Alumni Voice

There has been no doubt that Covid-19 has taken a toll on every individual. This has led to some inconveniences and even drastic losses for most such as loosing their occupation or loved ones. A lot of precautions have been implemented to reduce the spread of this disease. One of which is washing your hands for as long as you can sing happy birthday. This method is quite effective but the increase in daily cases in some countries proves that more people should be aware of said precautionary steps as well as the dangers of this disease. Living in a pandemic was never to be expected by any of us. However, there are many lessons to be learnt due to this phenomenon.

One out of the seventeen goals for sustainable development or SDGs is climate action. Carbon dioxide is one of the factors that leads to climate change. After Covid-19 has struck the world, corporations and factories were forced to shut down to reduce the spread of the disease. Not only that, there has been less usage of vehicles such as cars, buses and motorcycles as well as airplanes for transport. This led to a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions by 8.8% from January 2020 to June 2020 when compared to the same period of time as in 2019.  If the pandemic can be controlled and more companies as well as individuals are willing to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions, climate change may be reduced. This may be done by using alternative sources of energy such as solar, hydropower, wind, geothermal and even biomass. Moreover, countries can unite to solve the problem even further. For an example, Singapore, who have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide gas into clean air, may provide ideas on how this method can be implemented in each country. If a country does not have the required materials, resources can be shared between different countries. This would also further strengthen relationships between different countries that are involved.

Quality education is another goal towards sustainable development. Students are unable to go to school whether it be high school, kindergarten or university. This may hinder their progress of getting the education that everyone deserves. However, a solution to that problem has been easily been found which is online learning. In my country, there are individuals who cannot afford simple devices for e-learning. The government and local businesses have recognized this problem and have made donations to the families who are in need of help. There are also learning packs that contains learning materials so that students do not need to spend more money in getting an education. The period of time where online learning was required however was short lived as after 4 months since the first case was reported in Brunei, students were able to go back to school. Online learning was a different experience. Almost everyone going through it struggled with lack of motivation. This feeling kept on increasing as the day goes by. However, everyone kept on motivating each other that things will eventually get better. Today, I am grateful that despite the downfall, we were still able to get the education we wanted and needed. Without education, there will be no future leaders who can lead everyone to a more bright and sustainable future.

The use of electronics and the internet has been increasing which led to the belief that the future will be going towards a more technology related future.  A few years ago, not everyone would require a mobile phone or even a computer to live their life normally. Nowadays, more people just need a simple mobile phone to generate income. I believe that our generation has to be ready for the industrial revolution 4.0 as soon as possible. More people have to be open minded with different occupations and not only stick to one particular occupation that they wanted when they were younger. I believe that the future will be even more fast paced than now. The society after Covid-19 have to be more adaptable and resilient which can be done by working together as a community in anything. Even as simple as sharing simple knowledge or an idea may lead to big and impactful changes for the entire world. Most people are well aware that a sustainable future is the way to go. It is only a matter of how it is done and the creative ways the future leaders are going to do it. In summary, there are more beneficial things that can be learned due to this global pandemic. There are more aspects that can be observed and learned from such as healthcare and how to improve it. The good thing about our current situation is that everyone is involved and can better themselves through hardships. We all need support from each other so that all of us can get through this phenomenon and live better lives in the future. All of us have to act now and believe that a better tomorrow will come to fruition. As Mahatma Gandhi has once said, “The future depends on what you do today”.

Covid-19が全ての人に影響を与えていることは間違いありません。新型コロナウィルスは不便さと、失業や、愛する人の死に直面するなどの激烈な喪失をもたらしました。多くの予防措置が、この病気の広がりを減らすために取られています。そのうちの一つは、「ハッピーバースデートゥーユー」と歌い終わるまで手を洗う事です。この方法は非常に効果的ですが、感染者数が増加している国もあるということは、より多くの人々 が予防措置だけでなく、この病気の危険性を認識する必要があることを証明しています。私たちの誰もが、パンデミック禍に暮らすことになるとは、予期していませんでした。しかし、この事象から学ばなければならないことはたくさんあります。

持続可能な開発のための17の目標（SDGs）のうちの1つが気候対策です。二酸化炭素は気候変動を引き起こす一因です。Covid-19が世界を襲った後、企業や工場は病気の蔓延を抑えるために操業停止を余儀なくされました。加えて、車やバス、バイクなどの乗り物だけではなく、移動手段としての飛行機の利用も減りました。これにより、2020年1月から2020年6月までの間と、2019年の同時期と比較した場合、二酸化炭素の排出量が8.8％減少したそうです。 パンデミックが抑制され、個人だけでなくより多くの企業が二酸化炭素排出量をさらに削減しようとする意志を持てば、気候変動はゆるやかになる可能性があります。これは、太陽光発電、水力発電、風力発電、地熱発電、さらにはバイオマスなどの代替エネルギー源を利用することで実現できるかもしれません。さらに、各国が団結して問題を解決することも可能です。例えば、二酸化炭素をきれいな空気に変換する方法を開発したシンガポールは、各国でこれを実施するための方法を提供してくれるかもしれません。また、ある国に必要な資源がない場合は、各国間で共有することも可能です。そうすることで、関係各国間のつながりがさらに強化されることになります。

質の高い教育は、持続可能な開発に向けたもう一つの目標です。（ロックダウン中に）幼稚園、高校、大学と、いかなる学校にも生徒たちは通うことができませんでした。そのため、誰もが享受すべき教育を受けることができませんでした。しかし、この問題を解決する方法が簡単に見つかりました。それは、オンライン学習です。私の国では、オンライン学習のための簡素な機器を買う余裕がない人がいます。政府や地元企業は、この問題を認識し、助けを必要としている家庭に寄付をしてきました。また、学生が教育を受けるために多くのお金を使わなくてもいいように、学習教材が含まれている学習パックもあります。ブルネイで最初の事例が報告されてから4ヶ月後、学生は学校に戻ることができたので、オンライン学習はわずかな期間のみ行われました。オンライン学習はこれまでとは異なる経験でした。ほとんどの人がモチベーションの欠如に悩まされていました。その気持ちは日を追うごとに高まっていきました。しかし、みんなが「いずれは良くなる」とモチベーションを保ち続けていました。今日では、厳しい環境の中、必要な教育を受けることができたことに感謝しています。教育がなければ、皆をより明るく持続可能な未来へと導くことのできるリーダーは生まれないでしょう。

要約すると、この世界的なパンデミックから学べる有益なことはまだまだあります。医療やそれをどのように改善するかなど、観察して学べることはもっとあります。私たちの現状の良いところは、誰もが関係しあい、苦難の中で自分自身をより高めていける点です。私たち全員がこの事象を乗り越え、将来的にはより良い生活を送れるように、お互いの支え合いが必要です。私たち全員が今行動し、より良い明日が必ず来るということを信じなければなりません。マハトマ・ガンジーがかつて、「未来は今日のあなたの行動にかかっている」と言ったように。