Ananya Upadhye Hislop College Civil Lines, Nagpur

Category - Youth

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

Essay Topic:

The COVID-19 health crisis is like an ever-rising tide, testing patience, energy, and forcing people to distance themselves from their day-to-day social routines. The global emergency is changing the way we work, but it is also telling us some-thing about what work means to our communities and us.

While talking about the pandemic, the arguments are mostly oblivious to the gender lens of the emergency. Public health emergencies are not gender-neutral and can reshape the norms of society.

The �amboyant show of "progressiveness" in the world we live in is promising, yet decep-tive in the same way. Where on the one hand, a person talks about feminism, roots for equality and detests the sheer disregard of the intellect of an individual based on their sex. Contrary passes o�ensive jokes outraging the modesty of a woman that is 'meant to be ignored' casually in their everyday life. They shudder and frown at that pay gap, but forget about equality when it comes to sharing household chores. Both have their share of concerns, with the division of labor amongst the members being the primary remedy to the problem.

The answer seems relatively facile upfront; it is a convoluted one, for the distribution of work in chores is especially gendered. With most men primarily ranting for or against feminism, women worldwide spend almost 352 minutes of their day doing chores as opposed to mere 52 minutes spent by men as data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows. This household chore inequality is evident over time, across professions, and even in countries where women make more money.

The lockdown a�ected men and women equally. At home, it also forced them for instance to share household chores. Do you believe this crisis will have long-lasting consequences on gender roles and stereotypes in the country?

In Sweden, where government policies are strongly geared toward promoting gender equality, women do double the daily housework than men, even though they are likely to work full-time than others. In an article published by The Counterview, a study proves that the value of women's 'unpaid' labor in India is 40% versus the global 13% and can add about 30% to the GDP.

The public health emergency has forced men to stay in, but few contribute to the better-ment of the household. As if staying at home with chores was not enough, the UN found a 'calamitous' spark in cases of domestic violence rising 20% all over the world with roughly 300-400 cases reported in one day in India. The UN Women's Council reported a rise of 36% in the cases regarding sexual harassment at 'online' workplaces. Such has patriarchy infest-ed societies that we cannot a�ord to assume everyone understands all nuances of conduct.

The aftermath of the coronavirus would be at di�erent scales; however, the problems will be similar. There will be an impact on employment with corporations already asking for bailouts; the care burden on women is already massive; the state of emergencies pro-claimed around the world will a�ect our freedoms, human rights, and mobility. We cannot (for the time being) do anything about how the virus operates; we can use this momentum to start transforming how our societies work. With harsh social distancing measures with-out addressing the blind spots of gendered distress, the already stigmatized women's role is aggravated by the epidemic. The post COVID-19 situations may bring more behavioral and mental changes among women with huge post-traumatic stress or, on a brighter side, may leave an everlasting rejuvenated impact on the position of women in the society.

We often talk about life after the pandemic, and sure enough, it will not be the same. Oprah Winfrey has very rightly said, "a pandemic can bring us together in ways one cannot imag-ine." Moreover, gendered issues can prove to deteriorate the already substandard status of women in public. This emergency can either liberate the women’s status or just add to their misery by making them the house-help when one is not available. Is this pandemic a call to push for egalitarianism? Only time will tell.

We often quote examples of women "catching up" with the men in a fast-paced world, but can men "catch up" in a relatively stagnant one?

Eva AggarwalDelhi Public SchoolR K Puram, Sector XII, New Delhi

Category - Children

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

We, living beings, have the concept of ‘strength in numbers’ programmed into our basic, primitive senses, and to �ght our instincts is a feat that deserves acknowledgment. Humans have to isolate themselves from each other and deprive them-selves of a sort of security they have had since they were born. The lockdown is hard for all of us, but COVID-19 is not just a�ecting living beings.

Children and teenagers have spent most of their lives at school, and learning anywhere else seem like a watered-down version. Even the teachers do not feel like teachers unless they are walking the same, sweaty halls that they have known for so long. Education during lockdown took a severe hit; the level of teaching dropped (since teachers are not used to online teaching), as did the students’ honesty during online tests.

Parents, too, are constantly irritable, for the time they had to themselves has disappeared while their children were out at school. Of course, another reason might be that the extent of their knowledge is exposed when their children come to them with doubts instead of their teachers.

A year after this terrible pandemic, students will arrive at school, meek but happy. A tiny percentage will have studied during the online sessions and have any idea about the cur-riculum. Teachers will �nd themselves back to square one as they ask students if they thought the lockdown was an early vacation and will be seen teaching the same topics again. A large number of children will emerge with newly found skills like painting, writing, singing, blogging, or even starting a popular YouTube channel, for what else is the World Wide Web for?

Our world and lifestyle will change, and a part of it is already changing. The world as a whole will be on a constant alert, hopefully developing a vaccine for this deadly virus. During the lockdown, we are not just learning how to start video calls, but so much more.

Essay Topic: Learning at Home during Lockdown: My Parents and My Teachers

People dependant on fast-food chains are learning to feed themselves; big families under-stand the value of each other and students are �nding out how one cannot �nd a place to study quietly in the entire house. Indian stereotypes are being broken, as husbands learn the di�erence between olive oil and mustard oil; Religious di�erences are less in�amed as the disease a�ects humanity as a whole.

Scientists did predict a change in our current lifestyle, but it was assumed that it would take place slowly, over decades. This accelerated process startled us and shook us overboard until we got used to the racing pictures. People believed the current generation was soft and unprepared for any of life’s challenges, or nature’s tests. However, during the lockdown, we have learned how to sink in our toes against the forever-changing tide.

We have learned how to adapt to a situation no one thought would occur, and we are learn-ing how to �ght against an unknown, unfamiliar, and invisible enemy. We all are readying ourselves for when the pandemic dies down when we will discover the broken pieces of our past lives and must �nd the will and courage to put it back together with the bare necessi-ties.

There is a new world coming, and we are learning how to survive in it.

Hunar Harjai GGDSD College,Punjab University, Sector 32-C, Chandigarh Category - Youth

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

During such times, only the small things are ever said. Big things prowl unsaid inside.

As of now, we have more than 5 million con�rmed cases of COVID-19 around the world, yet this pandemic per seis not the biggest threat to human civilization. The supplemental

monstrous threat is the parallel running humanity crises. In my view, this year 2020 is surely showing the best and worst of humanity.

Worst sides of humanity, which often go unnoticed include; disunited countries blaming each other, international organizations like WHO with not enough support, communities stigmatizing each other around the world, migrant exodus, and attacks on medical profes-sionals, extremely high cases of domestic violence and cases of police atrocities. We have also witnessed tari� and trade wars amidst this pandemic, which have turned out to be a �nancial sinkhole for all. A �nancial crisis at this point can prove to be extremely menda-cious. We have to be proactive and pull the plug on this disorder of humanity at the earli-est. From a minute point of view, social distancing is the best way to avoid this disease. However, are SOCIALLY DISTANT COUNTRIES viable for the world?

Helen Keller rightly proclaimed in the 20th century - “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” The novel coronavirus, which is unaware of the long-existing national borders, has the power to destroy the respiratory organs of all communities, castes, races, genders, classes, and nationals alike. There forth, this is the right time for a new form of soli-darity to emerge across all countries. During this phase of a catastrophe, the above-men-tioned indispensable fact has been welcomed by a large number of people around the world and we can also witness the best sides of humanity. At the peak of the COVID-19

Essay Topic: The current crisis is showing the best and the worst of humanity. Will a new form of solidar-ity emerge at the end of the tunnel or do you think on the contrary that previous trends of the last few years (e.g. increasing nationalisms) will be enhanced?

outbreak in China, Italy had donated Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in huge num-bers. India evacuated Maldivian and Bangladesh citizens from Wuhan as part of the neigh-borhood �rst policy. Numerous developed countries are granting protective gear and med-ical instruments to the health workers inleast developed countries. India is constantly pro-pelling the philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which inculcates an understanding that the whole world is one family. We have countless stories of volunteers distributing free meals, medicines, blankets, and protective equipment to disadvantaged people. Approxi-mately two hundred community kitchens are rightly ful�lling their duties in Kerala. This exhibits that we have successfully moved on from “I” to “Us.”

A vaccination to stop the spread of this invisible adversary is expected to be released by the end of this year. We need solidarity and unity in the future to quickly make the vaccine avail-able at a�ordable prices to every individual who would need it. The early bird indeed catch-es the worm. Still, International organizations need to come together and make sure that no one takes advantage of the current situation to make excessive pro�ts through expensive patents. Scienti�c and medical knowledge has to be communicated swiftly to turn over a new leaf. Various governments require joining through a dovetail. We need to terminate the previous trends of the last few years and work for an ideological renaissance.

Clearly, the answer to a question put forward at the starting of this essay is- Socially distant countries are NOT viable for this world. We are in a quandary since not much is known about the origin and cure of this minuscule malady. If we opt for discordance in the future, it will not only result in the high number of deaths but will also protract the predicament.

I believe the UN Secretary-General António Guterres virtuously asserted that- “Now is the time for unity, for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a strong and inviolable message: an individual’s health is a concern for a single nation. In contrast, an only nation’s interest can transform into trouble for the entire world. United we stand, divided we fall.

Samarth Srinivas Sri Kumaran Children’s Home- CBSEUttarahalli Hobli, Bengaluru

Category - Youth

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic which con�ned half of humanity to their homes as governments impose sweeping restrictions undeniably came as a bolt to the vast majority of us. The grav-ity of the situation did not occur to us until the �rst case arrived in our country, state, or even the city.

However, in terms of infectious diseases, it can hardly be called unprecedented or even unanticipated. The Global Virome Project estimates that over 500,000 undiscovered animal viruses are capable of transmitting to people, some capable of unleashing devastating epi-demics and pandemics at the instance of a single mutation. And this is to say nothing of potential zoonotic diseases borne of bacteria, or the rapidly mutating seasonal in�uenza viruses. It may be bioterrorism or a pandemic of zoonotic origin could be one of our most dire existential threats. Yet, as one can gather from our fragmented and mostly reactive approach to the 2003 SARS outbreak or the more recent West African Ebola outbreak, we are grossly unprepared- especially in the vital areas of public health infrastructure and intergovernmental cooperation.

In light of this grave predicament, we cannot a�ord to call into question the paramount importance of the scienti�c paradigm. The current pandemic has given several opportuni-ties to bring about positive changes in the public face of science, strengthen government and civil society commitments towards R&D, and address the gaps in the international system.

An encouraging aspect of the pandemic response has been the public’s trust in a science-oriented mitigation approach. We have taken readily to the requisite hand hygiene and physical distancing protocols wherever possible. The most reliable interface between science and the general public is education, and we would do well to introduce a more comprehensive health curriculum at the primary and secondary levels.

Essay Topic: The 21st century, with all its science and technology, allows us to go to Mars and develop Arti-�cial Intelligence. Yet, one virus brings us to a com-plete standstill in a few weeks? Do you think there should be changes in priorities for science and research in future?

Besides science also requires us to speak with clarity and candor about contentious issues of signi�cance. In acknowledging this, one �nds that it is disconcerting that government authorities in India have prescribed the homeopathic drug Arsenicum album 30 for prophy-lactic use, despite no indication of scienti�c rigour, that it is e�cacious in boosting immuni-ty against the coronavirus. It is also a cause of concern that there has not been widespread questioning of this possible misallocation of resources, among many others.

A similar lack of clarity can lead to failures on a much larger scale, as seen in the UK govern-ment’s initial response to the virus, based on herd immunity. This can only be seen as an epi-demiologically uncertain decision, failing to communicate the speci�c control measures unequivocally, and questioning the levels of mortality that policymakers were willing to risk.

Increased public awareness and engagement with scienti�c questions can bring such issues to the fore of public debate and discussion. There is a pressing need for the relevant government authorities, educators, and institutes of higher learning to facilitate this change.

India’s investment in science has stagnated at around 0.7% of GDP for the past two decades, which stands in stark contrast to the levels of spending in countries such as South Korea, Israel, or the US. It is also true; however, that national spending on R&D is not a su�cient parameter with which to gauge pandemic preparedness.

Pandemic preparedness is, by its very nature, a transnational problem. COVID-19 has shown us the e�ectiveness of well-managed research coordination on an international level, from cooperation in vaccine development to the sharing of genome sequencing data. Initiatives such as the WHO’s Solidarity Trials to coordinate clinical trials of potential drugs to treat COVID-19, and the e�orts of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to accelerate vaccine development, are prime examples of the path forward in global research cooperation.

From all this, it seems apparent that there is a monumental task before us. However, it is per-haps less visible that we will eventually face pandemics of far higher infectivity and viru-lence.

Science is our best way of understanding reality as we know it, and we cannot and must not turn a blind eye to the existence of a pandemic.

Shivani PillaiMadras Christian CollegeChennai, Tamil Nadu

Category - Youth

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

Essay Topic: What will be the role of young peoplein addressing the crisis caused by the pandemic and related issues, such as new balances in power, raising inequalities and reduced employment opportunities?

In December 1982, Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old American school child from Maine, addressed a letter to Soviet leader, Yuri Andropov, who passionately enquired the measures he would take towards avoiding a nuclear war with the United States. In his reply, Andropov stated his country’s resolve never to use the weapons �rst. Post this incident, Smith was

viewed as a goodwill ambassador by both the countries, at a time when the Cold War was at its peak. Young people, like Smith, changed the world then. Today, as the planet battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the status quo is no di�erent: the onus is upon us, the youth, yet again.

Sir Winston Churchill had once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Nearly a month ago, news channels carried visuals of desperate migrant workers eating rotten bananas discarded at the Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi. A legion of chil-dren from poverty-stricken families goes hungry every day. As young people, it is impera-tive for us to be altruistic and to give back to the society in whatever way we can. Every bit counts.

This devastating pandemic has left the elderly and aged population across the world vul-nerable. Their immune systems cannot a�ord to come under increased stress, and, to pre-vent that, we, the young, must take up responsibility. By ensuring that they stay indoors, and through simple acts of kindness, like running their errands, we can make a big di�er-ence. Also, we must bear in mind that their vulnerability, especially on the health and socio-economic fronts, may continue well beyond the pandemic. Through collective displays of solidarity and concern, we can give our elders a digni�ed life.

In March, the UN stated that the world is currently �ghting two antagonists simultaneously: a pandemic, and, an infodemic. The circulation of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak across social media channels has been alarmingly rampant. Apart from increasing the public’s anxiety, in extreme cases, it has also led to the loss of lives. Given our genera-tion’s penchant for technology, we can work towards initiating a responsible and authentic channel for the transmission of information. In doing so, not only will we spread awareness and dispel indi�erence, but also eradicate unnecessary fear from peoples’ minds.

The need for responsible governance and inspiring leadership has never been greater than it is right now. In countries across the world, questions have arisen regarding the e�ciency of existing power dynamics and political systems. For young people across the world, this pandemic has been reckoning, where we have been made to realize the importance of voting responsibly, and other such civic responsibilities. Considering that most of us will be leading the world in the future, it is pivotal that we learn from today’s mistakes for a wiser tomorrow.

In Italy, when COVID-19 peaked, they ran out of space to bury the dead. In Ecuador, they were forced to use cardboard co�ns. This pandemic has forced us to re-think how we utilize space and resources. In the aftermath, healthcare and the airline industry needs innovation and out-of-the-box thinking for its revival. Countries need to ensure that the UN Sustain-able Development Goals are met on time, despite this setback. Innovation is critical, and a lot will rely on the young. To tackle these challenges, we can equip ourselves with new skills through internships, online courses, and other free tools. Further, as Akira Yoshino says, “We need to think every day.”

The UN has estimated that currently, over 87% of the student population is out of schools and universities. Never before has education witnessed a disruption of this magnitude. The time has come for us to orchestrate an introspection into the purpose of education. It can no longer be con�ned to scores, performance reports and degrees. It needs a revolution, both, in mission and the method of instruction. We need an education that can truly trans-form us into being a better human. This change needs to begin now, and it has to start with us.

Let us stand together in solidarity and �ght this pandemic, for:

“The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it”. - Abraham Lincoln.

Sushmita KBharathidasan University Palkalaiperur campus, Trichy

Category - Youth

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

The morning sun shines bright, with the birds’ happiness chirping merrily atop the trees and the �owers glowing through the packed cities. Does all this sound strange to us, living in so-called developed cities?

Humans took over the crown for the past few decades to over-rule nature and alter its prin-ciples. Justice was delayed, but not denied. A virus named after a crown (coronavirus) took over the crown to determine every aspect of society and, above all, human survival. The microorganism which is dead without a host now seems to be an in�uential full stop to all the devastations we have caused over time. The pandemic has locked us into our homes, enabling the plants to breathe, animals to revive, bringing birds back to their homes, and enabled water bodies to �ush out domestic waste. The carbon emissions into the environ-ment have decreased drastically, and the sky over us is clear. The water in our lakes is �ow-ing clear.

We have been causing imbalances in nature in the name of development. In due course, cities have become concrete jungles with tons of untreated garbage, carbon choking our lungs and mineral-rich water-causing diseases. COVID- 19 pandemic has taught us the importance of nature through a forced lockdown and showed us the true marvels of nature without human intervention. Deforestation has been a signi�cant threat to our environment and India, especially which claims to have vast stretches of greeneries at the earliest of human evolution. Concretes are the real backspaces swallowing trees. Will any-body deny the fact that we breathe? Studies also reveal that deforestation leads to an over-lap between the human and animal population, which contribute to disease in the popula-tion. At a conceptual level, infectious diseases spread because of three factors: the agent, the host, and the environment, as explained in the Epidemiologic triad.

Essay Topic: Do you think that the COVID-19 pan-demic will force us to rede�ne the quest for a better use of our natural resources? Will there be a before and an after for environmental issues? If so how?

Every individual gives out about one kg of CO2 per day. The trees sequester this carbon, and they give us O2 for survival. In recent times, residents in New Delhi faced breathing issues due to a lack of trees and high levels of air pollution. Today, COVID-19 has cleared the air and given the sky its color. In this relationship, a study reveals, to have an oxygen-rich envi-ronment, one person should have seven trees to sequester the carbon emitted. In the cur-rent scenario, vice versa of the 7:1 ratio seems prevalent. Gandhinagar in Gujarat has about four trees per person. The reason behind all these, traces back to congested cities with poor urban planning. This has also depleted agricultural lands, which got raised into multi-�oored buildings.

The Western Ghats also called the Sahyadri, is the lungs of the country, which acts as the carbon sink. In the past few decades, most of the evergreen forest in the Western Ghats has been converted into agricultural lands and monoculture plantations. This has destroyed many native species of plants and animals, hence creating havocs like human-animal con-�icts. If decongesting cities can bring back agriculture to its place, these forests can perish.

The over�owing population not only contributes to GDP but the over�owing garbage, competition for limited natural resources, and above all to natural imbalance. Fortunately, this COVID-19 outbreak has made many MNCs make their employees work from home. This decision has a high impact on nature. The metro cities have congested with the emergence of MNCs attracting employees from di�erent parts of the country. When these cities are decongested, it can drastically reduce the amount of pollution on roads, which will in turn help remediation of the polluted environment. Restoration and sustainability are the two critical factors required in the environment. When we ponder on the idea of species extinc-tion, we realize that Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection comes to play.

In the course of decongesting cities, the economy may stumble through some decisions, governments may su�er, but above all, the reason is worth the struggle. As Bruce Lee quote, “In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail”. An environment that refrains from co-existing with nature is marching towards destruction. COVID-19 has contributed to a revived nature being a partial blessing in disguise.

Viraaj Mittal Don Bosco School Siliguri, West Bengal

Category - Children

New Delhi OfficeCluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri LankaUnited Nations

Year 1 AC (After Coronavirus) Pan India Online Essay Contest 2020

Essay Topic: Culture and Crafts: How to be creative when staying at home.

It was just two months ago that the world started facing its biggest challenge in several decades: the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly, the world as I know it came to a standstill. Schools shut, o�ces were closed, there were hardly any cars on the road. I was worried.

It was a new world. The whole family was sitting together at meals. Father was helping mother with the household chores; grandmother was sitting with cup of tea and humming Rabindra Sangeet, instead of running around worrying. The whole family and sta� sat together every morning and packed food packets for the tea plantation workers and others in need.

Amidst the lush mountains of Himalayas in Darjeeling’s plains is Siliguri, my hometown known as the Gateway to the North East. Now a bustling city �anked by four International borders Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. This small buzzing city still has dense forests where elephant sightings are frequent, and leopards roam around. Living here my sensibilities are thus greatly in�uenced by nature, di�erent cultures, languages, and food habits.

One such lockdown morning, my father exclaimed: "Does anybody know our National aquatic animal?" After 30 years, our National aquatic animal, the Indo Gangetic Dolphin was sighted in the river Hugli, Kolkata. The lack of water pollution, shutting down of facto-ries by the riverside, and no tra�c from ferries helped the beautiful creatures to return home. With no hustle-bustle of tourists, the tiger sightings at the Sunderbans had also increased along with their numbers.

To alleviate my boredom father wrapped his old camera in a new wrapping paper and

gifted it to me on my birthday. This proved to be a blessing in disguise. Suddenly I saw the world di�erently with my camera. I realized my township was the habitat of beautiful birds. I shot on my camera the African Paradise Flycatcher, the Blue Throated Barbet, the Common Flame back woodpecker and several feathered friends. This made me grow closer to wildlife. With love for my feathered friends at heart, I gathered the old plastic bot-tles at home, and set out to recycle them into bird feeders. I set some up in my garden and others on the trees in my township.

At home, we frequently follow the tips from the Arogya Setu app, launched by our Honor-able Prime Minister. That is how our herb garden came along behind a space in our kitch-en. We started growing lemon, amla, turmeric, and all herbs with immunity-boosting properties that increase our resistance to �ght COVID-19. Small ''potlis'' were distributed to anyone who as much as sneezed. We even practiced Pranayama to make our lungs stronger.

While my whole township was clapping for the frontline workers the doctors, police o�-cers, and others, I drew posters as my tribute towards them. Since the last few days,-Doordarshan, the national channel, has returned to our homes with Ramayana and Ma-habharata taking precedent over HBO. Since we do not allow newspapers inside our locali-ty, my uncle holds a quiz in the evening where we learn about the stock market, the announcements about Rail and Flight and e�orts made by our country to help the migrant workers return home.

The world outside is scary right now. I often hear people saying they want things to go back to the way they were. I hope they mean a newer and better world and a new and better India, which concentrates on health, hygiene, pollution, and other required chang-es. India, a true place where the best of the old and the new unite.