Anika Shahjabin (Tultul) :
As I gawked through the airplane window, I saw miniatures, planned to perfection, standing in small blocks. I landed on the munificent city of Busan, a city planned so perfectly, little did it seem that it was so archaic. After I had finished formalities, I found the organizers from APCEIU waiting for me just outside the airport .As soon as I reached the hotel, I congregated with other participants at the lobby. Next day, all of us were taken to the Geumjeong Cultural Center where the inauguration ceremony was held. The ceremony was presided over the mayor of Busan city and the chairman of APCEIU. On that very day, we met the Youth Advocacy Group of UN, one of them, Cheryl Perrera from Canada, shared her success story with us, how she identified and brought justice to hundreds of child sex workers. Motivated by her compassion and dedication towards a cause, the fifty of us then set the workshop agenda and learning objectives.
The workshop commenced through nerve wrecking discussions, debates and diplomacies, as it created room for each of us to flourish as youth advocates. Victoria Ibiwoye (Nigeria), Yong-June Park (Korea), BshrDayani (Syria) and Santiago Martinez (Columbia) arethe few remarkable youngsters who embody global citizenship, we got to meet and greet during the workshop. They facilitated revolutionary initiatives and campaigns in their respective communities, therefore, creating aa huge impact in the global arena. To deepen our knowledge of global citizenship, an interactive workshop was conducted by Dr. Francis D. Lee, from Princeton University. His workshop consisted of three major activities- speaking out to the mass, finding the center of universe and puppet game, each of them teaching the characteristics and value of leadership, as well as global citizenship in our day to day life.
The cultural night was one worth remembering, each of the participants wore their ethnic attires and performed . It was a platform to broaden our knowledge of other countries’ lifestyle, therefore open our minds to diversities. Representing Bangladesh in front of 49 other nations, I, for the first time, felt honored and proud of our culture and heritage. As the participants came to praise the ‘Jamdani’ saree I was wearing, they were awed after discovering it is entirely hand-woven. Participants were then divided into regions, me being in the Asia pacific regiona ;each region chose to work on separate agenda, the ultimate goal being ensuring education for all. The mandate of Asia pacific region’s problem tree, stakeholder analysis and action plan was- ” Inclusion of marginalized sectors”. Never did we feel that demography and cultural diversity amongst Asian countries would be such a hindrance towards reaching a consensus for a universal youth policy on global citizenship education.
The following day, we went to visit the Beumosa temple, located in the melancholic setting on hills.Keeping myself aloof, I looked out the window pane,the bus swirled through mountainous plains garnished with cherry blossoms and gusty spring air. Beumosa temple is one of the largest and oldest in korea, which preserves the body remains of Buddha. Each stone and monument of that temple had a story behind it, accompanied by a life lesson. After sight seeing, we were invited to have lunch with the head preist.
The luncheon was a life changing event for many , as it taught us punctuality, discipline, empathy and respect towards what we consume, only in one seating. I recall the preistsaying , ” when you look at a flower, you deem its beautiful. Bit it is what it is, its neither beautiful nor ugly, it is just how it looks. Your eyes and your mind decide whether something is good or bad. Similarly when you are in a situation in your life, it is upto you how you look at it. Your perspective towards that situation will eventually lead to either peace or conflict.”
On the last day, each region presented their action plans to the larger groups. A global youth policy was grafted according to the needs and solutions presented by each region. After the certificate giving ceremony, the organizers took us to Gukje market, a tourist destination and the biggest market in Korea, located in Hyundai city.
Each small group consisting of only four members, were given tasks to fulfill. Afterwards we went to visit the APEC house, where APEC conference was held in 2005. APEC house was built just beside the sea, in a secured environment. Each one of us were thrilled to stand and take snaps on the exact spot the wolrd leaders had embellished with their presence once. The farewell dinner was hosted by the mayor of Busan metropolitan city. The workshop brought together young leaders from different countries and promulgated their activities for a better and more literate world. I don’t know how much we can achieve from the final youth policy we had made, but I can surely say, it will make an impact if not a revolution. The mandate was to ensure global citizenship education for all, to create and integrate thousand more young leaders like us and the purpose was fulfilled to a great extent. Though it was time to bid farewell, we swore to meet again and collaborate our activites, for similar purpose. A month has passed since the workshop has ended, but each of us, enlightened by global citizenship education, went forth to make change, to be the change.
As I gawked through the airplane window, I saw miniatures, planned to perfection, standing in small blocks. I landed on the munificent city of Busan, a city planned so perfectly, little did it seem that it was so archaic. After I had finished formalities, I found the organizers from APCEIU waiting for me just outside the airport .As soon as I reached the hotel, I congregated with other participants at the lobby. Next day, all of us were taken to the Geumjeong Cultural Center where the inauguration ceremony was held. The ceremony was presided over the mayor of Busan city and the chairman of APCEIU. On that very day, we met the Youth Advocacy Group of UN, one of them, Cheryl Perrera from Canada, shared her success story with us, how she identified and brought justice to hundreds of child sex workers. Motivated by her compassion and dedication towards a cause, the fifty of us then set the workshop agenda and learning objectives.
The workshop commenced through nerve wrecking discussions, debates and diplomacies, as it created room for each of us to flourish as youth advocates. Victoria Ibiwoye (Nigeria), Yong-June Park (Korea), BshrDayani (Syria) and Santiago Martinez (Columbia) arethe few remarkable youngsters who embody global citizenship, we got to meet and greet during the workshop. They facilitated revolutionary initiatives and campaigns in their respective communities, therefore, creating aa huge impact in the global arena. To deepen our knowledge of global citizenship, an interactive workshop was conducted by Dr. Francis D. Lee, from Princeton University. His workshop consisted of three major activities- speaking out to the mass, finding the center of universe and puppet game, each of them teaching the characteristics and value of leadership, as well as global citizenship in our day to day life.
The cultural night was one worth remembering, each of the participants wore their ethnic attires and performed . It was a platform to broaden our knowledge of other countries’ lifestyle, therefore open our minds to diversities. Representing Bangladesh in front of 49 other nations, I, for the first time, felt honored and proud of our culture and heritage. As the participants came to praise the ‘Jamdani’ saree I was wearing, they were awed after discovering it is entirely hand-woven. Participants were then divided into regions, me being in the Asia pacific regiona ;each region chose to work on separate agenda, the ultimate goal being ensuring education for all. The mandate of Asia pacific region’s problem tree, stakeholder analysis and action plan was- ” Inclusion of marginalized sectors”. Never did we feel that demography and cultural diversity amongst Asian countries would be such a hindrance towards reaching a consensus for a universal youth policy on global citizenship education.
The following day, we went to visit the Beumosa temple, located in the melancholic setting on hills.Keeping myself aloof, I looked out the window pane,the bus swirled through mountainous plains garnished with cherry blossoms and gusty spring air. Beumosa temple is one of the largest and oldest in korea, which preserves the body remains of Buddha. Each stone and monument of that temple had a story behind it, accompanied by a life lesson. After sight seeing, we were invited to have lunch with the head preist.
The luncheon was a life changing event for many , as it taught us punctuality, discipline, empathy and respect towards what we consume, only in one seating. I recall the preistsaying , ” when you look at a flower, you deem its beautiful. Bit it is what it is, its neither beautiful nor ugly, it is just how it looks. Your eyes and your mind decide whether something is good or bad. Similarly when you are in a situation in your life, it is upto you how you look at it. Your perspective towards that situation will eventually lead to either peace or conflict.”
On the last day, each region presented their action plans to the larger groups. A global youth policy was grafted according to the needs and solutions presented by each region. After the certificate giving ceremony, the organizers took us to Gukje market, a tourist destination and the biggest market in Korea, located in Hyundai city.
Each small group consisting of only four members, were given tasks to fulfill. Afterwards we went to visit the APEC house, where APEC conference was held in 2005. APEC house was built just beside the sea, in a secured environment. Each one of us were thrilled to stand and take snaps on the exact spot the wolrd leaders had embellished with their presence once. The farewell dinner was hosted by the mayor of Busan metropolitan city. The workshop brought together young leaders from different countries and promulgated their activities for a better and more literate world. I don’t know how much we can achieve from the final youth policy we had made, but I can surely say, it will make an impact if not a revolution. The mandate was to ensure global citizenship education for all, to create and integrate thousand more young leaders like us and the purpose was fulfilled to a great extent. Though it was time to bid farewell, we swore to meet again and collaborate our activites, for similar purpose. A month has passed since the workshop has ended, but each of us, enlightened by global citizenship education, went forth to make change, to be the change.
(UN Secretary Gendral’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (UNESCO MGIEP) selected Anika Shahjabin (Tultul), a student of IBA, Dhaka University from Bangladesh amongst other 50Youth Leaders from the UN Member Countries for the “Global Youth Advocacy” Workshop on Global Citizenship Education. Anika Shahjabin attended the workshop held in Busan City, South Korea from 30 March-05 April 2015 who represented Bangladesh as a Youth Ambassador.)
