During this time of the year, I'm always looking forward to attending the ECOSOC Youth Forum. This marks my fourth year attending and second time as a UNICEF Malaysia Young Leader, alongside with my fellow Young Leader - Xin Qi, this time.
Due to a busy week at work, I have to balance my time in between work and the forum. Luckily the forum is in the night due to the 12-hour difference Malaysia and New York USA. On the first day of the side event, I attended where youths presented their challenges in their education journey. There's a saying in Chinese "Even though you are poor, education is the utmost priority," in its original meaning is “我们再穷也不能穷教育”.
Education is really emphasised in my house because my grandfather is a retired educator for 32 years. He was an English educator in a national school (sekolah kebangsaan). I remembered every word that my younger sibling and I pronounced a wrong word, he couldn't get the educator out of him. When I was eight years old, my primary school had a mini book fair and I saw him hold three essay reference books in each language - Malay, English and Chinese, I thought they were for him. Little did I know, it was for me to prep up for Year 3 in primary school - which I had to learn to write essays.
After leaving secondary school, people asked my elderly whether I would continue studies due to my disability. I proved them wrong, in the end I graduated with a degree in BA (Hons) Communication, specialised in Corporate Communication.
Young children, still don't have the right access to education in some countries which is disheartening to hear from it. Children and young people are the agents of change and everyone has the right to education to change the future.
The opening ceremony is late at night, I have to rest up for the next day. While I'm in office, I watched and listened to the repeat of the ceremony. A musical number as an opening to start the day for youths who are in the United Nations' (UN) Headquarters to start the day! In the speeches, advocates are urging youths to make a change now as we just left six years to 2030 - there is no time to lose to hit all the 17 SDGs by then.
Still on the second day, I wore my kebaya top to the office for a Raya (or Eid) event - I showcased this outfit during the networking session. This not only reflect my Malaysian roots but also showcasing the specialty that Melaka has - Baba Nyonya (though I'm not a Baba Nyonya descendant, it's what makes Melaka so special).
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| Reflecting my Malaysian roots in a kebaya |
The one key message I like to say to existing or future advocates during the networking session is taking the first step even before you are ready - an iconic quote from Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon - it has become one of my personal principles whenever I wanna take a risk or break the ice between people connection. In the breakout session for the Asia and the Pacific Region, youths are urged to take action now in the global issues they care about because a small action can make a big difference!
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| My message to everyone. |
On the third and final day, a side event on disability inclusion really hits me because as a person with disabilities, I do feel the struggles too - anyone who are caregivers to people with disabilities or any family who have people with disabilities.
In different regions we have different terms referring to people with disabilities. In Malaysia, we refer the community as Orang Kelainan Upaya (OKU) - it is translated to people with disabilities. When I'm in a conversation with my friends. I tell them I have special needs because not all of us understand the term. In global context, always use the term "people with disabilities" because we are referring to the person and not the disability.
If you don't understand, you are always welcomed to attend a Movers Programme's workshop on Disability Inclusion to learn more.
This not the end, it's time to do the next right thing!
Connect with me to follow my advocacy journey: www.linktr.ee/katelynchinmunconferences97
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