"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!
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(Left): First MUN in 2018; (Right): Goal achieved
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This is Cel! Keep pursuing your goals, Katelyn!😍
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I will! 😉
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