Djibouti recognizes education as essential for growth and human development. As a result, the government has placed education at the center of its development policies. In 2000, an education reform was initiated with the goal of improving access, quality, and relevance of the education being taught in Djiboutian schools. Despite progress in increasing access and coverage in education, access to education continues to be one of the country’s major challenges. Other challenges include quality, the availability of learning materials, and disparities due to gender, geographic...
Break the Stigma: Promoting a Sustainable Period in the Federated States of Micronesia
All over the world, girls face many challenges related to menstrual hygiene management that may negatively impact their education. Personally, I have missed school days and skipped classes to go to the clinic because of extreme period pain. During one exam, I asked my teacher if I could go to the school clinic and finish my exam there. Fortunately, he agreed. My handwriting was so terrible because I couldn't really focus with the pain I felt. I was glad that I even passed that exam. I truly believe that I would have been able to achieve more academically, and even in life in general, if I didn...
Digital is the pathway to the future we want
Not one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be accomplished without digital technology. Information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly disrupting our changing world. In Africa, the world's youngest continent, it is crucial to ensure Africa’s greatest resource, youth, will be able to adjust efficiently and effectively as new skills are redefined by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. That’s why digital literacy is an imperative skill. For each African country, integration of computer science training in the national curriculum must be a reality...
CRY FOR HELP
If poetry was a person I would tell her the truth I will tell her about the nightmares and the sleepless nights I will tell her about the moments of numbness and plethora of emotions rushing through me all at once I would tell her about the euphoric happiness that would last for blink and then the prolonged melancholic tears I would tell her about the messy, chaotic and damaged soul I am and maybe, just maybe somebody will finally start to see my cry for help. I won't be invincible anymore.
Looking Back: after overcoming my 5 year old anxiety
This blog will discuss a specific young person’s experiences with mental health issues and may include references to diagnosis, treatment, or support. This should not be misinterpreted as specialized or medical advice for a particular situation you may be going through. The topic of experiencing mental health challenges may be difficult for some readers. If you or a loved one is struggling with their mental health, please seek support by accessing the following resources: Child Helpline International; Open Counseling Suicide Hotline Database; United for Global Mental Health If your country...
Mental health
Mental health can be frightening, we don't know how to handle it at first, and it's very confusing. Most of us never want to admit when we're not feeling great and asking for help can be the hardest part. It's ok to not to feel ok, but admitting it to yourself and others is not as easy as they say. We always hear what we should do and how we should handle it, but when we're "down", we don't want to admit it and we hide how we actually feel and act as if nothing happened, almost always. It's easier to go to someone you know to talk to, or at least it should be, but we're ashamed of how we feel...
We all can do It!
Here stands my creation, my very own, Soon to discover knowledge hitherto unknown, As it ventures into the uninhabitable zone. But what is this? Its wisdom has grown And here I stand, all alone, Next to my creation and its clones As if to strip humanity to its bones The robot and its army of drones Oh, how humanity has advanced from stone! But I snap out of my daydream, No longer alone, here is my team A firm group of eighteen That dared to dream To take on the world’s cream Over the next few weeks, we shall give our hand And prepare to make our stand The Five shall go, hand in hand To compete...
The dangers of technology and misinformation
From Arthur Miller’s The Crucible to the spicy political debates that occur on Twitter, mob mentality has taken root in many of our key institutions, from our internet activity to the issue of vaccine hesitancy. This, juxtaposed with the alarming rate at which misinformation is spread, has helped foster the emergence of a new kind of pandemic within my community in 2022: an infodemic. Whether it be through TikTok trends spreading the whispers of a new government conspiracy or the outlandish anti-vax tweets that spread like wildfire, we impressionable teenagers are particularly vulnerable to...