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: 

Facebook 

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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！劭建和维根都把画面拍下来。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；持戒是六度之一。 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！