Today, May 12, 2022, alongside my fellow GIP partner Theo, we presented our culminating capstone project to a group of fellow Global Scholars, peers, faculty members, rising Global Scholars, and more. Our project consisted of a slideshow detailing Theo and I’s work in securing grant money for our Project called Project Kết Nối. The slideshow was split up in two parts with the first detailing the history of the Vietnam War and the second detailing our grant writing process. Through this slideshow, we were hoping to explain our thought process and experience in working with a nonprofit organization (Global Village Foundation), the grant writing process, and a possible call to action for rising Global Scholars to get involved with our program. Personally, I thought that the presentation went pretty well. I thought we were able to get our message across and detail our experiences. After talking to some peers, I think that Theo and I could have improved upon our transition between talking about the history of Vietnam to our grant writing project so that we could create a more seamless transition. Nonetheless, I was extremely impressed with how our presentation turned out, and I can’t wait to hear about more updates on the impact of the grant money.
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Coming into the Global Scholars program, I was just expecting to learn about different cultures and possibly interact with other, globally-minded people not knowing that what I would learn would go beyond the scale of that. As I sit at my desk, typing this post, I’ve realized how much I have grown as a person through this program. Through countless experiences such as being immersed in a cultural discussion, attending GIP events with keynote speakers, working with a non-profit, writing a grant proposal, and maintaining a blog, I have broadened my horizons and learned through different experiences. My favorite moment of the GS program was probably the grant proposal project. My partner Theo and I jumped at the opportunity of possibly receiving $5,000 towards a non-profit of our choice. Researching and working directly with a non-profit organization was an incredible experience that I probably wouldn’t have found at another high school. The GS program is truly one of a kind in terms of the experiences that it offers. I intend to continue my work as a global scholar by staying in touch with the Global Village Foundation and Ms. Ly and possibly working with other non-profits in the future.
In the world of soccer, the reigning European champions Chelsea are currently undergoing a crisis - a crisis that is tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. In early March, the Premier League ordered Chelsea’s owner to sell the club. The owner being Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch, businessman, and politician with close ties to Vladimir Putin. The Russian oligarch has been in control of the Chelsea football club for 19 years. During his tenure, the club has won 21 trophies and undergone a transfer ban for violating financial fair play rules.
After being sanctioned and having his accounts frozen, Abramovich announced that it is “in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners” to sell the club. His announcement comes a month after British Parliament member Chris Bryant called for Abramovich to be removed from his ownership of Chelsea during his speaking at the House of Commons. On the United States front, President Joe Biden stated, “Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime, no more.” Abramovich later declared that the net proceeds from the sale will be donated to a foundation focused on helping people impacted by the war. “This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club. Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.” Abramovich also met with multiple Ukrainian peace negotiators in Kyiv during which the group ended up being poisoned. Some allege that the poisoning came from “hardliners from Moscow who don’t want the war to end.” Abramovich and the Ukrainian peace negotiators have since recovered. It was reported earlier this week that a consortium headed by Todd Boehly, an owner of the Dodgers and Lakers, won the race to buy Chelsea for £4.25 billion. Competing with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Todd Boehly’s consortium offered higher than Ratcliffe’s proposal with Ratcliffe’s proposal coming a tad too late. With Chelsea out of the Champions League and out of the race for the Premier League, their performances this year have not been up to the expectations set by the previous year. It’ll be interesting to see which direction the club will go in under the recent acquisition by Todd Boehly. On April 11, 2022, Poly hosted their last GIP event for the year and their first in-person event since pre-pandemic. The event, called Stories as a Catalyst for Change, featured Narrative 4 and several keynote speakers: Maru Castañeda, Taelor Lewis, and Babalwa Tetyana. Maru, manager of Mexico operations, Taelor Lewis, midwest regional manager, and Babalwa Tetyana, N4 student ambassador from South Africa, did an excellent job of providing an overview of N4’s next projects. N4 seeks to engage in meaningful dialogues with various perspectives in an effort to move from discord to understanding and positive actions. Through story exchanges, many global voices share their stories with others which would not be possible without these programs.
Narrative 4’s recent campaign has the same name as the Global Scholars 2022 cohort’s theme: empathy into action. Narrative 4’s Empathy Into Action campaign “will continually reaffirm the conviction that we can navigate and heal our divided world if we act together to change, rebuild and even revolutionize failed systems.” Overall, it was wonderful hearing the impact that the numerous projects of N4 have made and the impact of future projects. I was particularly blown away by Babalwa Tetyana’s poem about where she came from. Her ability with words transported me to her hometown and completely painted a picture of the surroundings. The poem also shed light on numerous stereotypes that were prevalent in her life. All in all, this was a wonderful GIP event and a great way to return to Garland theater. It was amazing to hear about N4’s work and their various upcoming projects that involve story exchanges and expanding their reach. On February 28, 2022, six global scholar groups, including my own, presented our grant proposal to three panelists who would later decide how to allocate the money. Going into the presentation, I was relatively calm - I expected myself to be more nervous - probably because I felt like I was speaking from the heart. I had rehearsed hours before the presentation and felt ready to speak on behalf of my cause and the non-profit, Global Village Foundation. I arrived at my partner Theo’s house around 2:00 in preparation for the Grant Program at 3:50. We played some games to calm our minds and then rehearsed several times to make sure our presentation was fluid and hopefully flawless.
During the presentation, my group was slated to go last. I felt a tinge of nervousness hearing the panelists ask the groups questions after their presentation. Nonetheless, every group answered each question smoothly and their presentations were stunning. It was amazing to see all the different grant presentations and the causes that they were supporting. From educating and providing menstrual products to high schoolers in Africa to supporting refugees in America, every group had tremendous presentations that showcased how much effort and heart they put into the grant presentations. Overall, I was more nervous waiting for the decision than actually presenting. After around a 30-minute deliberation, the three panelists rejoined the zoom meeting and decided that all grant projects would be fully funded. Theo and I were extremely happy and couldn’t wait to relay the news to Ms. Hayslip and the rest of the members of the GVF. After sending Ms. Hayslip and other volunteers an email, we received some congratulations emails as well as one of the volunteers, Mr. Du Hua, with who we were on a zoom call with in the past, sent an email asking Ms. Hayslip for permission to marry her daughter. We ended up getting caught up in an email exchange about Mr. Du Hua asking Ms. Hayslip for permission to marry her daughter Ms. Sunshine. Overall, it was a very joyous email exchange as good news was shared all around. I learned a lot about collaborating with organizations, writing a grant, and giving a presentation to a group of panelists. I can’t wait for the next steps and see the impact that the money will have on the Village of Hope and the Global Village Foundation. On March 1, 2022, the UNA-Pasadena and Polytechnic Chapter came together to host a GIP event celebrating International Women’s Day and supporting women in global leadership. The panel discussion involved two women Eunice Reddick and KhinSandi Lwin who have made significant strides in their respective global leadership careers.
Reddick is an American diplomat and former ambassador to Niger. She formerly served as the United States ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. She graduated from New York University and later received a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. Reddick began her Foreign Service career in 1980 and worked in embassies in Zimbabwe, Beijing, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and many more. The other panelist, Khinsandi Lwin, has worked with the UN for 35 years in over 10 countries. Currently, she is the Resident Coordinator at the United Nations Development Programme. Earlier, Lwin visited Poly virtually and gave a talk where she explored her work with refugees, Myanmar’s situation, and her work to end female infanticide. Overall, both speakers told very inspiring and empowering stories of their time working in international affairs and the challenges they faced. They both spoke of situations where a woman will bring up an idea in a discussion only for it to be said by a man moments later and have the support of the entire team. They also brought up how their careers were also impacted because of their marriages. It was very disheartening to hear the stories such as this that were told during the discussion. There is still a great divide between gender equality in the workplace that needs to continuously be addressed and solved. Both speakers have done tremendous work for empowering women and leading international programs to bridge the gender gap. It is important that the students and faculty at Poly lay a foundation that begins in the classroom so that we can empower women’s voices and bridge the gender divide in the future. I ran along the sidewalk with a bouquet of marigold flowers in each hand, hoping that I would make the train in time. I dashed around the corner and before I knew it, I could see the opening of Union Station just ahead. It was 12:08 and the train was supposed to take off in two minutes. I saw my Global Scholars partner Theo just ahead, and we both ran to find our stop. We could hear the announcer on our train up ahead stating that they were ready to take off from the station. We frantically waved down the security guard who kindly ushered for the doors to be open. Phew! We made it just in time. The two-hour train ride to San Diego was full of scenic views along the coast of California.
The purpose of this trip was to visit Le Ly Hayslip, a renowned author, humanitarian, writer, and the founder of the Global Village Foundation - an organization that we were hoping to work with. Ms. Ly grew up in central Vietnam in a village called Ky La. During the Vietnam war, Ms. Ly was captured by the South Vietnamese on suspicion of aiding the Viet Cong and was later released due to a dowry that her parents proposed. She ended up fleeing her village after a turbulent time with the villagers; the very same who she grew up with. After living in Saigon and raising a child, Ms. Ly immigrated to San Diego with her American husband who she met in Vietnam. She currently resides in San Diego with her three sons. Ms. Ly courteously invited Theo and me to her house after we exchanged brief emails during the week. She stated that she was hosting a Vietnamese New Year party at her house. Her house was on top of a hill/mountain overlooking a large crop area which was reminiscent of the rice paddies in Vietnam. The gathering was from 2-5 and we arrived around 2:30. Several cars were parked outside of the house as we made our way to the front door. Immediately, we were greeted by Ms. Ly who gave each of us a hug and invited us into her house. She ushered us into her living room where there was a shrine of the Buddha and Ms. Ly’s ancestors. She accepted our marigold flowers and placed them beside the shrine before introducing us to the other people at the gathering. During the New Year Celebration, Theo and I ate food, participated in the red envelope tradition, talked with a Ukrainian friend of Ms. Ly who was interested in creating a non-profit, conversed with a woman named Eileen who worked with the Global Village Foundation (GVF), and gave a mini presentation on why we wanted to get involved with the GVF to Ms. Ly. Overall, Theo and I had a great time celebrating Vietnamese New Year with Ms. Ly, her friends, and her family. Besides connecting with Ms. Ly and her organization, it was a great way to celebrate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year and connect with people we had never met before. We are in the process of setting up a video call with Ms. Ly to further go in depth about our grant proposal. Recently, the city of Da Nang in Vietnam agreed to accelerate a digital transformation of a “smart city” project. Alongside FPT corporation, a technological software company, the two signed a Memorandum of Understanding on transforming the city between 2021-2025. A Memorandum of Understanding is a written formal agreement between two parties. The goal of the MoU is to put Da Nang on the list of ASEAN Smart City Networks in 2030.
The ASEAN Smart Cities Network is a collaborative platform where cities work to establish sustainable urban development in their respective cities through technology and education. Several of the cities include Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, and more. This new deal will hopefully continue to transform Da Nang into an eco-urban, smart city in the coming years through focusing on education, the environment, healthcare, and trade. One of the initiatives is helping combat the coronavirus pandemic for students. As cases rise and schools start to go online, the demand for online learning has skyrocketed. FPT has started to use artificial intelligence to tailor courses/content to students. Their platform includes over 2,000 math-related videos alone and their app reaches 3 million accounts across 40,000 schools. According to FPT, students learn 30 to 50% faster on their app as supposed to in-person learning. The app is designed to assign work and automatically grade tests. Overall, education in Vietnam has increased due to more parents emphasizing the need to send their children to top high schools. It was reported by the General Statistics Office that the spending on education has increased 2.3 times in a decade to around $304 per student or 7 million dong in 2020. More companies are taking advantage of the tech/online education boom such as EQuest focused on English and digital combination and Clevai centered around creating an online teaching platform for students. While the rise of education technology has increased, internet in rural areas in Vietnam is still limited. Overall, the smart city project between FPT and the city of Da Nang is one of many initiatives that have started to transform Vietnam as a whole. Education is a huge part of a country’s development/quality of life and this new focus on education has started to transform the lives of students and people all over the country. https://www.fpt-software.com/about-fpt-corporation/ https://asean.org/our-communities/asean-smart-cities-network/ https://www.itourvn.com/blog/the-education-system-in-vietnam https://en.vietnamplus.vn/da-nang-fpt-boost-smart-city-project/219983.vnp FIFA or the Federation Internationale de Football Association is a non-profit organization that acts as the governing body of professional football. If you ask anybody who is knowledgeable in the field of soccer or football they will tell you that FIFA is extremely corrupt. From accepting bribes to voting unethically, FIFA has engaged in numerous corrupt acts with the biggest acts coming in their decision of Qatar as the 2022 World Cup host. How was a country with a population of just under 3 million able to garner more votes than the likes of Japan, Australia, and the United States? In fact, former President Barack Obama called it the “wrong decision”. Qatar will be the smallest-ever host country for the World Cup.
Many have stated that part of the reason Qatar won was because of the location and the finances in the middle east. Many prominent families are willing to build the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the games. Their willingness has raised eyebrows as some think that they would be willing to bribe FIFA who is known for accepting these kinds of things. Three FIFA committee members were accused of receiving payments from Qatar. A former member of the U.S. national team, Eric Wynalda commented on the situation, “basically, oil and natural gas won today.” The biggest issue that I personally have with Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup are the human rights violations that have occurred and have been ignored. The labor force tasked with building the infrastructure for the stadiums is made up of a migrant force of roughly 2 million people which account for 95% of the country’s working population - a staggering number. Many of these migrant workers are bussed in from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and other countries to work on these stadiums. Temperatures regularly reach between 90-100 degrees and the transportation to these stadiums takes a long time. Many have died building the stadium with a U.N. agency stating that 50 migrant workers died in work-related accidents in one year. Not to mention, there were 38,000 work-related injuries. Roughly 6,500 migrant workers have died since Qatar won the bid to host the world cup. There are still a large number of deaths and injuries that have not been properly reported. These unsafe working conditions are hazardous for the labor force and are a violation of human rights. The Qatari authorities have failed to investigate the migrant deaths until recently. Many national teams have donned shirts promoting human rights slogans and denouncing Qatar’s treatment of their workers. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-21/why-qatar-is-a-controversial-venue-for-2022-world-cup-quicktake I remember sitting on my couch watching the NFL games on Sunday when my dad started talking to me about a new variant. He explained that this variant was identified in South Africa and has been raising some concern recently. My ears immediately perked up because the thought of having to quarantine and spend school online again was unpleasant. However, I was confident in the vaccines and felt that we would be able to deal with them.
As days passed, I didn’t think much of this new variant. It seemed to me like the vaccines would protect us from this new strain. Just as my worries started to cease, I received a notification on my phone that several professional soccer teams' games were canceled due to coronavirus outbreaks. My immediate, selfish reaction was feeling sad that I couldn’t watch my favorite English teams play this weekend when I suddenly realized that this could result from the Omicron Variant. It’s too early to tell for sure if the result of these outbreaks were from the Omicron Variant or rather just a breach in protocol or the regular strain spreading by chance. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, stated, “it is clear from what’s happening in South Africa that this Omicron variant does spread rapidly.” Dr. Fauci said, “it’s inevitable that sooner or later it’s going to spread widely because it has at least the molecular characteristics of being highly transmissible, even though there are a lot of things about it that we do not know but that will be able to be ascertained in the next week or two.” Scientists say that Omicron has 30 mutations, an unusually high number. These mutations could result in the variant becoming more transmissible and could (unlikely) evade immunity. Dr. Collins also stated that getting vaccinated and receiving booster shots is the best way to deal with the new variant as well as the Delta variant. As studies continue to progress, we will know more about this new variant and whether it will have the potential to lead to another pandemic. I’m hopeful that with more research being done and more booster shots being administered, our country won’t have to endure another pandemic. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-11-2021-update-on-omicron https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/26/health/omicron-variant-what-we-know/index.html |