Annabell Lackner, Grade 12
UWCEA Arusha Campus
On February 28, 2022 newspapers around the world spread the word globally: war has broken out between Ukraine and Russia. The tensions that had existed for months, if not already years, had eventually escalated and brought back war to Europe. With increasing uncertainty about the continuation of the conflict itself, heated discussions are going on as everyone wants to find responsibility somewhere else.
In the midst of this geopolitical catastrophe, I started organising a discussion panel with one of my classmates. The aim was to bring together a diverse mix of teachers and students, to then shine light on different perspectives on topics related to the conflict. What we did not know when we started planning, was the incredible speed with which the political and economical developments started to become more complicated and more heated from day to day. Not only did everyone seem to have an opinion on the, for us at that time, faraway war, but also did the omnipresent fake news and sensationalistic mass-media spread nothing more than contradiction and conspiracy. For this reason we needed to act fast, careful and precise, taking sensitive issues and disagreements in our school community into consideration.
I remember countless meetings with teachers checking in on our preparation progress while constantly reminding us to be careful not to stir someone up. Keeping that in mind, the panel finally took place in March, bringing Austrian, Albanian, Belgian, Cambodian, Haiitian,, Macedonian and Sri Lankan students on one table each speaking up for a different issue and perspective in the war. As a moderator, I led the conversation by directing the exchange with guiding questions, waving together the individual pieces into one big story. Without doubt, the panel was a great success in that it voiced different sides and aspects of the war and demonstrated that even though Ukraine is admittedly far away, each and every citizen on the planet will suffer the consequences of the Russian attack. Many of us were shocked to hear how far reaching the impacts of the crisis already were in some countries at this early stage in March. The geopolitical equilibrium appeared to start wavering, opening up local trouble spots globally.
Personally I learned so much by reading through and listening to the opinion pieces of the panellists. It was truly an enriching experience since the South-East-Asian perspective represented by a Sri Lankan, for instance, is much more insightful than the vague and often subjective speculation of western media. Moreover, it was surprising to dive into the origins of the war by alluding to the political careers and personal characteristics of both Zelenski and Putin. Interestingly enough, I realised that not every country will only lose in this conflict, as there are many, especially African nations that now have the chance to fill the gap in the oil and gas market. Frankly, the panel opened my eyes in so many ways and gave me the opportunity to engage with diverse viewpoints. I had the feeling that the audience enjoyed the same effect which was exactly what was needed; an open and fact based conversation, tolerating differences and enabling everyone to form their own opinions. Finally addressing hypocricis protected and often nourished by the media, a safe space was created to discuss controversies like the unusually high attention and interest regarding the Ukraine war, as well as roles and relations of nations worldwide in the ongoing crisis. Having said all this, I hope to recreate the setting again in the future to allow members of our UWC community to learn through meaningful discussions and eliminate bias and prejudice on global issues.
In the midst of this geopolitical catastrophe, I started organising a discussion panel with one of my classmates. The aim was to bring together a diverse mix of teachers and students, to then shine light on different perspectives on topics related to the conflict. What we did not know when we started planning, was the incredible speed with which the political and economical developments started to become more complicated and more heated from day to day. Not only did everyone seem to have an opinion on the, for us at that time, faraway war, but also did the omnipresent fake news and sensationalistic mass-media spread nothing more than contradiction and conspiracy. For this reason we needed to act fast, careful and precise, taking sensitive issues and disagreements in our school community into consideration.
I remember countless meetings with teachers checking in on our preparation progress while constantly reminding us to be careful not to stir someone up. Keeping that in mind, the panel finally took place in March, bringing Austrian, Albanian, Belgian, Cambodian, Haiitian,, Macedonian and Sri Lankan students on one table each speaking up for a different issue and perspective in the war. As a moderator, I led the conversation by directing the exchange with guiding questions, waving together the individual pieces into one big story. Without doubt, the panel was a great success in that it voiced different sides and aspects of the war and demonstrated that even though Ukraine is admittedly far away, each and every citizen on the planet will suffer the consequences of the Russian attack. Many of us were shocked to hear how far reaching the impacts of the crisis already were in some countries at this early stage in March. The geopolitical equilibrium appeared to start wavering, opening up local trouble spots globally.
Personally I learned so much by reading through and listening to the opinion pieces of the panellists. It was truly an enriching experience since the South-East-Asian perspective represented by a Sri Lankan, for instance, is much more insightful than the vague and often subjective speculation of western media. Moreover, it was surprising to dive into the origins of the war by alluding to the political careers and personal characteristics of both Zelenski and Putin. Interestingly enough, I realised that not every country will only lose in this conflict, as there are many, especially African nations that now have the chance to fill the gap in the oil and gas market. Frankly, the panel opened my eyes in so many ways and gave me the opportunity to engage with diverse viewpoints. I had the feeling that the audience enjoyed the same effect which was exactly what was needed; an open and fact based conversation, tolerating differences and enabling everyone to form their own opinions. Finally addressing hypocricis protected and often nourished by the media, a safe space was created to discuss controversies like the unusually high attention and interest regarding the Ukraine war, as well as roles and relations of nations worldwide in the ongoing crisis. Having said all this, I hope to recreate the setting again in the future to allow members of our UWC community to learn through meaningful discussions and eliminate bias and prejudice on global issues.
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