Malaysia SDG Youth Summit (6/11/2021)

For the first time in history, Malaysia hosts its first SDG Youth Summit. I have heard and attended the Youth Summit last two months or back. It was hosted by the US, the timezone can be a little overwhelmed, with a 12 to 13 hours difference. 

How did I get to be a part of this team? As always, I was scrolling through Instagram like any other day. I saw my friend Marsya, posting that Malaysia was going to hold the first-ever SDG Youth Summit and they needed volunteers to help out with the event. Without any hesitation, I signed up for the event. On 16 October, we gathered for the first time to have a meeting. When Zoel asked who would like to be emcees for the event, I raised my hand virtually. After that, we were broken up into breakout rooms. 

The following week was to delegate which room we were going to take on as emcees. At the same time, I was in another role - proofreading for the e-program handbook. I stayed in the main room for a while before going into the emcee room. All of us have to at least attend a rehearsal before the big day. I was absent on 30 Oct, as I was attending an online Buddhism camp, I missed that out. 

Four days before the event, my emcee partner - Hanim and I started to write our emcee scripts. The next day, we had a final rehearsal. The day of the Malaysia SDG Youth Summit has arrived, everyone is dressed in their best. An hour or two before the event, we have a final briefing for the emcees. Faiq even joked that his parents thought he was going somewhere. We're all in places, off we go to our respective rooms. 

One of our speakers, Clarance from the Scout Association Malaysia dropped by our room. We did ask him anything there is needed to attend to. He says nothing is needed. After the opening ceremony, the participants started to come in. The room that Hanim and I were in was Room 9: Engaging Youth in SDGs by the Youths. With the signal from Melody, I started by welcoming all of the participants and speakers to the summit. 

The first two speakers were Theodore Clarance and Puteri Faten about localising Sustainable Development in the Malaysian Scouts community as well as Sharan and Cikgu Royson on implementing the SDGs as global citizens and in schools respectively. 

Finally, we had a special intervention from the RCE Panel. They praised us for being the first ever batch of youths for hosting the SDG Youth Summit at a national level. The good news is we are going to have another SDG Youth Summit in the first half of 2022! I hope it would be a physical event that time around. 

Thank you to everyone! Especially the emcee department, my partner for room nine, Hamim and of course the Summit Director - Ms Zoel Ng herself for leading the team. This is Kar Marn from the Malaysia SDG Youth Summit singing off!  

First Movers Workshop: Introduction to SDGs (8/10/2021-9/10/2021)

 I have been a Movers participant since May, and have been attending Movers Workshop to explore each of the SDG. Before we move further into the topic, I'll let you know what Movers is. Movers is a youth group under Youth Co: Lab and UNDP to gather like-minded from over Asia-Pacific to share on topics we are really passionate about such as mental health, climate change and education just to name a few. 

The workshops I have attended with the Movers are World We Want, Leadership, SDG 5: Gender Equality (Chinese version), SDG 13: Climate Actions and Storytelling (Chinese version). I did host one with my fellow Movers Yudhish back in August with Penggerak Belia Subang Jaya (PEBS) when talked about SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 13: Climate Actions respectively. 

This time instead of focusing on one of the 17 goals, we are focusing on all of them! I know it is going to be overwhelming for some of us but if we want to know what are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are, this is the first step to know them all. I have an amazing mentor, Kay, he is mentoring Nisha, Piashi from Bangladesh and Sagar from Nepal as well as me. 

As with any first-time hosting, a rehearsal was done to make sure everything was smooth. We did two rehearsals - one week and a day before the event. Getting people to join is one of the most challenging parts when we are hosting any virtual events. Luckily for me, I have a Movers Facebook group chat some of them I am closed to in the Movers community. I asked for their help whether they can come on board for my first-ever workshop as an Aspiring Mover. 

On the day of the event, a small number of people turn up which is expected when we are hosting any first workshop. I'm not worried about that, rather the responsiveness of the participants who attended the workshop. Luckily, Nisha and Piashi are on standby so they can jump in anytime if no one wanted to respond to any of the questions. 

After I have done presenting my first part of the introduction of the SDGs, I pass it on to Sagar who will be presenting on the second half of it. It turns out well! However, on the second day, which is on SDGs in Entrepreneurship. Again, we are under a number of people. I hop in for the first half of the session and had to leave for the second half because I'm attending another online event. 

This is the beginning of my Movers journey. I hope to host more Movers Workshops in the future! Catch up on more moving events by following our social media below: 

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MNMUN Casual Series (25/9/2021-26/9/2021)

 It is back to where my passion for Model United Nations (MUN) began - Malaysia National Model United Nations (MNMUN), we are back again after being on hiatus for a year. For the first time ever, we are going into a different approach, let's just say casually. The casual series is for newcomers and veterans in the MUN scene to have fun and chill out. 

Usually, I would be one of the delegates but this time I decide to switch my role by becoming one of the secretariats. In every pre-MUN conference whether casual or not, preparation is everything! From drafting email templates to sending out emails to preparing the rules of procedure (ROP). The deadline was super tight for the whole team, yikes! 

Since this is a casual series, the delegates don't need to prepare a position paper (PP). All they need to do is research on the topics that are given and debate on the casual series day itself. On the day of the casual series, our opening ceremony is quite chill too! With speeches from the chairs - Hoh Shan and Winnie as well as from the MNMUN secretariats, let's kick off day one of the MNMUN casual series! 

As with any MUN conference, we have implant delegates coming in to spice up debate. I'm almost forced to be an implant delegate to spice up debate but I made my decision that my last MUN, I'm just going to chill. After some consulting with the team, it is best for me to chill and relax, and standby anytime if the delegates need help with some technical issues. 

The challenge in every online conference, we will face technical issues from microphone to internet connection. Always make sure we have all working devices and check before two to three days before the conference. 

On day two and the final day of the casual series, we decide to go on crisis mode in the last session. Crisis councils are big hits in MUN conferences, they are the first ones to be fully signed up. If you're a newcomer and want to try out crisis councils, you can! It will be overwhelming! 

I can't keep my composure at one point in the conference because some of the secretariats switch their roles because they have impressive names. Not sure about my other teammates but I'm laughing inside really hard, and luckily I'm muted. 

Alas, the resolution passes! While waiting for the "news reporters" to settle the story of the crisis. The veterans give some tips and advice to the newcomers in the scene. Always do some research before the conference.  We'll be lost during the debate, but for my first ever MUN conference, I didn't talk much. More of observing and listening. 

Here are some of my personal tips for the newcomers in the MUN scene: 

1. Have the passion and have fun 
2. Listen to rule no. 1 
3. An award or not, it's all about the experience 
4. Explore MUN councils, see which fits you the best 
5. Be kind, humble and diplomatic 

Well, there we have it! One bang on the gavel and the MNMUN casual series is officially done! This marks the end of my MUN journey! When I first joined MUN, the goal was to represent Malaysia at the ECOSOC Youth Forum at the real UN one day, shining a light on mental health, fighting the rights of special needs etc. These are the goals I was aiming for when I stepped in and hoping to be heard one day. 

What is my biggest achievement in MUN? It's definitely attending the virtual ECOSOC Youth Forum in April earlier this year. With MUN, we can be involved in some NGOs. For instance, I'm currently in the Southeast Asia Global Affairs Network (SEAGAN) as well as Malaysia Youth Association for Diplomacy and Policy (MYADP). Even though I'm not in the international relations field, I can use my communication skills to spread the message. 

This is Kar Marn, secretariat team member of the MNMUN casual series, officially signing off from MUN! 

马佛青甲州联委会：线上佛青之夜 2021（25/9/2021）

 过去的佛青之夜，我会从吉隆坡回马六甲家乡到家喻户晓的文化街出席此活动。在新常态下，我们只是要一台电脑或手机，还有稳定的网络线路就可以观赏任何的直播而今年的马佛青之夜也不例外。出席马六甲武吉波浪佛学会线上中秋晚会，我又打开手机收看正在直播的佛青之夜。

如果没有疫情的话，我和马六甲唱享6度的歌手伙伴们会在场所练歌，我们或许站在熟悉舞台展现我们的歌声给大家听。法师们为大家开示后，我们进入第一个表演由马六甲武吉波浪佛学会青年组为大家呈现的《让爱传出去》手语表演。我还记得那时在去年最后一堂的佛学班录制，我转身为老师来教学他们呢。在影片播出当中，出现我们在实体佛学班的点滴，心里想：到底我们再有机会回去佛学会上实体课呢？

接下来就是一群可爱的小朋友为大家呈现《青春幼苗》的舞蹈表演，在线上卫塞节前夕倒数活动他们哦！而在每个表演后，屏幕会出现一系列的猜灯谜让在看着直播的观众有赢奖品的机会哦！另外，我们有话剧表演—— 《疫情下的无名英雄》提醒大家在这非常时期，时时刻刻要遵守防疫标准作业程序，以免病毒扩散。马六甲佛教联谊会青年组，为大家呈现《听我说谢谢你》手与表演。

在最后一场表演出场时，又有一题的灯谜让大家猜测，主持人—— 亿濠和学莉宣布下一组的表演者—— 马六甲唱享6度为大家呈现的翻唱作品—— 《我们的月亮一定圆》。当我看到自己出现在屏幕时，心理开心不已！以前我是在观众席位看他们唱歌，现在成了唱享6度的一份子，到我和歌手伙伴们一起唱歌！劭建和维肯都把画面拍下来。续了表演，现在进行国庆日拍摄比赛线上颁奖典礼。

在播放马佛青的主题曲，线上之夜正式来到尾声！虽然中秋在9月21日已经过了，还是要祝大家中秋节快乐！愿合家团圆！疫情把我们分开，心中的团圆一定有在！

希望明年的佛青之夜，可以到熟悉的舞台见大家一面！大家好，我是马六甲唱享6度歌手的Katelyn陈袈文！错过直播的朋友，可以到马佛青甲州联委会的面子书专页或YouTube 频道观看哦！

EOSMUN 2021 (17/9/2021-19/9/2021)

 A day after Malaysia Day, EOSMUN is back on the road, online that is. This time I'm delegating as the United States of America under the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the last EOSMUN was held two years ago on the ground. I was delegated to the same council too! I  was delegating as Bahrain. 

As with any MUN online conference, the opening ceremony was held on zoom and the secretariat team made it into a newsroom, I totally loved it! After that, we were "moved" to our respective councils on discord - a go-to platform for MUN conferences in Malaysia. To break the ice, we went through a round of introduction, I'm the oldest in the council while everyone is still in their teens. I felt old! I thought: Should I back off to let the newcomers take over? Well, that is not for me to decide because I have some plans up in my sleeves. We'll know at the very end. 

The first day was really chilled, we did lobbying. For your information, lobbying is like discussing with our fellow delegates and forming blocs to discuss the topics. The action will come in on the second day which we will see in physical conferences whereas in virtual conferences like these, just by listening to the delegates, we could feel the energy coming from the other side of the computer. 

On the second day, unfortunately, I had to miss the second half because I had another event that was previously scheduled. I managed to get all the juicy news from my fellow delegates on the latest progress. The delegate of the UK was getting stronger than ever! The delegates of Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands all came together to plan our next move. 

The delegate UK decided to leave us behind and join the other bloc, which was fine by me. This is my go-to rule when it comes to MUN conferences - always follow the policy of the country we are delegated as unless we are in a crisis council, we can go beyond that, always remember to keep the diplomacy in hand. 

In conferences, I helped the chairs indirectly with the ROPs which eased their roles a little, maybe? In MUN, we always address ourselves in a third person form, for example, "this delegate... or "the delegate of the USA thinks..." unless you're in a youth council representing ourselves, we can use first-person pronouns like "I" or "me" - that would be acceptable. Back to the conference, we managed to end a council session early because we passed the draft resolution! 

During the closing ceremony, the UNHRC was up first. I didn't expect to get my third major award - Honourable Mention. If I were to get an award, I was expecting to maintain as Most Diplomatic, that award went to the delegate of Germany. Anyway, an award or not, the most importantly in MUN is all about the fun and the message that we want to bring to the world. Speaking of fun, I did a couple of Tik Tok videos to document the three-day conference, the EOSMUN team loved it! 

Thank you EOSMUN team, well done and keep it up! A huge thank you to all the delegates in the UNHRC, especially the chair and co-chair Joshua and Muneer for making the council comfortable and smooth. This is Kar Marn, the delegate of the USA from UNHRC, signing off!

My final MUN will be at MNMUN casual series. What are the roles I'm handling next time? Stick around to find out. 

For more EOSMUN details, head over to their IG: @eosmunkl 

MMU Melaka Buddhist Society B-Camp (28/8/2021-29/8/2021)

 自从参与线上青年佛学营，都是以全国为主，想说如果有一天可以参与家乡举办的佛学营会是什么样的体验呢？当我在刷面子书，看到园盛的个人照底下写着《B-Camp 解忧市集》线上生活营由马六甲多媒体大学佛学会举办。看了之后，我点击链接进去报名。第一次参加家乡的佛学营，心里很期待！

线上B-Camp 的两、三天，我们往常会被分去不同的组。这一次，我被安排到持戒组。到底这些由什么有意义呢？等下大家就会知道咯！在线上营当天，筹委团队为大家解说组别的意义。还记得的持戒吗？是的，它是五戒的意思就是不杀生、不偷盗、不妄语、不邪淫、不饮酒；持戒是六度之以。 另外，我们还有布施、精进、忍辱、禅定以及般若。每次提起六度，我马上联想到目前担任的歌团—— 马六甲唱享六度团队，我是歌手之一！嘿嘿！

每个佛学营，第一堂课会是礼佛。在佛教里我们有三个分别南传、北传和藏传。在我国大马，我们修的是北传或南传。让我有涨知识一点是原来中间坐垫是给主持的法师用的！难怪，我们进佛堂礼佛时候都会鼓励用旁边的坐垫。之后，我们被分去小组进行破冰环节。这让我想起在第一次参与线上佛学营，我们也要对方。当时我画的是捷盈，这一次我画是嘉洋。大家也知道组员们长什么样子，我们回去与其他营员集合。上佛学班啦！

这一次的佛学班是《四谛法》或大家熟悉的《四圣帝》—— 佛陀成道后第一次为桥陈如等五人在鹿野苑说法。《四圣谛》是苦、集、灭、道。正好，我在为来临的全国佛教考试复习。所有课程要完成，唯独《四圣谛》还没有动到。我们很荣幸可以邀请宗平法师为我们解说该课题。

大家再被分去小组来讨论首两个的《四圣谛》—— 苦和集。苦谛是是生命察觉、认清痛苦。每次听长辈们说，我们人生下来是要受苦。是真的吗？大家有对这句有想法或意见可以在评论区留言哦！我们人必定要经过生老病死，逃不了。苦也有坏苦、苦苦和行苦。

集谛则是情绪的运作，痛苦从因缘而生。集谛有另一点是面对情绪，怎么说呢？我们人类为自己的利益，而产生自我的现象，关心自己没意识到他人的情绪。所以们要保持觉知，并且在每一个语言、思维和动作种下美好的因缘。

在副题环节《幸福》，大家的手上有 “一百万” 令吉在手。主讲老师会以 “拍卖” 的方式给一个词汇。过程中，我们还可以 “借钱”。之后，我们再分到小组讨论。在营队一定有派任务的，而我们的任务以最创意的方式来呈现佛曲，隔天要在呈现环节展现成品。

第二天早上，在营队开始之前，我赶快把任务完成。旁白和录影在最短时间内完成，幸好在早课之前完成，休息时间把成品呈交。全国佛教考试总复习在佛学班同时碰上，只好去考试总复习，还剩下两天要应考了。当我回来时候，大家在讨论课堂的总呈现。持戒组是以话剧来呈现两天的课堂内容。

晚上时候，我还有另一个线上活动要出席。出席一个小时，组员要我回来因为佛曲呈现环节要到了！我们呈现是生命中的朋友第二专辑的《微笑》，在最后一段，大家一起唱吧！

颁奖时间到！营队还有颁奖啊？第一次知道呢！“最佳男营员” 落在李浩良来自精进组！“最佳女营员”会是谁呢？当自己的名字出现屏幕上，不知道如何反应过来。 从来没想过自己会是该营的 “最佳女营员” ！谢谢  B-Camp 的筹委团队！特别是我的持戒组，谢谢你们！也谢谢大家！愿大家在学佛路上见，阿弥陀佛！

全国大专佛教青年生活营36：《佛法与人生》

 续全国私立大专举办的《心经的智慧》线上生活营后，觉得很好玩！想要再参与类似的全营多一次。然而，该全营结束后，发现自己的心里有点不踏实。好像失去了方向，不知道要往哪里，有点迷茫的感觉。我决定给自己一个月的休息，看看能够找到心里的答案。

当我在刷社交媒体时候，《佛法与人生》线上生活营，又是一个全营啊！正好我在思考人生，说不定它可以给我一个答案？我毫不犹豫报名参加全营。令我更开心的，好友—— 嘉娣也来参与！全营的前几天收到筹委团的电邮，我立马点击小册子看我是哪个组别，我被安排在大雄力组。而在营队的第一天被选上组长，心里想：“我有能力吗？” 既然组员们选上我，我会全力以赴照顾所有的组员。

我们组长、班长和筹委团被安排在另一个群聊。在选副题环节时候，至少要有一个组长来担任主持人。我看到《真善美的旋律》时，一定要当该副题的主持人因为我也是一名佛曲歌手来自马六甲唱享六度团队! 两年前，我有主持过《生命中的朋友》的十周年校园宣传活动在大学。在活动开始之前，我到测试的 “小房间” 和嘉宾们见一面，看哪个地方须要调整。

调整之后，第一个副题环节正式开始啦！每位歌手分享各自的经历和故事，佛法如何帮助他们在疫情里度过难关。当然，少不了歌唱环节！结束之前，我还唱两句的《心圆满》，我们已经听了男生版本，就来个女生版本吧！副题环节后，大家有个小休准备今晚的第一个静坐课堂。静坐，相信对大家，尤其是初学者有一定的挑战。我无数次关掉摄像头，这样我能够集中精神，可是监香老师又要求我打开。

我们再次被分去小组让监香们去指导我们不足的地方。监香说我的身体有点僵硬，难免也会啦！毕竟是第一次嘛！我们回到 “主房” 让师父和营员对静坐有所的疑问。之后，我们回到小组写心得报告。

在第二个星期之前，我们有个复习环节，消化一个星期的课程。到了第二星期，家里二度停电。第一次是闪电的缘故，第二次则是家里的电器系统出了问题。我在副题环节，我须要用手机的讯号来上课。第二个星期的前几天，我接种第二剂的新冠疫苗，出现一些副作用——头晕，无法在第二堂的静坐课集中精神。反而监香老师建议我修动中修。动中修？组员们在静坐时候，我把注意力放在抱枕。这是动中修吗？

为了制造一些神秘感，大雄力组设定《天使与主人》的游戏。我的天使，他有时 “偷懒” 。心里想：“不知道他的老板会什么反应呢？” 我们往常还是有多一轮的温习时间。到了第三个星期，我在休息时间会去看天使给我的留言，真的让我哭笑不得！两个字我可以给我天使 —— 幽默。 我们有个 “交换礼物” 给自己的主人。而我给主人的是不一样的礼物！是什么呢？不告诉你！嘿嘿！

我们互相猜自己的天使。第一次竟然把自己的天使给猜错！过去的两个类似游戏，我猜对我的天使。大家在玩的时候，我过去其他的小组打个招呼。回来自己的小组，组员们在玩《咖啡或茶》还有一起看新闻，轻松接轨每一天在 《新闻报报看》。虽然我有点内疚，让大家一起陪我看新闻。希望组员们不要介意啦！

三个星期《佛法与人生》的线上全营正式落幕！我不知道几时再见面，心里知道在学佛路上会再次和大家重逢。感谢佛祖！阿弥陀佛！

The Star R. AGE #StandTogether SEA Zoom Party (31/7/2021)

 It's been five months since the #StandTogether expanded its kindness to the Southeast Asia region. Now we are back for a zoom party! Before I proceed with the details, let us have a memory refresher on what #StandTogether is. #StandTogether is a kindness campaign by Star Media Group's (SMG) investigation journalist team - R. AGE, to spread kindness and empathy in our communities and schools. 

I was in a middle of an online Buddhist youth camp. I took some time off from the camp and quietly sneaked into the party. I did accept the email invitation by the #StandTogether team, but I guessed it was good to make a surprise appearance. After Ian was finished, I unmuted my microphone to give a quick hello to the kindness leaders who were at the party. I could see the surprise on their faces. Whenever we are in a kindness workshop or a kindness zoom party, the breakout rooms are always my favourite because we get to know other kindness leaders. 

This time, it was finding the three common points that we have in our respective groups. For my group, we had a little struggle in the beginning as we were trying to figure out what do we have in common. Pinya, from Thailand, pointed out that we were all girls, the second point was we were from Southeast Asia and the last point, we all loved Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon. After that, we went back to the main room to share the three points. 

We had a mini sharing session from four SEA countries, Kaveesha representing Malaysia, Chris representing the Philippines, Jun Shan representing Brunei and Neerzara representing Indonesia. Each of the kindness leaders shared their experiences how the campaign helped them to spread kindness in their communities and even conducting their own kindness workshops. I thought "Maybe I should do one too someday". I can't do this alone, need some help with fellow kindness leaders. 

In the middle of the sharing session, the news came in that our badminton men's doubles - Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik delivered the first-ever medal at the Tokyo Olympics - it's a bronze! Yeah, I was in the Olympics mood, I'm sure we all were. 

The party ended with a group picture and a jam board for us to put in our ideas in the next kindness workshop or zoom party. It was time for me to head back to the online camp! Looking forward to more kindness events. For more kindness information, follow #StandTogether's official social media pages. 

FB: StandTogether  

IG: @standtogethermy 

全国私立大专佛教全营：心经的智慧（2/7/2021-4/7/2021）

 “佛教全营” —— 这四个字对我来说，很遥远却很靠近。在疫情之前，就这样错过一次又一次的全营。这一次，绝对不会错过！在营长—— 姵京的鼓励下，于是报名参与第六届全国私立大专全营之《心经的智慧》。

全营的第一天，营员登入Zoom平台 “报到”，全营团队为大家简报这三天的流程以及规则。团康团队给营员们一个小小的任务，就是《小菩萨与守护神》。这活动让我想起大学的活动《Angel and Master》—— 以电邮方式来守护对方或被守护。之后，营员们被派到各自的小组进行在破冰环节。我是在利行组。

在利行组组长—— 康进和蕰莉的领导下破冰，互相认识对方。在全营的前几天，有答应他们要唱一首歌给他们听，唱一小段的《佛法的力量》。在上课程（一）一半时候，晚餐捧到自己的面前，关了摄像机一阵子。心里有点内疚，但是有在听课。课程（一）结束后，大家再次回到小组进行讨论。我记录不多，也是从组员们分享，再加上笔记。晚课，我们念诵华文版的《慈经》，也回向给所有的众生；希望疫情可以早日脱离人间，让我们回归正常生活。

第二天，大家早起出席早课。在早课的十分钟，捷盈还贴心拨电话过来问我是否已经起身了。我们以往会向佛和师父问讯，早课开始啦！原来早课是念诵《心经》、《普贤十大愿》、回向等等。副课话环节可说是有趣的话题—— 《鬼》，如何在佛教的角度看待呢？有一个小总结就是：知道鬼神的存在，互相尊重就不会惹祸上身。在团康环节，第一个联想到是：会不会跳舞啊？或者唱歌？原来动动脑筋来猜猜佛法！可是挑战的是我们完成在特定的游戏站就可以得到一个提示，猜出佛法。利行组是猜到不贪，是十善中的意，“贪” 也是三毒中的 “贪、嗔、痴” 

继续探讨《心经》的内容在课程（二）。在 “空” 的部分，其实不是 “空空洞洞什么也没有”，“空” 是肯定一切存在之存在的，否定有个永恒不变的实体。它是流动的组合。在小组讨论，我们对 ”空“ 有所的疑问，我把所记录的笔记念出来与组员们分享。利和同均嘛！我想也是利行的含义之一吧？

最后一天，可以说是法喜充满一整天。早上时段须要离营一阵子，因为有任务在身—— 教家乡的儿童佛学班；午休时候，再去上家乡的青年佛学班。上完之后，马上 “回营”。师父再给予各组总呈现的评语。我们再次分到各组时候，我们猜着谁是小菩萨和守护神。时间只是五分钟，我们回去 “大厅” 听师父的叮咛。

最大的福利是可以回到各自小组继续互相猜猜小菩萨和守护神。三天的全营短暂，可我们都打成一片了！我的守护神—— 欣仪，都成了姐妹！利行组组员们成了彼此的法侣，希望在学佛的路上可以互相知道彼此。

感谢《心经的智慧》团队，辛苦大家啦！感谢佛祖让我在疫情下参与人生的第一个线上佛教青年全营！愿大家在学佛路上继续走下去，弘扬佛法！

University Nottingham Malaysia Campus MUN 2021: Champions Cup (19/6/2021-20/6/2021 & 25/6/2021-27/6/2021)

 I thought I would hit the 20th MUN conference milestone at Champions Cup 2021 but NightMUN weekend took over the spot, it's okay! First day Champions Cup is quite relaxed, we have games such as the Scavenger Hunt, Sports Tournament and Spy Game. Due to special needs, I only managed to join two out of the three games. I think the Scavenger Hunt is a favourite in my list. Although, I didn't join the Sports Tournament, I heard some of the delegates didn't end up well after that. Ouch, that's harsh! Guess we all need to pump all that muscles despite being in full MCO. 

On the second day, let the brain power begin! I'm in the ECOSOC council once more, delegating as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We have two topics to discuss on:

1. Regulation of Cryptocurrency 
2. Finance and Development of Sustainable Energy in Developing Countries 

As always before formal debate, we are given the primary speakers list for delegates in this council to set which topic we are going to debate on. Although, my personal preference is Topic B, everyone is on Topic A. We still have time for the second topic, if we managed to get the first topic done. For the third session of the conference, it's not debate but the team invited a guest speaker from UNMC - Dr. Andrew Silva to share his experience working in the UN. I did ask a lot of questions, especially on how to get youths to talk about mental health. 

Unfortunately, I didn't stay long because I have a Sunday class to attend. After the a long day of debating, it's time to kick back relax and go on a (virtual) holiday with Global Village. I think out of the three presentations, I love the Kenyan delegation, which really take us on a virtual holiday. We all miss travelling! Hopefully, after the pandemic, we can travel like we used to. 

To make our council interesting and stimulate our brains, Eiman has this idea of making our council into a crisis council but it's the ECOSOC version. I have to admit that crisis is not my best form in MUN conferences but it is worth a shot. At one point, Eiman played as the fictional prince in our council and Angus acts as a advisory to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

The draft resolution  has some acronyms that we would use in daily conversations but personally, I wouldn't recommend to put them, really. Here's a tip please use proper acronyms when writing draft resolutions. Again, I'm off to Sunday class. By the time I came back, I heard the delegate of France commits a fictional murder, which this delegate would not accept at all! She is one revengeful delegate in character! Please do not commit any of the actions above. Diplomacy and peace are the keys in a council, unless we wanna have conspiracy, please, go to a crisis council - where we can fictionally plot any plans. 

We headed to the crisis council- which has some intense discussion, it is, because we know crisis! How I wish they could play the running away music background as what we did in NightMUN weekend council.  I'm hopping on and off the channel to listen the discussion they have in council. 

I can say Champions Cup 2021 is not our traditional MUN. Although, there is some confusion in between prior to the conference, overall the team has done an amazing job to make this first ever virtual Champions Cup a success! Kudos to Yun Ni (Winnie) and team! Not forgetting my fellow delegates in the ECOSOC council and to our honourable chair and co-chair, Eiman and Jesse! 

This is Kar Marn, delegate of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from ECOSOC, signing off! 

Sunway Virtual Intercultural Project: Reitaku University Japan (24/6/2021)

 After an experience with the students from Petra Christian University Indonesia last month, now it's time to "pack" and "fly" to the land of the rising sun with the students of Reitaku University Japan. Okay, I'm not an up riser, but I have to. Luckily, I'm a morning person - which is a good thing. After breakfast, it's time to turn up the computer, log into the Zoom room and let's go to Japan (virtually).

Ms Joey - the coordinator for today's virtual intercultural project. First off we start off by welcoming the students to Malaysia (virtually) since we are the host for this project. I'm impressed with Ms Joey's Jaapnese skills. We showed the students of Reitaku University why Sunway campus is the #MostHappeningCampus, and in turn, they show theirs. 

We are broken up into breakout rooms for the Malaysian and Japanese students to meet. First off, the Japanese students show us a dessert - kakigoori, which is eaten during the summer - which is right about now but Malaysia is summer all-year-round, a tropical country. Marie and I ask the questions to the students whether we go by bike or by train. 

The best way to get to the kakigoori restaurant is by train - a station away with walking distance. It's similar to the one we have in Malaysia - ais kacang batu campur or ABC for short. Marie and I show the students the places in Malaysia. A five-minute break for us to take some time off, we are supposed to stay in the breakout room but I exit the breakout room a few times. We continued with the food in Malaysia and Japan. 

We head back to the main room to share our insights during the interactive session with our new friends. I really love it! It really brings me back to my trip to Japan with my family seven years ago. Hopefully, when the pandemic is over, we can travel again. 

Thank you to everyone who joins the event! Hope to see you at the next one! Please keep in touch! 

UNofficial MUN: NightMUN 2021 (5/6/2021-6/6/2021)

 I was in a middle of a MUN break after a hectic month of April of attending MUN conferences back to back. I was relaxing as always, then, Angus - the secretariat of NightMUN asked me to join in. The thing was just left a couple of days before the mini conference. The reason he gave was "They needed someone who is experienced to guide them in conference - an older sibling to look after them, to show them the ropes on how MUN is done," 

Prior to the conference, I did have a sneak peek of the list of who were in the conference. Veterans like Lim Ke Wen and our famous and friendly MUN detective "Sherlock Holmes" also known as Ernest, they have done more MUN conferences than I have before stepping into the scene in 2018. I was sure, they didn't need me to be there. I couldn't stand the bugging anymore, signed up at the last minute. My role was assigned as MP of Taman Setapak (it's a make believe constitution, imagine we are in the future year of 2053). 

In the beginning of the council, I was doing just fine - giving speeches in the general speakers list (GSL) and raising Points of Information (POI). True enough, I got shot by the new delegates on board and thought to myself: "Am I really in the right council?"

 Some of the delegates thought I was stealing the spotlight by flexing my experiences in MUN. Well, if we wanna to show the new comers on board on how a MUN conference is done, we have other experienced MUNers in the council right? I can just sit back and watch the drama and listen to the debate - which I eventually did, during the second day of council, most of the time. 

Okay, we had to admit the running away music scene it's pretty cool of a fictional crime, which it was because we were in a crisis council with a form of Dewan Rakyat. To new budding MUNers, crisis council might not be the best choice, but if you're adventurous and taking the first step, good for you! 

Kudos to Angus and team on the first ever NightMUN weekend conference! Keep it up! 

This is Kar Marn, MP of Taman Setapak, signing off! 

Sunway Virtual Intercultural Programme: Petra Christian University Indonesia (29/5/2021-31/5/2021)

It’s been almost a week since I officially graduated from university (virtually). As I adjusted to my new status as a Sunway alum, it’s time to give back to the alma mater by being one of the student helpers, well, alum helper for me, to host the students from Petra Christian University (PCU) Indonesia. 

Before the big day, we had a briefing on how to attend to the students. Some of us were concerned of language barrier but we were assured that English will be used at all times which kind of gave us a relief. 

The big day came, we were super excited to meet our Indonesian counterparts for the first time. We have Ms Endry, who was one of the lecturer representatives from Petra Christian University. First and foremost we had an ice breaking session. After that, we introduced them to Sunway University College as well as Malaysia. Same went to our Indonesian counterparts as well, when they introduced Petra Christian University and the amazing places that we should visit in Indonesia. 

To give them a taste of Malaysian culture, we showed them how to make teh tarik (sweet tea) and mamak - a place that us Malaysians love to go anytime of the day. If we have a sports event, especially the Olympics - we will gather at the mamak to cheer the Malaysian contingent on. 

After showing each other’s cuisines from both countries, we were broken up into individual rooms to interact with one another. In my room, I had Angelica and Kenley. We have a list of topics to choose from. At first, we wanted to choose taboos but it was a little tough. After Angelica looked up on my social media profile, she asked me "Katelyn, are you a Buddhist?", I said "Yes!"

We decided to change from taboos to religious venues. We found out that Malaysia and Indonesia have a lot in common in worship places. After that, each team presented the common and differences of Malaysia and Indonesia.

A group photo was taken to commemorate the day. Thank you Sunway Cultural Exchange and the students Petra Christian University Indonesia.  

Sunway University Virtual Graduation 2021 (23/5/2021)

 It's the moment that every graduate is waiting for - an official graduation ceremony to close the chapter of four years in university and embarking into the real world. The graduates of Sunway University are no exception. Due to the current covid-19 pandemic, we have virtual graduation. Virtual graduation - a common scene for university graduates from all over the world. We have seen some universities where they have robots replacing the students to take the scrolls on their behalf. 

At first, I thought, will that happen to me during my own graduation? We'll just have to find out. A day before my own graduation, I attended the graduation of my course mates in my batch (Jan / Mar 2017 intake). The first virtual graduation ceremony for the class of July 2020 has now begun! Dignitaries such as the ambassador of French to Malaysia, the UK High Commissioner to Malaysia and The Dutch Embassy just to name a few to wish all the graduating class of July 2020 a huge congratulations and success in their future. 

The graduation takes place both on Facebook and YouTube through live streaming, we can even wear in our pyjamas while watching. The ceremony begins with the student council taking the chancellor sceptre from the library to the venue of graduation venue at Sunway Resort Hotel, followed by the ceremonial march of professors and chancellors. After the national anthem, the Negaraku, the chancellors and professors were seated, let the ceremony begin! 

The ceremony begins with a speech from our chancellor and founder of Sunway - Tan Sri Jeffery Cheah, AO. He is affectionately known as "Papa Cheah" among the students on campus. "Quality education shapes the quality nation", that's what he said in the opening speech. Next, it's the moment we have been waiting for , the presentation of the scrolls of diplomas and degree scrolls. One by one, the students' names are shown on the screen. 

A speech from the valedictorian and welcoming address from Prof Elizabeth Lee to welcome the new graduates into the Sunway alumni community. At the end of the ceremony, a slide show of our days on campus with our friends and lecturers. Not long after the first-ever graduation ceremony, the phone starts to buzz in with messages to congratulate the graduating class of July 2020. Days before graduation, I drew a graduation cap which I learned from YouTube. My course mates thought I was giving ang pau (red packets) to them. 

This is what the virtual graduation looks like for the next three sessions - which I attend all of them because my friends are in the second session of the first day of the virtual graduation. On 23 May 2021, it's a special day for me and my coursemates in the August 2017 batch because it is our turn to be officially graduated. 

An hour before the event, I clad in my yellow cheongsam - which I'm planning to wear if we were to have physical graduation. I guess we can still dress in our best to have the feeling even though we are not there in person. Seeing my name popping up on the screen for that few seconds, a sense of joy and happiness, as well as success! I'm proud to say that I'm a Sunway graduate! 

Congratulations Sunway graduate classes of July 2020 and February 2021! We did it!  

Global Goals MUN 2021 (23/4/2021-25/4/2021)

 After a two-week break from online Monash MUN 2021 (MONMUN), it's time to bring the Malaysian spirit to an international MUN - Global Goals MUN also known GGMUN. This time, I delegated under the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) council as Malaysia, which was a coincidence - a sense of duty to fly the Jalur Gemilang (the Malaysia flag) high. 

In fact GGMUN almost became my first ever MUN conference back in 2018 - that was the year my passion for MUN ignited. In the end, I went to the Malaysia National Model United Nations (MNMUN) - it's always to start locally before ventured into any international MUN conference. Familiarise with the local scene, once we are confident enough, we can go international. 

Prior to the conference, we have two networking sessions - where got to meet youths from all over the world. The first session was WHO and Covid-19. We discussed on how the WHO are handling covid-19 globally, and what were the actions that government have taken in our respective countries to combat the global pandemic. I was really happy that I got to show the MySejatera app - a mobile application for Malaysians to be updated with the latest infographics on the pandemic. Now, it has a function for us to register to receive the vaccines, make sure the information is complete. 

The second networking session was about the Global Goals, known as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). We have nine years to reach all the 17 goals, I got to discuss briefly on the goal that I'm passionate about - SDG 3: Good health and well-being which focuses on mental health. Also, we got to demonstrate the specialties in our respective countries. Of course as Malaysians, we love to mix our languages, we can see four languages in one sentences. Don't be surprised if you ever visit Malaysia, that's how we do. 

The topic for the UNICEF council topic was relatable because we mostly had our classes online. We have seen reports that underprivileged children were having trouble accessing to the Internet during the pandemic. Malaysia was no exception when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented on 18 March 2020. 

On the day of the conference, we had an MUN 101 and getting to know delegates in our council before the debate took place the next day. After the opening speeches, let the debate begin! I managed to talk about how children's mental health were affected during the pandemic due to digital learning. At one point, I failed to gather all my Southeast Asia allies to form a bloc. The whole council was merged into a huge bloc. 

Since MUN was shifted online, the gossip box became a new tradition to confess one another (nicely). Unfortunately, it didn't turn out well. On the last day of the council, we passed the working paper! We skipped the gossip box, and recorded two TikTok videos - another new in MUN. I didn't go to the closing ceremony because I was having a heavy digital fatigue. When I came back to check the phone, my chair, Adolfo, informed me that I got Best Position Paper award! Wow, that was unexpected! 

Every MUN that I attended, regardless of physical or virtual, I don't aim for the awards. I go for the fun and gaining experience in the process. Best Position Paper award - this is the second major award in my MUN career followed by Most Diplomatic award as the delegate of Bahrain at EOSMUN by IGB International School in March 2019. 

Thank you Adolfo and Pande for giving the best experience at Global Goals MUN. For every child, a quality education. This is Kar Marn (Katelyn), delegate of Malaysia from UNICEF, signing off! Now, on for a break! 

MONMUN 2021 (9/4/2021-11/4/2021)

 Fresh from the virtual ECOSOC youth forum, I'm back for Monash Model United Nations (MONMUN) online conference. This time is the Malaysian Youth Assembly (MYA). In this council, I'm playing as myself, which is easier than the other council which we have to play a country's ambassador. 

We have two topics to choose from in MYA which were The Issue of Brain Drain and Climate Anxiety. Before we went into a formal debate, we have a primary speaker list. The primary speaker is referred as a "persuasion" to persuade representatives on which topic we wanted to debate in council. We voted on brain drain as the topic of debate. 

We were discussing on why Malaysians should be coming back to the Malaysia and contribute the economy, suddenly, a representative brought up an article we should not discuss in council - that would land us in big trouble! Although it is stated in the research report, it was not allowed to bring up the topic itself. We will end up in a place that served curry rice. 

On the end of the first day, Representatives Lim and Fong, and myself were working on a resolution paper. The second day, I mentioned about the zero-reject policy which was existed during the previous government. "No one knows the zero reject policy? " I asked, no response from the representatives. Luckily, my junior chair, Dee, explained what is the zero reject policy. I was inspired to make a meme out of it, with some help from Angus.

Ernest, who is fondly known as Sherlock Holmes in the Malaysian MUN scene, had an impressive presentation of his working paper in a form of a minecarft game! The map of Malaysia was really on point. The representatives council were lost for words! 

The third and final day, I got into a no-nonsense mode by saying "Don't mess with Melaka girl!" - which is true, because Melaka has a slogan - Don't mess with Melaka. My co-chair, Carmen, made a meme out of it too, which I truly appreciated. Finally, we have passed the working paper! Wohoo! 

Ernest bagged "The Best Delegate Award", I was thinking maybe we could have "The Most Enthusiastic Award" - it only applies in the superlative in council. I'll take that, thank you! Thank you Jason, Carmen and Dee for giving the opportunity to be in your council. This is Kar Marn aka Representative Chin, from Malaysian Youth Assembly (MYA), signing off! 

UN ECOSOC Youth Forum (7/4/2021-8/4/2021)

 "In five years' time, where do we see ourselves?" This question is asked to us youths all the time. Some of us are not sure where we see ourselves in the given timeline, some have already planned out the future. Which category I'm in? Definitely in between the two. One thing for sure my answer to the question - I might be seeing myself in the real-life UN, representing Malaysia at the ECOSOC youth forum or might work in the media industry which I'm really passionate about. 

That dream came true! I received from the ECOSOC Youth Forum Organisation team that I would be joining thousands of youths around the world to join the conversation on 7 April and 8 April 2021. Immediately, I shared the happy news with my family and my friends, especially from the Malaysian Model United Nations (MUN) scene to tell them about the fantastic news! The first thing I looked up was the timetable of the forum. It's going to be super late according to Malaysian time, I guessed I needed to sacrifice the sleep. 

Before I go any further on the event itself, let me take you back on how I got to know the ECOSOC youth forum. I was browsing through social media as always, a headline caught my eye: ECOSOC Youth Forum 2018. I clicked on the headline, seeing international Chinese singer, Roy Wang from China's boyband trio - TF Boys, delivering his speech on the children in China having limited access to education. The next thing I did is browse through the list to see if any Malaysian is on board, but unfortunately, no Malaysian representatives in the list. One thought, I made up my mind: "That's it! I'm going to break the record!" 

To break the record, where do I start? Model United Nations (MUN) came into mind. I signed up for the Malaysian National Model United Nations (MNMUN), since then I found my new passion and continue to join MUN conferences in Malaysia. My MUN friends asked me why did I join MUN? My answer was easy: Hoping to represent Malaysia at the ECOSOC Youth Forum one day. 

Fast forward to three years (2021), the dream is finally coming true! Let's proceed where we left off! Before the big day, I attended the ECOSOC Youth Forum Side Event. I was really happy to see some of the Malaysian youths were on board for the event. 

My MUN buddies and I always talk about the ECOSOC youth forum at every MUN event whenever we have the chance. One time, we were talking about the outfit - what should we wear if were to attend the forum one day? I said: "We're representing Malaysia, we have to include that is connected with our Malaysian roots," Wearing one of the traditional costumes, with the unity pin and the flag as a bonus. Sticking to the words, I wore a red cheongsam with the unity pin on the first day itself of the forum. I had to stay up really late due to the 12-hour difference between Malaysia and New York, USA. There were lots of rest in between.

The networking session was at 5.30am (GMT+8). I was a little bit nervous for the networking session but everything was gonna be fine. After the speed networking with a couple of people, I decided to play around and browsed through each networking room. I was surprised that no one was at the children and mental health - a cause which I'm championing. The popular one were gender equality, climate and access to education. I decided to hop in to the access to education networking room. I met four amazing young people - Arissa from Canada, Anna and Keqi from China and Sariany from Peru. Each of us talked about the challenges that are faced in our respective countries. 

The next day, I only attended the Regional Breakout Session (Asia and the Pacific). I didn't attend the closing ceremony, as I was feeling unwell (no, it's not what we think - it's called the virtual jetlag due to the time zones). Overall, I'm proud to represent Malaysia at this virtual stage and hopefully to change the perception towards Malaysia because in reality not many know the country well. As a matter of fact, Malaysia produces youths like you and me who are passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

My name is Chin Kar Marn, Malaysian representative at the virtual ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021. To all my fellow Malaysians who were at the forum, we did it! Malaysia Boleh! 

(Left): First MUN in 2018; (Right): Goal achieved

End of first day of the forum at 7am (8/4/2021)

 

UN ECOSOC Youth Forum Side Event: Youth and the Future of Governance (6/4/2021)

 It's the eve of the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2021, the side event is a pre-event of the big day. We have a list of side events to choose from, I chose "Youth and the Future of Governance". We have some Malaysian representations, have to give the biggest support! 

Each of the speaker emphasises how youths are playing an important role as global citizens. I'm gonna pick my top three from the side event. First and foremost, it's none other than our keynote speaker himself, Dr. Maliki. I met Dr. Maliki while I was a university student a couple of years back, that time he was showing us on providing clean water in rural areas of Sarawak. Now, he addresses on the impact of youths as global citizens, not just Malaysia itself and we have a International Youth Council where it is located in Kuala Lumpur - the capital state of Malaysia. I hope to visit the place one day when interstate travelling in the country is allowed. 

Secondly, Ms. Sharon Lo from the UK. She mentions that our roles as youths, we have to be creative in solutions in our everyday lives and most importantly, our voices need to be heard by the big people, listen to us what young people care about that is happening today in the world. Thirdly, it has to be Mr. Phay from YMCA who addresses on the hatred which is a real "virus", which I think it's true because no one in this world to be born to hate someone.  We can lend our voices and be a caring by stander, standing with them together. 

After all these take away from the top three speakers of my choice. I think there is one personal trait that we are lacking - kindness and empathy. We are busy with power and wealth but forgot that kindness and empathy are the keys in any governance leadership and we as young leaders as a whole. Change is always the word, but I think kindness is the future of youth and governance. 

I'm looking forward to the main event for the next two and a half days. 

Nexus MUN 2021 (5/3/2021-7/3/2021)

 One MUN after another, it's time to head to Nexus International MUN Conference (NISMUNC) 2021 with the theme of #unitedby_. I'm back to the Dewan Rakyat council, I'm holding the position of the Prime Minister and MP of Pagoh. Before that, I contacted both government and opposition side to discuss on the issue of pollution due to urbanisation. 

On the first day, I was given a seven-minute speech. I was too nervous that I have to pause in between the speech. On the government side, most of the MPs are either new to MUN or to Dewan Rakyat itself. As a veteran, I did the best I can to speak up while taking a step back supporting them. The first day ended, we straight went into Bill writing which was going to present on the second day. 

The second day started off with the ministers' questions. As the role of Prime Minister, the pressure was on. I couldn't even answer from MPs Bagan and Langkawi, because the Opposition side is too strong. I couldn't take the stress anymore and broke down in council. Yes, I really cried in council during the break or something because it's too much of a pressure handling it. 

Get this when we are playing the Prime Minister in a Dewan Rakyat council, we have to be mentally prepared for a no-confidence vote. The whole block just falls immediately when a no-confidence vote is taken place. Fair enough, few of the MPs hopped on the other side and my side became the Opposition. I couldn't take the stress anymore and broke down for the second time, for real this time. 

After some compromise, the secretariat team is kind to let me to take a step back and to listen in the debate. Occasionally, I hopped in to give the MPs some back up support. The third and final day, I was off on the first half of the council, joined in the second half. We were working on the bill and managed to pass it in the end. It was better than my very first Dewan Rakyat bill, we failed completely. 

I may not be in my best form this time, the next time it's going to better than before. Will I ever stop MUN after this series of events happened to me these three days? No, the message to spread the awareness on mental health is still on. 

Thank you Johnathan, Yit Xiang and NISMUNC team! 

This is Kar Marn, MP of Pagoh from Dewan Rakyat signing off! 

TLMUN 2021 (26/2/2021-28/2/2021)

Most of us are celebrating the last day of Chinese New Year, but for Katelyn is back to her Model United Nations (MUN) after four months of break. The first MUN of the year is Taylor’s Lakeside Model United Nations 2021 (TLMUN). I’m playing the delegate of the UK under the World Health Assembly. We have two topics to choose from which is the vaccine for covid-19 and the effects of bioterrorism. As always on the first day, we go through the ground rules and getting to know each other. 

On the second day, before we head into formal debate, we have to vote on which topic should be discussed in council. As expected, the first topic on covid-19 vaccines has the most votes. Also, it is related to us because the vaccines are a hot topic these days. In Malaysia, we have received the vaccines on 24 Feb 2021 (Wednesday) and received the vaccines from China recently. 

To make sure our Internet connection is running smoothly, the chairs did a mic test on each of the delegate. When it comes to me, I got into character which made Amalia, my co-chair to crack up. After some formal debates, we head into an unmoderated caucus. At one point, I almost lose composure, while the delegate of North Korea, on the other end wondering whether I would blow up anytime. Don’t worry, I am fine! 

Even though, our brain cells are totally worn out on the second day, the delegate of the US insists us to join immediately after the meeting because we are writing a draft resolution that is going to present on the third and final day of the conference. Being in a blur, I didn’t know what did I put in the draft resolution, but my points are there. 

On the third day, I overslept by 12 minutes of the first session of the day despite doing the best to wake up by 8am. To back up some points, always stick to the policy of the country that we are representing. The delegate of Malaysia bashes that I should check my foreign policies, I did during the general speakers list session. For the first time in my MUN experience, the resolution passes! I did expect some juicy debates after handing in the resolution, but it didn’t happen which is good news! 

As per MUN tradition, we have a superlative award in our council. Two hours of rest and it’s the closing ceremony. I didn’t expect to win a verbal commendation alongside the delegates of North Korea and Malaysia. China wins the Best Delegate award with the delegate of Japan bags the Honourable Mention, and USA wins the Highest Commendation, the delegate of Namibia takes home Best Position Paper. 

Thank you TLMUN team and a huge thank you to my chair, co-chair and rapporteur Pumudika, Amalina and Theo, as well as each and every delegate in the World Health Assembly council. This is Kar Marn, delegate of the UK from the World Health Assembly, signing off! 

农历新年2021：心连心新希望，元气满满Moo Moo Da (12/2/2021)

农历新年来到人间了！往年会早起身，但是今年会较轻松，可以睡到自然醒。第一时间是向身在雪兰莪的父母通过电话送上祝福。一向传统的爸爸不忘提醒新年要起身，只好拖着沉重的身子准备新年的到来。

洗刷后，换上开运颜色—— 黄色的裙子迎接金牛年。每逢的初一十五会吃素，今天也不例外。我们向外公外婆拜年，由于只有两个孩子（大舅和阿姨）和一个孙（我），今年的敬茶仪式显得简略些。“文儿，到你啦！家里唯一的牛。” 阿姨说。我向外公外婆拜年，“希望你可以得到理想的工作。” 外婆说。

平时在这时候我们会到马六甲文化街的青云亭祈福，可是政府拟定的安全作业，只好在家里向神明祈福希望一切可以早日过去，恢复以前的日常生活。正当在听新年歌时候，小舅舅视讯。“小舅舅！” 小舅舅说：“文儿，是你啊！阿姨呢？” 我说: “阿姨在外面，怎么啦？” 小舅舅说：“听说你出新年翻唱MV？” 我说：“是啊！” 正当把拍好的照片上传到各个社交平台，大舅唤我：“文儿，出来。跟你妈咪他们线上拜年。” 我们全家人都同时隔空拜年，有感受浓浓的新年气氛！

小舅舅通过他的手机拍一张 “全家福” 。陈家隔空拜年，正式大功告成！今年的农历新年，大家就地过年，无法回乡过年，把健康摆第一最重要。等到疫情结束后，大团圆也不迟啊！心连心最重要。

祝大家心连心希望，元气满满Moo Moo哒！

送给大家这首《年盼》。

今年是第二个牛年

The Star R. AGE: #StandTogether SEA (3/2/2021-5/2/2021)

#StandTogether Kindness Leaders are back! This time we are going bigger than ever! We are heading to the region of Southeast Asia. Yes, we go that right! Southeast Asia how amazing is that? Before we go into more details of the event, allow me to refresh the memory. Launched in 2017, #StandTogether kindness campaign is to encourage students to practice empathy and kindness to combat school bullying - which is a social issue in Malaysia. With its success, national kindness week was declared by the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Malaysia that on the first week of April, students will have to practice empathy and kindness in their schools for the whole week. 

Slowly, Malaysians are encouraged to take part in the kindness challenge too. We have a kindness chatbot on WhatsApp and each day we are required to complete the kindness challenge. It's difficult at first, slowly we will feel great about ourselves when complete the challenge by the end of the week. In 2019, I was lucky to attend a Kindness Concert and got to meet our #StandTogether celebrity ambassadors, especially UNICEF Malaysia's national ambassador, Kak Lisa Surihani. 

Last year, the kindness challenge has moved to online. There is a bit of challenge because we are stuck at home most of the time and we are encouraged to send our kindness stories. Throughout the year, kindness workshops were conducted virtually all over Malaysia. Now, we are heading bigger than ever, let's go to the SEA region! 

The first day, kindness leaders from all over Southeast Asia have joined the kindness revolution, including our friends from China. Same as the previous workshops that Malaysians kindness attended, we are broken up into breakout rooms for each section - types of bullying, the storytelling (with action cards) and gratitude notes. At one point, our Bahasa Malaysia was put to the test for the easiness for our Indonesian counterparts. After that, we have a special celebrity appearance from Choi Siwon - singer of the Korean boyband, Super Junior and UNICEF ambassador for the East Asia region. 

The second day, my fellow kindness leaders volunteers are broken up to assist kindness leaders. Oscar and I are assigned to China. Each country has to present the Kindness Workshop blueprint after that. I have three preferences - Malaysia, China and the Philippines. We hope that every kindness leader will bring the workshop back to their home countries and conduct them. For us Malaysians kindness leaders at the conference, we have a WhatsApp group chat - Tadika Mesra (Friendly Kindergarten). 

The third and final day, we have panellist of people ranging from the medical field and law firm on how they see corporal punishment towards a child and how can we break the cycle. During the Q & A session, I ask Dr Goh and Dr Farrah on how to include people with special needs in schools and communities. What we need is the equipment to make the community an inclusive environment. 

My favourite part of the panel discussion is the students' point of view on corporal punishment, it triggered the memory of me being embarrassed in front of the class, especially in primary school. Especially when we are in a Malaysian Chinese primary school, the possibility of being caned in front of the class is super high. 

Next, we are broken into groups and it's back to our host countries. Each question is given 5 to 10 minutes of discussion on what is the ideal relationship between a student and a teacher. We think our positions as teachers and students at the same time, how should we practice kindness and empathy in both positions. We are back to the main room when the discussion is done. Ismail Izzani - youth advocate for UNICEF Malaysia makes an appearance with a special performance. 

To end the conference on a sweet note, the #StandTogether team and their partners recorded a congratulatory video to encourage kindness leaders that this is the beginning of the kindness journey and hope to bring it back to our respective countries. Three days of kindness leaders conference has come to an end. 

Thank you to the R. AGE team and to my fellow kindness leaders we will meet again!