Your Favorite Idea - Reflection from the People's Choice Team

Our vote is our voice. The best way to be heard is through voting. Once all the ideas were submitted by the participating teams at the Power for a Better Future Forum, the online community was invited to vote on the ideas based on creativity, sustainability, and equity. 

The team that received the most votes from the public is Team A-4-APPLE. The contributing members are:

People's Choice Team

• Aisha Minjal Rupen Pathak - St Luke's Catholic College, Australia

• Natalia Righele Gonzales Taboada - Carmel College, New Zealand

• Jenny Cheng - Taipei Private Tsai Hsing High School, Taiwan

• Anny Tingyu Zhou - American International School of Cyprus, Cyprus

  
  

Aisha reflected on how she came to this global journey from the beginning, what she has experienced with her multicultural teammates and what she plans to do with this experience:

Aisha Minjal Rupen Pathak - St Luke's Catholic College, Australia

"There’s always a purpose behind something; whether it be meaningful or blindfolded. My reason to join the BWB Forum was both, I stepped into a passionate area so obliviously, hoping that my friend was right about this; it was an experience definitely not worth missing. All I knew was that it discussed solutions not for local areas or miniscule institutions, but taking account of the world on a larger scale and comprehending its dynamics, to make a difference.

The more research I did prior to the first meeting, the more excited I became. During the first meeting, I recall seeing so many diverse people, backgrounds and opinions, all come together for the sole reason and had understood exactly why my friend had told me so.

From the kindness of Yohana to the humour and fun facts of my fellow teammates, this forum instantly welcomed an open mind and liberated expression, which made me excited for future sessions and to see where they would take myself and my team. The next meeting, I met my teammates; Natalia, Anny and Jenny. Oceans and continents apart, however, we all felt an instant connection–whether it be over hobbies, music or passions–and that first meeting is what built the foundation for our supportive and collaborative teamwork. Working with all my teammates has been an honour. From Jenny’s hilarious stories yet sharp mind, Natalia’s empathetic approach and relatability, and Anny’s musical passions yet unique perspective on climate change; inviting an international forum has really shifted perspective on how to summate a global solution, rather than a local one. Though we had a few minor challenges in presenting and information, these gaps only helped our team learn and grow better.

From a personal perspective, the part of this forum I enjoyed most was the presentations. Though I did not have much knowledge on the Paris Agreement nor any aspects of America’s economy and political/climate status, listening to other people’s diverse presentations and histories of their countries has not only helped me expand my understanding of the overall Forum topic, but grasp a universal status of climate change in the past, present and future. This has helped develop a tactic to approach the Final Solution papers in a manner that rectifies America’s weaknesses to aim for a stronger eco-friendly future in alignment with the Paris Agreement."

Please join us in congratulating Aisha and her teammates for winning the People's Choice Award. The Forum Outcome Report is now published here.