BELLSPIRATION presents: 1st Day of the 18th International Youth Conference

1st day of the International Youth Conference included the following sessions and their speakers:

SESSION I

 

SESSION II

We asked the Conference's participants to share their thoughts on the following question: 

What do you think of how social distancing in this pandemic affects human development?

Here's what they said about it:

Muratcan Isıldak, Turkey: The COVID-19 crisis has taught us one thing, it is that the relentless focus on hyper-efficiency and short-term gains of recent decades has given rise to a highly fragile global system. The time has come to build a more resilient world order, based on economic, generational, and international solidarity.
Will the young, among whom the mortality rate is lower, make sacrifices to protect the old? And will people in rich countries accept resource transfers to poor countries? There were the questions we need to ask ourselves.

Morgan Janowicz, Poland: Social distancing is limiting humans interactions. Teenagers are not able to experience their first loves, meet up with friends in the city or simply go to the cinema and participate in the classes physically. Older people are left alone because of the covid-19 and the risk that they will get affected.
I personally miss the 'old days' where I could get more physical with my friends and could freely work on my social life. The development of all of us is based on contact with others. Limiting contact influences our development greatly, including the worsening of our mental health. Seeing my friends online is not the same as seeing them in real life. I believe that the social distancing is making our development a bit more challenging.

Luka Radičević, Serbia: I think physical distancing has caused social distancing as well. People are made to work together and social distancing is definitely hitting human development hard. I hope the crisis will not last for much longer so that we can reverse the effect.

Nicolò Passaro, Italy: I guess it could be a great problem to solve it. Our generation especially has grown up very isolated 'cause they distrust other people and stuff. A covid-19 outbreak could improve and justify isolation even more around young people, especially in local communities. Human relations are important now than ever cause Covid-19 outbreak has been showing us that the myth of "Alone is better" is just an illusion and without social cohesion and a strong will to create friendship the risk is that the main challenge of the future as Climate Change, A.I. or Disinformation will be almost impossible to face.

Mary Drosopulos, Greece: Social distancing affects mainly people with limited or non-existent access to the internet. It can lead to a distorted view of one's self, environment, and society, leading at cases to a number of mental, emotional, or social issues.

Bleona Hamiti, Kosovo: I think that social distance in this pandemic negatively affects human development.  Staying at home, isolation, not cooperating physically with different people, not having fun with people, not getting involved in various activities, etc. will greatly diminish and reduce human development.
Since the level of education also affects human development, unfortunately at this time we are holding online learning and I think this is reducing the opportunity for a proper learning.
This social distance will erase any activity we have done in the right way before the pandemic and as the result will have an impact on human development.

Marinela Dervishi, Albania: Even though I prefer to think we are only practicing physical distancing during this pandemic, deeply I feel that part of our social interactions and social life is lacking its functioning component, the human component during the interactions.
It’s the human touch that generates a real impact from the social interaction, and with its current limitation I believe the final outcome will be lacking substantial relevance.
Of course that when using the technological means of social interaction, we are making baby steps towards human development, and I see it as a way to adapt and overcome the current challenge, but I don’t feel it can be a new way of human interactions from now on. It can’t be the mass way of interaction, because it doesn’t generate the same powerful impact and outcome compared to human interaction, but definitively it should be a complementary way towards human development. As for now, we have to keep practicing distance to ensure our health, and use technology to bring us closer and a step further to human development.