Web: www.hopetofuture.org I Address: 4F, Bongeunsa-ro 176, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea Tel: +82-2-6952-1616 I Email: webmaster@hopetofuture.org
Writer and Editor-in-Chief
Hyeonkyung Ha I Program Manager
Seonggeol Lee I Program Assistant
Program Information p4
Program Introduction p5
Participant Information p7
Student and Staff List p8
Speaker List ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p9
Position Paper ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- p13
Team 1. Italy p14
Team 2. Republic of Korea p18
Team 3. United States of America p22
SDGs Declaration p25
Photo Gallery p29
Individual Essay p34 Host Organizations P45
The ‘Training Program on UN SDGs’ is a premier pedagogical program on the United Nations Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The program aims to incorporate sustainable development into schools globally by training the domestic and international youth to advocate and recommit to seeking global solutions for global problems with a value of multilateralism. It consists of diverse educational curriculums, including lectures by experts on the UN, NGOs, and international organizations, which can help the youth to understand the current global society with expertise. Furthermore, it also provides special session by former diplomats or ambassadors, which deal with international affairs and relations of each nation. It also includes career development session led by young leaders currently working at diverse civil society organizations or global firms.
Particularly, the Virtual Training Program on UN SDGs provides an opportunity to examine how well the UnitedNationscarriesoutitsstatedaimstomaintaininternational peaceandsecurity, protect humanrights, deliver humanitarian aid, promote sustainable development, and uphold international law. In addition, students learn about not only the United Nations but also South Korea’s relationship with the United Nations as they build professional knowledge on pending issues of the international society. This year’s program hadinvitedspeakersfromaroundtheglobeincludingKorea, theUS, Vietnam, theUK, andBrazil The program was virtually organized via an online platform due to the worldwide COVID-19 circumstances.
Host Hope to the Future Association
Title 2022 Virtual Training Program on the UN SDGs
Date 29 October (Sat.) - 6 November (Sun.) 2022
Venue Online platform ZOOM
Language English
Program
Theme
Academic Lectures by INGO Staff
Special Discussion with INGO Staff
UN Career Development Session (Young Leaders) Youth Declaration on the SDGs Debate and discussions (MUN Format) on the UN Agendas
“
The Decade of Action will…
Mobilize everyone, everywhere,
Demand urgency and ambition,
Supercharge ideas to solutions.”
With just under ten years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, worl d leaders at the SDG Summit in September 2019 called for a Decade of Action an d delivery for sustainable development, and pledged to mobilize financing, enhanc e national implementation and strengthen institutions to achieve the Goals by the t arget date 2030, leaving no one behind. The UN Secretary-General called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action on three levels: global action to secure greater leadership, more resource s, and smarter solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals; local action embe dding the needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory fra meworks of governments, cities and local authorities; and people action, including by youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia, and other stakeholders, to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required transf ormations.
Jin-Hoan Choung President and Head Director
Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
Jack Bathe Consultant
Rachel Naddeo Ph. D. Student
Ewha Womans University, Graduate School of International Studies
Kadir Jun Ayhan Assistant Professor
Green Climate Fund (GCF)
Carine Valarche Management Intern
International Career of the Youth
Nguyen Van Anh Intern
Sustainable Food System
Urban Development and Prosperity
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Yeeun Cho Former UN Volunteer
UN-HABITAT
Nayoung Lee Former Communication Specialist
Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS)
Jeungseung Lee Research Associate
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Haekoo Kim Technical Advisor Yumi Son Co-Management Consultant
References: https://gggi.org/ http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/ www.ewha.ac.kr/ewhaen/index.do https://www.greenclimate.fund/ https://un-rok.org/about-un/offices/apcict-escap/ https://www.unep.org/ https://unhabitat.org/ https://kims.or.kr/ https://www.fao.org/
Doyun Nah, St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju Eunseol Jo, Korea Christian International School
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or the United Nations SDGs, are all interrelated with each other. Not only the progress regarding one SDG influences other SDGs, but all 17 goals’ respective progress has a tendency of either promoting or hindering the progress of other goals. In the status quo, the achievements of the 17 goals are rather hindered. It is said that Covid-19 was the main cause behind the slowed down progress regarding the goals, but fundamental issuesthat were prevalent even before the Covid-19 are now in one of their worst situations in history. This includes political instability, extremely low standards of living in certain marginalized areas of the globe, skyrocketing unemployment rates and climate change. In this case, the group of people who are most affected by this situation is the people living in poverty. In the previous 25years, thenumber ofpeoplelivinginthestate of extreme poverty, orlivingon$2.15per person per day, was continuouslydecreasing. However, this process was hindered after the year of 2020 as Covid19, diplomatic conflicts and climate change simultaneously occured. Researchers say that 75 to 95 million more people are going to be living in the state of extreme poverty, as the pandemic has not ended, a war has invokedbetweenRussiaand Ukraineandinflationisbecomingasignificant issue. Likewise, thereality of worldwide economic growth is not on an optimistic side. Although the population and economic development havebeen rapidlygrowinginthestatusquo, unsustainabledevelopment process hashurt both the environmental and humanitarian aspects of society. Exploiting or overusing limited environmental resources, for example, hurts the ecosystems both in the air and in the water, and threatens many of the floral and faunal species. Not only with environmental aspects, but many of the people are also unjustly exploitedfrom workplaces. Intheyearof2021, 49.6millionpeoplearoundtheworldwerelivinginmodern
slavery, and 27.6 million of them were forced laborers. Considering these aspects, although the current economic growth seems rapid and innovative, if such hindrances and issues continuously occur, its sustainability will decrease to a serious extent and eventually damage both the environment as well as mankind.
Fortunately, theUnited Nationswas aware of thisissueand has already startedmakingprogress inthepast. It implementedtheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsin2015, andinthesameyear, anagreement wassigned calling for multilateral cooperation towards reducing gas emissions in Paris, which is called the Paris Climate Agreement. Furthermore, in 2019, two significant summits were held, one regarding the SDGs and the other specifically regarding climate action. In the former case, Heads of State and Government had gathered at the UN Headquarters located in New York, discussing about the progresses they made regarding the SDGs. This was the first summit after the SDGs were first implemented. In the latter case, 65 countries and some of the economically developed individual states have gathered together in commitment to end greenhouse gas emissions by the year of 2050. Many of the countries have already been starting on their respective nation’s action plans. Despite the numerous other treaties signed by the nations, a practical change or improvement has not yet occurred, especially after the hindrance caused by Covid-19. In order to genuinely promote a sustainable economic growth with developments in society, a firm basis of multilateral compliance towards specific and realistic goals is required.
Italy is comparatively successful in maintaining itself as a sustainable country. Its finances are stable and ranks 5th place for efficiently managing resources. It also ranks above average among the European Union in other aspects such as sustainable innovations and socio-economic outputs. Italy has so far implemented several policies for Sustainable Development Goals. For this goal, Italy has been focusing on the conservation of the environment while developing the economy since it is a key element for sustainable development. The policies made by Italy for the conservation of the environment was the Integrated National Energy & Climate Plan. This plan was enforced since it is an essential step to keep both the environment and the economic development. Main goal of this policy was decreasing the energy consumptionand greenhouse gas emission. Bydecreasing energy consumption and ghgemission, Italy has tried to slow down the climate issues. However, one issue regarding its policy and progress is properly managing waste. As Italy’s government is rather struggling to finda sustainable way todisposeitsmassive amounts of trash, Italy requires a guideline to establish a system to sustainably manage waste and further technical assistance if it is necessary in the progress.
Nothing can be achieved without enough time, effort and concentration. Likewise, countries should add the progress towards the issue of sustainable development in their national curriculums, as Italy also spent an hour each weak discussing about problems regarding climate change. In addition, as practical action is as important as the implementation of future plans, decreasing the usage of fossil fuels and replacing it withrenewableenergysourceswouldbeneeded. Inthiscase, less economicallydevelopedcountrieswould not be able to do this ontheir own, thus a multilateral network where developed countries fund and support the developing countries with financial, human and technological resources would be necessary. In order
to implement this, methods like having either an annual or biannual session regarding the review of previous progresses and the plan of future actions, or setting a mentor-mentee relationship with one developed country with one developing country could be designed. Furthermore, a strict policy regardign each nation’s sustainability should be implemented. Not only should international organizations set frameworks, but respective nations should establish their own policies regarding their achievements of sustainability, in areas but not limited to decent work, responsible economic development, environmental friendliness and basic rights. In these ways, multilateral compliance would be formed, the goals’ practicalities will be achieved and the goals would be reviewed and developed through a long-term progress, thus taking the countries a step forwards to eventually achieving the purpose of sustainable development that will lead to a general welfare and a higher standard of living for all. Lastly, a system of interactions among countries including the provision of funds and technical assistance should be established. Italy is wiling to fund developing countries with its budget for sustainable growth, and encourages other developed countries to support the developing countries in the same way. On the other hand, Italy requires support regarding policy framework and technical assistance to properly manage and discard trash, thus calls for countries with better technology to manage waste problems to support Italy as such.
Martin. (2022, July 29). Economic Growth - United Nations Sustainable Development. United Nations Sustainable Development. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/economic-growth/ BYJU'S. (2022, July 4). What Are the Challenges of Sustainable Development-. Byjus.com; BYJU’S. https://byjus.com/question-answer/what-are-the-challenges-of-sustainable-development/ Overview. (2020). World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview
Ask about Ireland. (2022). Unsustainable Development. Askaboutireland.ie. https://www.askaboutireland.ie/enfo/irelands-environment/the-built-environment/unsustainable-development/ Nations, U. (2018). Support Sustainable Development and Climate Action | United Nations. United Nations; United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/our-work/support-sustainable-development-and-climate-action Mulhern, O. (2020, June 10). Italy – Ranked 15th in the Global Sustainability Index. Earth.org; Earth.org. https://earth.org/global_sustain/italy-ranked-15th-in-the-global-sustainability-index/ Burdeau, C. (2022). Italy’s Trash Problem a Burning Issue in the “Land of Fires.” Courthousenews.com. https://www.courthousenews.com/italys-trash-problem-a-burning-issue-in-the-land-of-fires/ EU Cohesion Policy: €42.7 billion for Italy to support sustainable growth, employment and modernisation while reducing regional disparities. (2021). Europa.eu. https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2022/07/19-07-2022-eu-cohesion-policy-eur42-7-billionfor-italy-to-support-sustainable-growth-employment-and-modernisation-while-reducing-regional-disparities
As defined by the UN, climate change is a term to describe the long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns. This warning situation results in countless detrimental effects. The Republic of Korea believes that actions towards climate change calls for global responses.
South Korea has remarked upon the rapid transformation of the country from one of the poorest nations to among the most developed powerhouses on earth. In research from the World Bank Group in 2013, these impressive developments raised South Koreans living standards, their heavy impacts still lay the intensity on the environment. The country being the world’s eighth-largest emitter of CO2, the highest indicators among OECD countries.
As of 2008, President Lee Myung-bak put forward the nation’s philosophy of "low-carbon, green growth", which highlighted that governance on environmental concerns can be a driving force for economic development.
The Republic of Korea advocates for a UN policy on (Greenpeace UK, 2022) (1) Proclaim the significance of decent educational programs in increasing public awareness towards climate change and its implications on earth; (2) Lay pressure on government and business to invest in renewable/environmentally-friendly energy, including solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power; (3)
Orientalize the manufacturing practices towards providing more plastic free products; (4) Urgent the international consensus on the cooperation to reserve natural resources.
As defined by the United Nation, climate change is a term to describe the long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns. This warning situation results in countless detrimental effects, including hotter global surface temperature, severe storms, increased drought, increased health risks, etc.. Although there were naturally-made causes that led to these shifts, yet human activities have been seen as the main root in this case. In Pepublic of Korea, the Han River Miracle (Han-gang) remarked the rapid transformationofthecountryfromoneofthepoorest nationstoamongthedevelopedpowerhouseonearth. However, In research from the World Bank Group (2013), although these impressive developments raised South Korean people's living standards, their heavy impacts still lay the intensity on the environment. For instance, in 2019, Pepublic of Korea’s consumption-based CO2 emissions per capita is reported at 12.65 trillion (Ritchie, 2020), world’s eighth-largest emitter of CO2, the highest indicators among OECD countries. In the long-run, these issues will not only leave wide-range detrimental impacts on citizens’ life, but also heavily damage the nation’s economy. Acknowledging the seriousness of how devastating the situation might be, the Republic of Korea adopted certain remedies to urgently cope with these difficulties, mainly via incentivizing the peaceful co-existence between economic growth and environmental sustainability, further stated as below.
(1) The Ministry of Education of Korea will further proclaim the significance of decent education in the purpose of increasing public awareness towards climate change. Our leaders in the education sector will ensure that, first, widely implementing climate-change-education at schools. Although so far, education on climate change has yet to be designated as a separate subject, but the Republic of Korea aims to let it be under the umbrella of Environmental Education. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education is also in charge of improving teacher training, by integrating climate change and sustainable development into the teacher training courses.
(2) In accordance with our ambitious goals implemented in the Five-Year Plan in 2009, the Republicof Korealayspressure on businesses toinvest in renewable/environmentally-friendlyenergy throughout their manufacturing process. In detail, as of 2008, President Lee Myung-bak put forward the nation’s philosophy of "low-carbon, green growth", which highlighted that governance on environmental concerns can be a driving force for economic development. Therefore, Korea believes that through orientalizing the producing practices towards providing more climate-friendly products, as well as encouraging businesses to be more “plastic-free” manufacturing will eventually result in a better future.
(3) The Republic of Korea urgently needs both domestic and international consensus on cooperation to be more environmentally-aware. With that being stated, Pepublic of Korea put forward more effort to harmonize the mutual effort generated by different stakeholders, including the institutional-level policies, human factors, and as well as the businesses. Three of those interconnect each other, thus, it is important that the government finds a good balance to minimize the ineffectiveness while at the same time leverage the highest benefits among them all.
Allinall,theRepublicofKoreabelievesthatactionstowardsclimatechangecallsforbothnational and global responses and necessitates consensus between all stakeholders. Therefore, Pepublic of Korea proposed the nation’s plan on acting towards climate-friendly policies, shifting the concentration from economic growth only to be more aware of the environmental concerns.
In conclusion, The Republic of Korea advocates for a UN policy on : (1) Proclaim the significance of decent educational programsin increasing publicawareness towards climate change anditsimplications on earth; (2) Lay pressure on government and business to invest in renewable/environmentally-friendly energy, including solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power; (3) Orientalize the manufacturing
practices towards providing more plastic free products; (4) Urgent the international consensus on the cooperation to reserve natural resource.
The Republic of Korea believes that actions towards climate change calls for global responses and necessitates international consensus. As defined by the United Nation (United Nations, n.d.), climate change is a term to describe the long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns. This warning situationresultsincountless detrimentaleffects, includinghotterglobal surfacetemperature, severestorms, increaseddrought, increasedhealthrisks, etc. (UnitedNations, n.d.-a). Althoughtherewerenaturally-made causes that led to these shifts, yet human activities have been seen as the main root in this case (United Nations, n.d.).
In Pepublic of Korea, the Han River Miracle (Han-gang) remarked the rapid transformation of the country from one of the poorest nations toamong themost developed powerhouse on earth (Sustaining the Miracle on the Han River, n.d.). In research from the World Bank Group (2013), although these impressive developments raised South Korean people's living standards, their heavy impacts still lay the intensity on the environment. For instance, in 2019, South Korea’s consumption-based CO2 emissions per capita is reported at 12.65 trillion (Ritchie, 2020), world’s eighth-largest emitter of CO2, the highest indicators among OECD countries (Stiftung, n.d.). Besides, despite a number of environmental policies being proposed, the South Korean government is likely to be more focused on economic growth rather than prioritizing the environmental concerns (Stiftung, n.d.-b).
Acknowledging the seriousness of how devastating the situation might be, the Republic of Korea adopted certain remedies to urgently cope with the difficulties, mainly via incentivizing the peaceful co-existence between economic growth and environmental sustainability (World Bank Group, 2013). In specific, as of 2008, PresidentLee Myung-bak put forwardthe nation’s philosophyof"low-carbon, green growth", which highlighted that governance on environmental concerns can be a driving force for economic development (World BankGroup, 2013). Also, in2009, Korea revealed itsambitiousgoalsaspart oftheFive-Year Plan, including environmental regions regarding renewable energy supplies, reducing gas emissions, building green accommodations, etc. (World Bank Group, 2013). In addition, recently in 2019, President Ban Kimoon promised to double Korea’s contribution to the Green Climate Fund, as well as showed stronger ambition in reducing the nation's emissions (Stiftung, n.d.).
Therefore, The Republic of Korea advocates for a UN policy on (Greenpeace UK, 2022): (1) Proclaim the significance of decent educational programs in increasing public awareness towards climate change and its implications on earth; (2) Lay pressure on government and business to invest in renewable/environmentally-friendly energy, including solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power; (3) Orientalize the farming practices towards providing more plant-based products, as well as incentivize businessestoplastic-free manufacture; (4) Urgent theinternational consensusonthecooperation to reserve natural resources, especially protecting forests and oceans.
Greenpeace UK. (2022, July 29). What are the solutions to climate change? https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/challenges/climate-change/solutions-climate-change/ Ritchie, H. (2020, May 11). South Korea: CO2 Country Profile. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/south-korea Stiftung, B. (n.d.). SGI 2022 | South Korea | Environmental Policies. Bertelsmann Stiftung. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.sgi-network.org/2022/South_Korea/Environmental_Policies
Sustaining the Miracle on the Han River. (n.d.). OECD. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.oecd.org/country/korea/thematic-focus/sustaining-the-miracle-on-the-han-river-103653fa/ United Nations. (n.d.). What Is Climate Change? Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
United Nations. (n.d.). What Is Climate Change? Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change United Nations. (n.d.-a). Causes and Effects of Climate Change. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change
Nguyen, The Dewey Schools Yeonwoo Cho, SALT International School
The United States of America, being one of the most influential nations in the world, believes that the promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development is of great significance, not just to itself as a country - but also to the entire world. Without sustainable economic growth, nations cannot finance their plans, projects, and developments appropriately. It will be very difficult for countries to carry out their solutions and campaigns, effective or not if they are financially incapable to do so. Economic growth is the root that determines whether or not plansbecome actions, and thus it is extremely important. Sustainable development, meanwhile, can be associated with all industries and areas of research. It’s involved in every process, from the planting of crops to their exporting to foreign countries. Therefore, we believe the promotion of these two factors is crucial so that they’re implemented as widely as possible.
As the core members of various international organizations, American leadership and efforts are seen in promoting sustainable development among different nations. Domestically, America has improved conditions, promoting feasible industries. One example was $58.5 billion invested up to 2021 in hope of developing a stable, renewable energy source for use. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) launched policies and partnerships promoting companies to utilize sustainable energy and decrease electricity usage. When it comes to economic growth, America has achieved a growth of 2.6% overall, recovering most of the damage caused by the pandemic and recent recession. Nevertheless, we are falling behind European countries, only ranking 27th among 150 nations, according to Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Critics find ignorance of issues, low environmental sustainability, and high levels of consumer debt the fundamental reason for such a disappointing score. Internationally, we have continually been promoting sustainability in development and growth mainly by funding. Until 2021, we have donated 42.5 billion dollars to the Official Development Assistance (ODA), making America one of the most generous and investing countries in the world. However, the United States is only using around 0.2% ofitsGross National Income (GNI), whichisa relatively small amount inpercentage, naturally being ranked 6th from the bottom among the donor countries of the OECD. This problem is currently being addressed by President Joe Biden, who announced global development as the main pillar of his administration. For example, the United States guaranteed a donation of $1 billion to the Global Fund per $2 billion collected by other nations.
In 2022, America plans to spend $6 trillion overall. Among the budget, $1.5 trillion makes up the discretionary spending, excluding the $13.6 billion that will be used to support Ukraine due to the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act. To elaborate, $14 billion dollars for respondents to climate change, $44.4 billion on education, and more. Since war and international conflicts are a huge impediment to economic growth and development, sustainability only is guaranteed in times of peace. As a result, America repeatedly funds our strategic allies in peril with weapons, money, and military supplies to reduce the economic burden on their governments and preserve their independence, acting as an “arsenal of democracy”. In order to maintain stability in the nation while keeping international peace, America has spent around $520 million on its Peace Corps (PC) and pays for 28% of the bill for the UN Peacekeeping force. Additionally, in response to the current Russo-Ukraine War, the United States funded $19 billion since the start of the war, which is an overwhelming majority of funds sent to Ukraine internationally.
We wish to pass policies that propose an efficient way of promoting economic growth and sustainable development, and those that can benefit as many people as possible, including the minorities - not just simply the majority. We are willing to support policies that can provide solutions that are beneficial for the long-term, not just in a short amount of time. After all, economic growth and sustainable development aren’t just topics for the next 10 years, it’s something that we will be discussing beyond that time frame. Our children - the future generations - will also have to discuss these topics. Therefore, it is necessary to think of solutions that will help our world for as long as possible.
1. United States | Donor Tracker
2. $2.8 Billion in Additional U.S. Military Assistance for Ukraine and Its Neighbors - United States Department of State
3. Rising US dollar boomerangs on world economy by ballooning import costs and increasing global debt burden
4. 2022 Charitable Giving Statistics, Trends & Data: The Ultimate List of Charity Giving Stats | Nonprofits Source
5. USAID’s Economic Growth Policy | U.S. Agency for International Development
6. 87427.pdf (state.gov)
Writers Gia NinhDam, DoyunNah, EunseolJo, MaiNguyen, Yeonwoo Cho, GyuminKim, Ynna Buhisan
Maintaining a good balance between economic development and environmental sustainability is undeniably one of the keys to ensuring decent jobs and reducing the number of marginalized people suffering from the consequences by environmental constraints. Therefore, incentivizing the structural transformation towards a productiveeconomy thatincorporates eco-friendly policies will notonlyenhance the citizens’ living standards, but will also be a driving force for a more robust economy. In particular, it is urgent to ensure both concentration on the pillars of economics and environmental focus to satisfy the needs of the human factors while also sustaining the states’ natural resources and in turn reserving the assets for the nation’s future generation. Furthermore, at the institutional level, strategic orientation towards decontaminating the economy laid by the state’s government will well equip the society to be more adapted to the challenges rooted in a poor environmental status.
Youth is one of the most significant candidates in the current society that has the potential of influencing the global society into a better place. Youth, with its own voices and undeniable neutrality when it comes to prejudice, is capable of demanding for a change, or even making practical changes by itself. The world is in the brink between economic growth and sustainable development, and focusing on a single aspect would only lead to detrimental effects, as alternative technology and financial profits are in deep interrelation. Under multilateral cooperation, global leaders should search for a way to mutually provide and receive support among countries and to strive for a stable, balanced progress not limited to certain parts of the SDGs or a single country’s development, but referring to all of the 17 sustainable goals and a harmonious step-by-step progress of the entire world. As the next generation of leaders, the youth is now more empowered than ever to raise a voice that can be small but can ripple into millions of other voices.
The given agenda, in thissense, is worth discussion, forwithout a proper discussion the separation ofcountrieswouldcontinue, disturbingaunifiedpartnershiptowardsthecommongoalstheUnitedNations had set. Although multilateral compliance to a set goal is significant than ever, it cannot be achieved if the respective stances and situations of the countries are not considered, and thus brings the importance of proper communication and the willingness to take part in it. In this case, as the youth is engaged in this
conference and finding a way to solve the problems in the eyes of a country leader, the youth is thus empowered to know what it is like to take a step in negotiation, cooperation and discovery of practical solutions, further enhancing its step as future leaders.
We pledge to commit our abilities, hearts, and efforts to:
1. Raise awareness for the youth in each country through education so that they understand the significance of economic growth (both locally & globally). They will also know to contribute to it in the future
2. Visit LDCs and poor areas in order to understand what they need help with & support them in improving situations
3. Form partnerships & encourage collaboration between developed and developing countries through helping one another with balancing global economic growth
4. Investment in the local infrastructure in transforming the key systems of energy, transport, industry, cities and land
5. Support systems, technologies, information, knowledge and skills for inclusive social development
6. Increase public sector partnerships for institutional change, sharing standards and policy strategies to help those affected by economic losses or dislocation
7. Create private sector partnerships within nation groups and share the responsibility for intergenerational partnerships
8. Encourage donations from developed countries to developing countries to build reliable channels for large-scale finance and reach international financial collaboration
9. Invest in research and development (social and scientific) to support the works of people involved in crafting public policies and programs
10. Support all campaigns, projects and actions from each individual/organization that contributes towards global economic growth
11. Pass legislation in all scales that are in adherence to the achievement of the SDGs
We pledge to commit our abilities, efforts, and heart to:
1. Call upon individuals, groups, and nations to collectively work toward the achievement of sustainable development both domestically and internationally.
2. Emphasizes the need for collaborations for the SDG goals, especially the 17th SDG, regarding the partnership for the goals and taking into consideration its impact on the other SDGs.
3. Supports nations in maintaining reasonable resource consumption rates, and closely monitoring
the accordance of indicators.
4. Recommends nations to provide national and international education including contents about the 17 goals to raise awareness while reducing illiteracy rates.
5. Encourages nations to ensure decent work leading to the economic growth of a country, especially for marginalized or dismissed social groups.
6. Calls upon developed countries to continually provide financial aids in various areas to help promote sustainability in developing and underdeveloped countries.
7. Declares the need for nations to expand and create sectors that provide public services in health, education, and reduced hunger.
8. Educate LDCs on the impacts of Climate change and other affecting environmental factors that can negatively impact their lives.
9. Economic Goals can be integrated with SDG goals because one way to save money is to educate people on how to save their resources and efficiently use them (ex. saving water, less power consumption, less food waste, reduce reuse and recycle).
10. Promote the reduction of inequalities not only in developing and underdeveloped areas but also in developed powerhouses with the highest forms of inequality, racism, prejudice and sexism.
11. Achieve partnership and conduct joint research in order to develop an alternative, renewable energy source that can be publicized.
12. Suggests United Nation officials to invite leaders from developed, developing and underdeveloped countries to create a special group about implementing SDGs into their Nation's system.
13. Directs international organizations to maintain a firm position in anti-violence in order to promote peace by acting as a deterrent to armed conflicts.
14. Encourage a few LDCs to focus on their economy because they are impoverished, their biggest priority is to gain sufficient funds to help their nation combat hunger and poverty.
15. Encourage international leaders to look at policies that matter to their nation most.
16. Encourage national programs to eradicate poverty, inequality, racism, cyberbullying, bullying, sexism etc, especially among the youth of the nation.
Doyun Nah
St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju
Under the purpose of establishing a better world for tomorrow, the United Nations implemented 17 Sustainable Development Goals that covered various aspects regarding humanity and its environment. Goal 3 covers ‘Good Health and Well-Being’ in particular, and attempts to provide people regardless of but not limitedtoage, gender, ethnicityandfinancial statuswithhealth-related suppliesandinfrastructures, such as decent hospitals, sufficient medicines andvaccines as well inthe status quo. While the goal regards such various fields of study and practice, one of the most significant aspects regarding the issue is child and maternal health, for they determine the future for the upcoming generations, are especially vulnerable to health-related threats and are capable of re-circulating the economy.
First, without mothers, there are no children and without children, there is no future. Biologically, only the female sex is capable of producing infants. However, if the mothers’ health is not ensured and left vulnerable, the possibility of them having children is extremely low. The reason is that if the pregnant mothers have a serious illness or die during the process of delivery, their babies are also going to die or have health defects even if they survive. In other words, if maternal health is not properly kept safe, there is no future generation, for they would simply not be born or be born with physical or mental illnesses. In the status quo, the mothers are not guaranteed with their lives as they become pregnant, especially when it comes to mothers residing in developing nations. According to Concern Worldwide, inSouth Sudan, there are 1,150 maternal deaths for every 100,000 newborn infants. Even if the mothers successfully have children, though, children's health also has to be stressed because as they become adults, they have the potential to contribute to the economy as well as possible socio-economic problems. Therefore, in order to ensure a brighter future for the new generation, its population must be there in the first place.
Second, child and maternal health is not as well-protected as the rest of the society’s health. As mothers become pregnant, their bodies weaken, and they have to go through the risk of surgery when they finally deliver their babies. According to WHO, 75% of maternal mortality rates are severe bleeding or infections usually after childbirth, high blood pressure during pregnancy and processes of delivery or abortion. In the case of children, their lives are also threatened especially in developing countries. In such countries, infantsmayriskdeathintheirstageofdeliveryornotreceivepropernutritionsintheirbabyhood.
According to PubMed, infants’ major causes of death are complications in delivery and health defects that they are born with. They also risklow birthweight or are prematurely born as their mothers are not capable of fulfilling their basic needs or as their technologies of delivery are not as advanced as the developed countries. Being vulnerable to health threats does not mean that they should be neglected, but be put into greater focus and provided with more international awareness and support.
Third, mothers and children are necessary in order to re-circulate the economy. In the status quo, birth ratesof infantsare decreasing, butthe number ofelderly people are constantlyincreasing. Inthiscase, the economy faces a problem because elderly people are not capable of contributing to the economy to a considerable degree, for they cannot commit to hard physical labor or participate in projects that mostly the new generations can understand only. Even with these general drawbacks, mothers still hesitate to deliver babies. According to the Cerebral Palsy Lawyer, the reason behind mothers doing so is because of numerous health issues or the risks in deliveries, such as shoulder dystocia, macrosomia, cephalopelvic disproportion, maternal diabetes and labor dystocia. In these cases, the mothers’ safety is threatened and requires better technology in order to ensure their health, and moreover, their lives. The United Nations thus attempts to support the mothers in order to safely deliver their babies and develop the worldwide economy with a new generation of people.
In conclusion, Goal 3 especially stresses the importance of child and maternal health because they have the potential of contributing to the future economy, they are not protected when it comes to health threats and they are capable of balancing the age rangesand thus reinvigoratingthe economy. The practical benefits that mothers and children could provide to society in the long run outweighs the finances, policies and technologies that they require in the status quo. Not only with future benefits, but safety and health are crucial to every person in the world, and the call for help regarding the fulfillment of such a basic necessity should not be denied. It is the mothers and the children’s rights to properly receive health-related services and continue to get protected, and it is the global citizens’ duty to raise their voices for the well-being of the mothers and their children, the well-being of the global community.
In SDGs, or sustainable development goals, there are many types of goals that try tolead to a more sustainable world. Some of the goals are about health, peace, or human rights. SDGs 4 is about quality education. This goal is about the importance of education for making a more sustainable world. This goal is one of the most important goals that has interlinkages with other goals.
Goal of quality education is related to other goals since it is the starting point of every other goal. For every other goal to be accomplished, people should be aware of the importance of sustainable development and the future. Even though the government works hard for other sustainable goals, there is no use if people do not follow it. Even though the government makes many policies related to other sustainable development goals, people are just going to resist, if people do not know about the importance of sustainable development.
Also, by education, the worldcan bemuchmore stable.There are many crimes or problemscaused by lack of education. If education is provided more, people’s lives will be much more stable, which will decreasetheproblemscausedbylackofeducation, especiallycrimes. Aftertheworldbecomesmorestable, then there could be a time for the government to solve other problems and accomplish other SDG goals. I believe that nothing can be accomplished if the world is unstable. So, for the world’s stability, education should be provided widely.
Other co-benefits that could be provided by education could be jobs related to it. By increased education, jobs related to it can also be produced. Also, by increasing the level of education, the country's development will be facilitated. When people are more educated, people would be able to claim their own rightsand fight intherightwaywhenthere are unjustified policies. Then,the worldwouldbe abletoeasily, and fastly go in the correct direction.
For many different SDG goals, one of the most important goals is quality education. Education is the starting point of everything. Education should be provided for any other goal, since nothing can be accomplished in an unstable society without education.
Therefore, countries should provide education for everyone so that the country could develop more. Children, who get the education, are the members who will shape the future society.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 targets to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for the citizen at all ages, as further stated by the United Nation, this act “is essential to sustainable development” (Goal 3 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.). Specifically, SDG 3 seeks to contribute to sustainable development by addressing global improvements in child and maternal health, expanding life expectancy, and eliminating some of the most common and preventable death causes (Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being - SDG Tracker, n.d.). In this essay, the author will discuss why this goal particularly stresses on child and maternal health, on the focused elaboration of Target 3.1 “Reduce maternal mortality”, and Target 3.2 “End all preventable deaths under 5 years of age” (Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being - SDG Tracker, n.d.).
As defined by the World Health Organization, maternal health refers to “the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period” (Maternal Health - GLOBAL, 2019). Data shows that maternal mortality is almost too high. In 2017, approximately 295.000 women died during and after pregnancy and childbirth. The vast majority of these deaths, accounting for 94%, occurred in low-resource environments, and the most of them could have been managed to avoid (“Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000-2017,” 2021). Although maternal and child health lays profound influence on multilateral domains of human life, yet it is urgent for the whole society to pay more concentration in improving maternal and child health, for the betterment of us all.
First reason for that concern should be considered as the maternal health condition and mothers’ well-being is likely to determine the overall health of the coming (or yet-to-come) generation(s) and can either exacerbate or moderate future public health challenges for communities and even the whole health care system, domestically and globally (Maternal, Infant, and Child Health Workgroup - Healthy People 2030 | health.gov, n.d.). According to new research conducted by Harvard University, the mothers’ health is closely interrelated with the child’s health; therefore, ensuring the positive general health care progress for women before, during, and after their pregnancy will lay worthwhile impacts on strengthening the child’s well-being, or in this case, stepping the well-built foundation of all growth and development (Why Children’s Health Is the Foundation of Lifelong Health, 2020).
Second reasonable explanation for that is due to the tight interconnection between maternal health and child health. In particular, in research from Bennett et al. (2015), comprehensive improvement is a two-sided issue, which requires the hand-in-hand proper solutions to tackle, in short, maternal health should be guaranteed in order to ensure the healthy status of the child. Take maternal mental health for instance, as early as pregnancy, a woman's mental health can have a negative impact on her child. Depression and anxiety during pregnancy may result in irritable infants who are less able to respond to stress (Stress and Pregnancy, n.d.).
Furthermore, it would be incomplete without taking into account that the defective condition of maternal and child health might be rooted in deeper economical and social inequalities, as such ethnic and race discrimination or gender inequality (TED, 2019). For example, recent research shows that when compared to white women, black and American Indian and Alaska Native women have higher rates of pregnancy-related death (“Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them,” 2022). The same paper releases that disparities in health insurance coverage and access to care contribute to poorer maternal and infant health outcomes for people of color (“Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them,” 2022).
Not only that, deficient well-being among pregnant women and children may be driven by multilateralweaknessesintheinstitutional level ofgovernance. Inresearchfrom Ruiz-Canteroet al. (2019) analyzing the strength of the correlation between maternal mortality and each of the six components of governance, including government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption, voice and accountability, and political stability and absence of violence, concluded that the greater the governance, the lower maternal mortality, independently of a country's wealth. This implies that all governance dimensions are essential to guarantee robust cornerstones for global improvements in child and maternal health.
Accordingly, in order to better cope with the hindrance caused by poor healthcare services for maternal women and infants, suggested remedies should be considered to implement: women must be empowered, prepare refugee camps and be more concentrated on the most marginalized people, use integrated strategy, make contraception and safe abortions available, and importantly, incentivize the involvement of men (“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency,” n.d.).
All in all, the inefficiency in ensuring child andmaternal health can result in numerous detrimental complications for the economy and society. Also, the defective maternal and child health might be the signal ofmany forms ofinequalitiesinhuman life that are urgent to be addressed. Fortunately, themajority of maternal deaths are avoidable, as health-care solutions to prevent or manage complications are widely available (Maternal Mortality, 2019). Therefore, all women require high-quality care during pregnancy, as well as during and after childbirth; at the same time, all births should be attended by skilled health professionals, since timely management and treatment mean the difference between life and death for both the mother and the infants (Maternal Mortality, 2019).
Goal 3 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being - SDG Tracker. (n.d.). Our World in Data. https://sdg-tracker.org/good-health Maternal, Infant, and Child Health Workgroup - Healthy People 2030 | health.gov. (n.d.). https://health.gov/healthypeople/about/workgroups/maternal-infant-and-child-health-workgroup
Maternal health - GLOBAL. (2019, September 23). https://www.who.int/health-topics/maternal-health
Why Children’s Health is the Foundation of Lifelong Health. (2020, August 21). Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/deep-dives/lifelong-health/ Why Children’s Health is the Foundation of Lifelong Health. (2020, August 21). Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/deep-dives/lifelong-health/ Stress and pregnancy. (n.d.). March of Dimes. https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/pregnancy/stress-andpregnancy Bennett, I. M., Schott, W., Krutikova, S., & Behrman, J. R. (2015). Maternal mental health, and child growth and development, in four low-income and middle-income countries. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 70(2), 168–173. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2014-205311
TED. (2019, August 29). How we can improve maternal healthcare before, during and after pregnancy | Elizabeth Howell [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOySX6sE_8s
Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them. (2022, November 1). KFF https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-statusand-efforts-to-address-them/ Ruiz-Cantero, M. T., Guijarro-Garvi, M., Bean, D. R., Martínez-Riera, J. R., & Fernández-Sáez, J. (2019). Governance commitment to reduce maternal mortality. A political determinant beyond the wealth of the countries. Health &Amp; Place, 57, 313–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.012
Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000-2017. (2021, July 20). UNICEF DATA https://data.unicef.org/resources/trends-maternalmortality-2000-2017/ Maternal mortality. (2019, September 19). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. (n.d.). UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/57f3b9a74.pdf
Health and well-being can be similar to holistic health. Holistic health is the law of nature that states that a whole is made of interdependent parts such as the Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual well-being in which when one is not doing well, the other parts are also affected. Holistic health is more than just not being sick. It is to keep your body at the best possible well-being. Holistic health is affected by people’s lifestyle. Bad nutrition like alcohol, nicotine, drugs and lack of nutrients like lack of sleep, lack of exercise and lack of nutrients can also affect one’s health.
Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) is an action done by the United Nations to tackle one’s Good Health and Wellness. Why is it that this goal focuses mostly on the well-being of children and maternal health?
In my opinion, It is because of their immunity. Most young children who are yet to be vaccinated have weak immunity and are sometimes very sickly. Vaccination is one of the components of the UN. It is important for children to be vaccinated from a youngage. Year by year, thousand of thousands of young children die or are left with permanent disabilities from polio.
Accordingtoastudybyhealthprofessionals,Vaccinatedchildrentendtohaveastrongerimmunity and are less likely to get sick than unvaccinated kids. Another important component in staying healthy is by having a good diet. A good balanced meal boosts a person’s energy and help strengthen their immunity.
SDG 3 not only aims to help children have good health and well-being, but also focuses on maternal health. Maternal health is the term used for moms in pregnancy, labor and post-birth. Women tend to be weak during these times of periods which is why the UN focuses on this too.
Gandhi once said, “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” This quote emphasizes how precious health is, that we simply must try our best to maintain it. That being said, SDG number 3isdedicatedtothisarea and aimstoachieve universal healthcoverage & provide equitable access of healthcare services to everyone. However, this SDG also specifically stresses on child and maternal health. I believe that this is because children are the future generation. They are the ones who will define how the world turns out, they are the ones who make the decisions that either break or heal the alreadyflawed Earth we are living in. In my essay, I will talk about what’s so important about child & maternal health, and how improvement in these two areas indicates global development as a whole.
Before discussing why maternal & child health is so significant, I would like to establish what these two concepts mean. Firstly, maternal health, according to hitlab.org, is a term used to refer to the health of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum - which can last up to 15 months. This is extremely important because whether the mother takes care of herself (or is taken care of well) during this period of time will have an impact on not just her own wellbeing, but the child’s birth & development as well. According to the World Health Organization, in 2017, 295 thousand women died during or after pregnancy. As you can see, giving birth is a very risky but also important task that many mothers have to go through, and because of that maternal health is very important. Secondly, we have child health - which should be self-explanatory. It’s basically the health of a person from when they are born until they are 13 yearsofage, whichiswhenthey’reconsideredanadolescent. Thisisalsoimportant. AccordingtoUNICEF, in 2020, 5 million kids under the age of 5 died, meaning we lost 5 million bright minds that could have had the potential to help our world develop. Child health is dedicated to making sure that children are kept safe, that whatever disease or disorder they might have is detected as soon as possible, and a solution to mitigating its impact on the child’s growth is found.
Moving on to my first point - maternal & child health is critical to creating strong, healthy communities. Most communities where maternal & child health aren’t developed are in the low-resourced and poorer areas. What does this mean? This means that they do not have the ability to maintain basic healthcare for the mothers and the children in their communities, let alone have the ability to develop economically and socially. If areas like this are able to maintain maternal and child health - with the help of certain assistance programs, of course - they will be able to save many mothers and kids. And with healthy mothers and kids come healthy communities, changes and developments that may well pave the way to achieving global health. An amazing example of this is the Maternal Health Program implemented in Thomazeau, Haiti. Through this program, the maternal mortality rate has dropped by 70% since 2012. Mothers andtheir children now have anopportunity to live longer, to receive pregnancy and postnatal care,
to have access to routine medical checkups, medication and maternal health education. They have the opportunity to give back to their community, to contribute to its development, to make a positive impact on it, and to make it stronger and healthier as a whole. What does this example prove? This shows that strong & healthy communities rely on maternal and child health - maybe not completely, but this is a huge factor. And if we can have strong and healthy communities, we can work together to achieve even bigger things in the future.
My second point is that early child development affects children’s long-term health. Child health doesn’t just affect the first 13 years of a person’s life, it also goes on to impact them in later stages of their life. According tothe CDC, “how wella brain developsdepends on many factors in additionto genes, such as proper nutrition starting in pregnancy, exposure to toxins or infections, the child’s experiences with other people and the world.” This means that if the child’s health - including whatever medical issues, disorders or complications that they have - is affected, there is no guarantee that these problems will not affect them after they turn 13. Therefore, if doctors are able to detect any health issues in a child from a young age, it is imperative that they come up with viable solutions that can mitigate the impacts of those problems on the child’s growth as soon as possible. If they cannot do so, it may leave the child to face risk of more serious problems in the future, problems that are likely to be much harder to deal with. This shows how much early child development can affect kids’ long-term health, and thus proving child health’s importance.
Next, I will talk about how maternal health is a great indicator of global development. Women in remote areas withlimited finances are theleast likelytoreceive the necessary healthcare during pregnancy, especially for rural & remote regions. These areas are not only short on resources and funding, they’re also short in health workers. That means that even if they were to have proper facilities and enough medicine, they would still be unable to run those clinics and hospitals properly without skilled nurses and doctors. According to hitlab.org, most higher income countries benefit from having a trained health professional present at 90% of all births. In contrast to this, less than 50% of all births are supervised in lower income nations, contributing to many of the deaths that are accounted for during labor. However, it is also important to note that even in high-income countries, great inequalities exist in healthcare. For example, between 2011 and 2014, the maternal mortality rate for Black American women amounted to over three times that of white American women. Black women, research has shown, are more likely to be dismissed by doctors, have their symptoms belittled, or be refused pain medication. Because of this, the US government was called out by international human rights organizations around the world for not doing enough to keep its mothers from dying, and for not taking the necessary steps to diminish this problem. Some of the factors preventing women from receiving adequate care during pregnancy and childbirth are poverty, thelackoffacilities, racialinequality, poorqualityservices, andcultural beliefs& practices. These barriers must be identified and addressed in order to give societies the access to the quality maternal health services they require. A 2015 study, published in the journal of Global Health, concluded that “sustainable reduction in maternal mortality (as a development indicator) will depend on long-term planning for multifaceted development.” This means that maternal health relies on matters like reallocation of resources and improving governance, and only by dealing with them will women have better access to healthcare. Thus, we can see that maternal health clearly is an indicator of global development.
In this essay, I have discussed 2 reasons why maternal and child health is so important - its crucial role in building healthy communities & how these health areas will affect the wellbeing of a person for as long as their entire life. I’ve also talked about how improvement in these two areas can indicate global development. These three main points are why I believe SDG 3 was focused on maternal and child health, and I think the emphasis is well worth it, and should be something countries do not oversee and try their best to improve.
“How could a state be governed, or protected in its foreign relations if every individual remained free to obey or not to obey the law according to his private opinion.” More than four millennia have passed since Tomas Hobbs proposed this idea. Nevertheless, this is still a topic with various viewpointsin today’s world. It is an undeniable fact that the biggest crisis of the modern era is the unprecedented virus outbreak that led to approximately 6 million deaths over the globe. Millions of cases proved that, since the virus has highly infectious airborne transmission abilities, action must be taken to prevent this deadly disease from spreading. It was a natural response for authorities all over the world to implement variouslegislations that severely affect the lives of people. Such coping could be related to the debate of the primary solution between law and private opinion. Naturally, it has become controversial as a breach of civil liberty and freedom. Some believed that stricter policies, although they require temporarily yielding individual rights, are only the way to save lives and end the pandemic quickly. Disputation arose from simple questions such as whether it is ethical for officialdom to forcefully alter the way people live up to violent uprisings against mandatory vaccines. Obviously, tilting too much to either side surely is not a favorable solution. To elaborate, people and authorities must understand the factors that contribute to establishing a delicate balance between responsibility and civil rights.
To begin with, the biggest factor in promoting harmony between individuals and government is the protection of freedom, which is fundamental in democracy as is mentioned in various constitutions. In other words, when speech is oppressed or ignored by the government, the dictatorshipof authority is easily established. Since 2020, the Chinese government has enforced Zero-Covid policies, which can also be explained as a ‘complete blockade in a containment zone. Such strict legislation by China was criticized by citizens and scholars from all over the world. Surprisingly, the main point of criticism was not only about how strictly the law was enforced, but the Chinese government not listening to protests and suppressing anyone who opposes the law. As basic rights such as freedom of expression, movement, and pursuit of happinessare inhibited, authoritycan only beseen as anevil dictatortopeople whoare suffering. Paradoxically, the first step of the government is to promote balance by protecting what the constitution stands for and the entitlement its people have the right to enjoy.
However, the attitude of individuals and ordinary people also plays a big role in accomplishing an ideal society. To put it another way, citizens must also be willing to accept change and sometimes have to sacrifice their ordinary lives unless it directly violates human rights. To put it another way, when suggestionsor lawssuch aswearing masksor receivingvaccines were made by the governmentstoprevent the virus from spreading, the people must abide willingly not only for themselves but also for their community. Even when statistics prove that wearing masks can reduce the probability of infection by up to 85 percent, there were protests defying masks and vaccines. For instance, thousands of American citizens gathered in Washington opposing vaccines and masks. As America is one of the countries that the most number of people went against government suggestions, it had the most number of casualties, which is over one million deaths over the nation. Asmentionedabove, laws and solutions can turn useless without people’s cooperation.
The balance between authority and civil rights in situations of emergency is so delicate, it should constantly be debated upon and altered according to circumstances. As a result, the biggest factor and priority for a nation to take is to continually listen to the opinion of civilians and consider them when making policies. In many cases, one has to yield part oftheir plan for the greater good of all, and the government and individuals should be able to negotiate or at least make themselves clear to each other. To achieve this, some simple methods the government can use is to open websites or emails where people can send suggestions and current situations easily, hold regular meetings among officials where individuals can join, continually conduct surveys to gather people’s opinion and viewpoint on the topic, and more. Accordingly, the Republic of Korea held tens of debates and conferences for individuals or even youths to join in and present what they believe is right. Although not all suggestions were physically accomplished, it led to a surprising fluctuation in the results of various statistics compared to before Covid. According to research done by Hankook Research collaborating with Seoul National University, around 50 percent of participants answered that they gained more interest in politics and legislation through open sessions held by the government. On top of that, belief in the government and approval ratings rose dramatically, showing trust and expectation toward authorities.
Toput it allinanutshell,thebalancebetweenindividualrightsandthegovernment’sresponsibility cannot be achieved only by the effort of one person or organization. Rather, as it is a topic without an answer, continuous debate and discussion are necessary. As a citizen, one should be aware of what rights they have while having an understanding, caring mind. The government, on the other hand, should always be ready to listen and take into consideration the opinions of diverse people. Just as promoting peace and respecting democracy is everyone’s responsibility, people should always consider what is just for themselves, the community, and everyone.
https://www.voakorea.com/a/6409753.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/20/beijing-steps-up-covid-measures-as-cases-quadruple-during-key-ccp-congressmeeting
https://www.economist.com/china/2021/10/16/how-long-can-chinas-zero-covid-policy-last
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/29/face-masks-us-politics-coronavirus
https://www.sisain.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=42132
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
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