Creating Awareness, empowering youth

Symposium on Covid-19

By Chelvin Ramsamy 

Following the proclamation of L’Escalier as the first-ever International City of Peace in Mauritius on 23 June 2020 and on the sidelines of the UN International Day of Peace celebrations on 21 September 2020, Chelvin Ramsamy – who has been appointed as Peace Ambassador by the Cities of Peace organisation with United Nations ECOSOC accreditation in the US – convened a symposium on the environmental, economic and social aspects of the Covid-19 global pandemic at Domaine Dalais, L’Escalier on Sunday 16 August 2020.

Participants and resource persons at the symposium on the environmental, economic and social aspects of the Covid-19 global pandemic at Domaine Dalais


The participants were predominantly youths both from the village and beyond, belonging to different religions and backgrounds. They set off at 07.30 am from L’Escalier, walking the 3.5 km to Domaine Dalais, a pristine green space bordered by a river. After they had been served light refreshments, the symposium got under way at 09.00 a. sharp. Chelvin acted as MC, Shri Seemadree Latchayya (Vice-President of Mauritius Telugu Maha Sabha) as Coordinator, and two resource persons – from Chinmaya Mission Shri Kamlesh Dukayka (PhD Astrophysics from USA and President of the NGO ‘Young Leaders in Environmental Harmony’), and Dr Neerunjun Gopee (Orthoplastic Surgeon, former Director General Health Services, and regular contributor to Mauritius Times).

After the welcoming and introductory remarks by Chelvin Ramsamy, he invited Dr Gopee to give an overview of Covid-19 pandemic. The latter outlined briefly the origins and rapid spread of the virus until the pandemic stage, and explained in simple language how the virus was affecting the lungs as well as other organs of the body, producing disease in all age groups though it was mainly the senior citizens and those with underlying disease conditions who were the most hardly hit. After citing some global statistics about the number of cases and deaths, he stressed on the importance of strictly following the prevention measures recommended by WHO – handwashing, social distancing, using face mask among others — because treatment was still evolving, and a vaccine was not yet available. And youth could and should be the essential ambassadors in actively promoting prevention by setting the example themselves.

The participants were then divided into three groups, each designating a Group Leader, a Reporter and a Speaker who would respectively coordinate ideas, write down answers and make the presentation on the group’s reflections. Each group was assigned one of the following topics/sub-topics:

Economic:

  • Can we recover with a new economic model? 
  • What should be our economic priorities and how do we contribute to it?
  • Unemployment and inflation in the Covid-19 recession.
  • How can the global economy recover from Covid-19 with a focus on trade?

Environment:

  • Positive effects of Covid 19 on wildlife, travel and climate change.
  • Environmental lessons learned from Covid-19, living in harmony with nature.

Social:

  • Physical and social isolation, stress and uncertainty due to pandemic and restrictions. 
  • Serenity, relationships and strengthening family ties during Covid-19.

After 45 minutes, presentations were made by each group as follows:

Economy

The team was of the view that the Mauritian economy was already unstable even before the pandemic, which however will worsen the situation. Further, under certain circumstances the government in order to curb the spread of the virus had been forced to make quick decisions and financial commitments, some of which could be long-term, and might have to be implemented even beyond Covid-19. However, given the financial constraints that the country is facing, it might be impossible to fulfill the commitments, as this could worsen the country’s debt going forward.

Environment

The team pointed out that there is less movement of people since the lockdown. Most parts of the country have started to witness cleanliness in public areas as there is less to near zero littering during the lockdown period. Since many industries are closed, there is less air pollution. Also, because of the reduction in transport movements, emissions will be reduced. As protected areas including marine and nature reserves are also under the influence of the lockdown, one could say that ‘biodiversity is at peace’.

Social

This team discussed the positive and negative aspects of Covid-19 on the social lives of people. It is anticipated that many people will lose their jobs, including a high number of retrenchments which will lead to poverty. The country has a high number of homeless people that government has had to care for during the lockdown. This might stretch the budget even further.

It is the first time in its history that the country is locked down, and several events including cultural ones have been postponed or cancelled. Political parties seem to have put aside their differences and are working together to defeat the ‘invisible enemy’ that is the coronavirus, and overall there is a new solidarity being practised within the country.

After the presentations, Kamlesh Dukayka who had earlier presented the 5 R’s of the environmental paradigm, made some constructive comments and concluding remarks on the delivery of each group. He also congratulated them for their active participation and encouraged them to remain engaged in such endeavours.

There was subsequently an award ceremony for the five winners from the L’Escalier Telugu Maha Sabha of a Whatsapp general knowledge competition conducted during the Covid-19 lockdown in Mauritius. The prizes were handed over by Clarel Dalais himself, the owner of Domaine Dalais.

Overall, the event turned out to be a complete success.

* * *

Biography of Chelvin Ramsamy

25-year old Chelvin originates from L’Escalier in Mauritius. He has had a bright academic career right from his primary school days, eventually graduating from Middlesex University London with LLB (First-Class Honours) and LLM (International Business Law), securing a second consecutive bursary to pursue an MBA. Awarded a fellowship by the US Department of State through President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), he followed a public management and governance course at the University of South Africa, and subsequently represented Mauritius at the African Union Youth Volunteer Corps programme in Egypt.

In 2020, Chelvin was appointed as a Special Assistant Advisor on Regional Integration for the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after two years spent at ‘Big 4’ accounting firm KPMG and the Financial Services Commission Mauritius.

Further, he is extensively involved in voluntary activities: he spearheads the International Executive Board as Southern African Regional Associate for the Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA) and also serves as Continent Director (Africa) for the Africa-Asia Youth Foundation. In addition, Chelvin is the Country Representative for the African Youth for Development Commission. He has co-founded ‘Let’s Glow Organisation’, an NGO engaging youth in environmental, educational and empowerment initiatives.

He is the initiator and organizer of the symposium at Domaine Dalais, L’Escalier on Sunday last.


* Published in print edition on 21 August 2020

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