12-18 February 2018 - 16-min

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12 12 - 18 February, 2018 A Y Editorial www.NewDelhiTimes.com ◆◆ By Dr. Shamshad Akhtar Under Secretary General-UN & Executive Secretary-ESCAP* ◆◆ By Mark Parkinson @Mark_Parkinson markp.india@gmail.com markparkinson.wordpress.com NEW DELHI TIMES PyeongChang Olympics: a new cornerstone for peace and prosperity ll eyes are on the 23rd Olympic Winter Games and 12th Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang this February. Top athletes will carry their national flags in an opening ceremony which has come to epitomize the international community. Sports fans worldwide eagerly await the Olympics, and this time there is cause for cautious optimism that sport diplomacy may lower tensions on the Korean Peninsula itself. Leaders, diplomats and citizens from the world over will witness North and South Korean athletes walking side by side. For this, there could be few better places than PyeongChang, which means peace (Pyeong) and prosperity (Chang): goals integral to the mission of the United Nations and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The Olympic and Paralympic Games attract people from around the world and help reinforce a set of unifying objectives. The goal of Olympism, as the Olympic Charter states, is “to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity”. Achieving sustainable peace and sustainable development are critical objectives and the Games in PyeongChang offer promise of peace and prosperity. In this spirit, the first Olympics in South Korea held in 1988 served to foster relationships at a time of rapid geopolitical shifts. These esterday, I wrote about the scientific understanding behind teenagers’ propensity for impulsiveness, their higher risks for addiction and inappropriate and higher risk behaviour. One of the aspects that was touched upon was addiction to online and internet activity, whether to gaming, social networking or pornography – all things that can potentially have devastating effects on a young life. Frequently, over the last 5-6 years I’ve had conversations with parents who were trying to grapple with these issues. One question sometimes asked is how to tell whether there child just has a strong habit or an addiction. Also, people can understand at a fundamental level the way that a person can become addicted to a substance like nicotine or alcohol, but find it harder to see internet use as a form of addiction. However, all the evidence is that it ‘hits’ the same pleasure centres in the brain and this is why it can have such a powerful impact. games featured many participating nations, including sizeable delegations from both the USA and USSR. The thaw in relations to which the Olympics contributed led to the establishment of diplomatic relations with neighbors such as Russia and China in the years following the games. The Republic of Korea became a member of the United Nations in 1991. The Olympics also heralded the economic transformation of the South Korean economy that is now known as “the Miracle on the Han River.” For the decade after the games, its economy grew at an average rate of around 8.5% per year, transforming the country from an aid recipient country to a key aid donor. The material improvement in the lives of people in South Korea was nothing short of a miracle. From 1960 to 1995, GDP per capita increased more than one hundredfold, virtually eliminating absolute poverty from more than half of the population to less than 5%. This miracle was linked with another key value of the Olympics and the United Nations - international collaboration. South Korea successfully leveraged international aid, international trade, and international Photo Credit : Shutterstock investment with its domestic ingenuity, to show the world it is possible to transform in one generation an agrarian economy into a dynamic technological and cultural producer. Along with the rapid economic transformation, social and environmental concerns have also risen to the fore. In recent years, we have seen South Korea make commendable steps towards environmental sustainability and inclusive social policies such as the aged pension. Integrating the economic, social and Controlled By The Internet So, I was keen to share this research from University of North Carolina; Quartz – New Study Says Half of US Students Could Be Internet Addicts The findings are really quite stark and startling. This is something that has crept up on society at such pace and in such a startling manner that few are fully and adequately engaging with all the implications. Rational, educated, intelligent parents have had this happen in their homes, right under their noses – the same people who would have launched in to massive action if they saw even a hint of their child getting involved with tobacco or alcohol. If the numbers are really even close to what this research suggests, then the reality is that enormous numbers of students and their parents are really still in denial. The article also contains some cautionary warnings for adults about the examples that have been/ are being set. However, there are times when I think this needs to be set in context. A parent who reads ebooks, literature or material for their professional or personal development on a device rather than in a book, or listens to professional podcasts, can hardly be compared with the student who spends 6+ hours a day exchanging meaningless social networking messages or playing a computer game. When the parents read books in the past, were the children all following their example then? These are very real issues that have massive implications for society. And, it’s not going to get better. environmental dimensions is the cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals. South Korea is once again demonstrating to the world a way to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable prosperity. South Korea now stands as a valued member of the international community, generating cultural phenomena appreciated by young people around the world, playing a leadership role at the UN, and as a significant contributor of aid to developing countries. Olympic sports can support cultural, political and economic diplomacy in its efforts to achieving and sustaining peace. The Olympic Truce Resolution adopted by the United Nations is an example of using a momentous occasion in international sports, to build a stronger foundation for a more peaceful and inclusive world. The resolution urges all countries to respect the truce by creating a peaceful environment during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and calls on all countries to work together, in good faith towards peace, human rights, and sustainable development. Opening of the direct dialogue between two countries of the Korean peninsula after the 2018 Olympics show cases a commitment to peace and prosperity. I wish South Korea a promising future and success in its endeavors to foster lasting peace and prosperity. *Dr. Shamshad Akhtar is an Under- Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). This year, the market will be hit by large volumes of virtual reality material – hardware and software. The fact that this will be potentially even more immersive, stimulating and exciting will bring more Photo Credit : Shutterstock danger to more young people. Families need to be engaging in open discussion on these issues and educators also need to be engaging young people in sensible, open conversaion so that they can be helped to make better choices for themselves. India’s only International Newspaper
12 - 18 February, 2018 13 T Think - Tanks T ◆◆ By Dr. Pramila Srivastava @PramilaBK ps.a@iins.org his month inevitably gets dubbed as the month of love, I for one think the timing is brilliant since all the festivals and fanfare of the New Year has ended and we’ve resumed our normal lives. So a day like Valentine’s Day becomes sort of a reminder to appreciate the people we love in our lives. However, it isn’t just materialistic things that we should focus on but just love in general. The pressure of being ‘romantic’ and succumbing to materialistic demands has taken away the actual meaning of the day. We are so consumed and overwhelmed by materialistic objects - advertisements for jewellery and the perfect gift, roses and chocolates, flowers - but love isn’t just that. Love is beyond such material things. The statistics bother me, almost 40% of people feel very negatively towards the day itself, in one study a shocking number of women almost 50% said that they would leave their partners if they didn’t receive a gift or some sort of gesture on Valentine’s Day. What really matters? Pulling us out of the Hallmark induced India’s only International Newspaper NEW DELHI TIMES NAM restructuring its concerns in contemporary times ◆◆ By International Institute for Non - Aligned Studies @iinsNAM iins@iins.org he need for a Non-aligned block during Cold War ushered in with factions dividing the world into two grabbing for power creating a vacuum between US led West and Soviet Union leading the East turning other nations as mere pawns to their own game of power and authority on the global chessboard. However, NAM came into existence bringing a balanced outlook and catering and protecting also while strengthening the developing countries. But with the end of cold war the relevance of NAM has been questioned again and again. However, Non-Aligned Movement has a very relevant and vital part to play with certain important issues facing the Southern countries on the globe at present. While it is also important to realise that all its concerns of the past are not addressed completely and have reshaped itself in a different garb that ailing the contemporary times which need to addressed. Poverty and underdevelopment still remain a major problem in this region. Despite the almost total elimination of colonialism, the essence of colonialism, such as control and hegemony of external forces, continues in different forms. Neo-colonialism has evolved into a major concern of weak societies in this part of the world. Environmental degradation, climate change, disarmament, external debt, state and nonstate terrorism, and violence emanating from ethnic and religious conflicts are some True Love is beyond Materialism daze, let us focus on what truly matters and honestly the answer is quite simple; Love is all that matters. Why do people get disturbed and perturbed at this day, while there are many reasons one reason could be that they feel inadequate in their relationship, or they feel unfulfilled. Sometimes when we are unhappy but unable to vocalize why we are unhappy, we tend to put a lot of stock in outwardly gestures and symbols. Let me explain that with a story; Alisha started dating Jack in college and initially Jack was attentive and pursued her till she accepted, for a few months things were great, she gave it her all and made Jack the entire focus of her relationship and by losing awareness and moving into tunnel vision, she missed out on the signs like how conversations with Jack were getting shorter, his temper was getting worse, he was irritated with her and started calling her names like unreliable, useless etc. So despite being in love with him, she was feeling the unhappiness to her very bones, she knew something was off but kept making excuses for him in the name of love, so come Valentine’s Day she expected something very spectacular from him. Why? Not because only she was materialistic, she just wanted a sign or anything from him to prove that she was loved. Since the day was all about love, she just of the common issues facing the NAM states today. External actors, including sympathetic states, can hardly resolve these issues for the Third World. In addition, depending on external actors to resolve Third World problems goes against the very essence of independence that the NAM states were seeking relentlessly. These issues may be easily handled and resolved through internal mechanisms and collaboration among the states of the Third World. The NAM could and should continue to focus on these issues. Along with them is the worrying issue of global economy, with the Western economy entering into a depression the rest of the world is bound to experience a disastrous effect specially the Southern countries which are already experiencing decline in exports, GDP and an alarming weakening of their balance of payments. This crisis if hits the developing countries would destabilize the progress that has been made till date, calling NAM for immediate action to counter the coming setback. The developing countries need to insist that reforms are commenced especially by developed countries on their enormous agricultural subsidies which undermine farmers and agriculture processes of developing countries affecting the final outcome. Many imbalances and unwanted rules of the developed countries threaten the developing countries, like the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations of Africa and Pacific countries with the European Commission which is demanding zero tariffs for 80% of imports as well as other unreasonable demands such as a ban on export taxes, a deregulation of finance and wanted to feel cherished by him. I think we can all see the problem a little clearly now, no matter the roses or chocolates Alisha gets on that day from him, do you think she is going to be happy or will a diamond pendant solve the problems in their relationship. Love is something that has to be felt every singly minute of every single day. This is not contingent entirely upon material gifts. True love implies that there is such a strong relationship based on trust, respect and mutual admiration. When we are truly loved investment, and to be given equal treatment as locals in the government procurement business. This has become a burning issue which requires the immediate attention of NAM. Another matter that has been recently flagged as a subject of concern is of privacy, intellectual property and transfer of technology. The strict IPR regime preventing transfer of technology and instead raises costs and prices. Also posing strict uneven rules for developing countries access to cheap medicines, in controlling seeds and agriculture and building their own industries. Developing countries are fighting for flexibilities or reform of the present IP regime, and have launched a development Agenda initiative in WIPO. The South Centre can work with NAM members to strengthen this reform movement and to formulate national IPR policies that are prodevelopment. In addition to these is the need of developing countries to review their developmental Name :.......................................................................................................................................... Address :....................................................................................................................................... Mobile / Phone :............................................................................................................................. Date of Birth :............................................................................................................................... Cash/Cheque / Draft / :................................................................................................................ Bank :........................................................................................................................................... Date :........................................................................................................................................... Subscription Fee Subscription Form and respected, Valentine’s Day becomes just another day where you can celebrate your love. Every single day tell each other how much they mean to you and do the little things that can put a smile on your face, express gratitude for having a partner like him/her. True Love is beyond materialism. As the great Greek philosopher Aristotle succinctly remarks: “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” policies in view of the global economic situation, relying less on exports from West and become self reliant with domestic and regional products. While also promoting South-South trade policies and more. These developing countries also need to coordinate to implement the post-Rio plus 20 agenda with profound climate change negotiations which are not only going to affect the climate but also have deep implication on South’s economic policies. (in arrangement with News from Non-Aligned World) www.iins.org One year Five year Rs. 350 Rs. 1500 A-2/59 Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi - 110029 India Ph. No : +91-11-26102520, Fax : +91- 11- 26196294 E-mail : info@newdelhitimes.com Web : www.newdelhitimes.com Photo Credit : Shutterstock www.NewDelhiTimes.com
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12-18 February 2018 - 16-min

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