Byline: SARAH GOODMAN
Credit: VANSUN
Column: SAVVY
Notes: Sarah Goodman is in Grade 11, Handsworth school North
Vancouver; Sarah Goodman is a member of The Vancouver Sun Youth
Advisory Panel.
DD 11/19/91
SO Vancouver Sun (VSUN)
Edition: 1*
Section: FEATURES
Page: C7
Category: GENERAL
LP --- Science World youth summit has tough news for students: it"s time to help Third World --- OF THE 27 children who die each minute on Earth, 26 of the deaths occur in the developing world. North Americans watch television three to five hours a day, which is about the same amount of time women and children in rural India spend gathering fuel.
TX One hundred Lower Mainland Grade 11 and 12 students, who met recently at Science World for a youth summit focusing on the exhibition Hope: Seeing Our World Through New Eyes, were shocked by these and other startling figures. Hope is a desire accompanied by some confident expectation. Hope is also the theme of the exhibition that is presented by the Canadian * Aga Khan Foundation. At the summit we were challenged by one another on our preconceived perceptions of the Third World, and what the solutions to our world"s ever-pending problems should be. The exhibition brought to light, for many of the participants, the inaccuracy of the media"s depiction of the Third World"s famine and failures. News coverage of the Third World and the images that we receive from commercials are all of the helpless African begging for Western aid. What we as Westerners do not see is the developing countries and their citizens working together to make their lives better. We don"t comprehend our own hypocritical actions; Canada is sharply criticized throughout the world for its forest management, yet we assist the developing world with its forest management. Collin Mahony, a member of the deforestation group at the summit, said: "We should be implementing good forest practices ourselves, before we go over and tell the developing nations what they should be doing." These were just two of the topics that the summit touched on. More important, this diverse group proved that they could work together to find solutions. Sacrifices must be made. The world spends $2.5 billion a day on armaments. This is the same amount that the Russians spend on vodka a month, but more important, this same $2.5 billion a year could save the lives of five million children. What is the bigger sacrifice? With perceptions altered and ideas flowing, we all left the summit knowing that with communication, education and understanding, hope will always exist and flourish. Hope: Seeing Our World Through New Eyes, is at Science World until Jan. 5.
ILLUSTRATION: RALPH BOWER/HOP ABOARD: Tara King, 16 (left), joins Collin Mahony, 15, with Jason Lee, 16, and Sarah Goodman @Art: P @Art: RALPH BOWER/HOP ABOARD: Tara King, 16 (left), joins Collin Mahony, 15, with Jason Lee, 16, and Sarah Goodman
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