Interview by Rui Pastorin
Now entering its third edition, the Macao-Wide English Essay Competition (MEEC) is open for registration until October 27, calling on students to explore and write about the topic “Nature and Me”, which is again based on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) launched in 2015.
Nature and Me
MEEC Organising Committee Chair and Macau Speech Professional Association (MSPA) Executive Vice President Sandy Leong (梁嘉怡) pointed out to The Macau Post Daily in a recent interview that when one thinks about nature, saving or planting more trees, using less plastic, and the three Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) are among those that come to mind, but there are a lot of other aspects that can be explored.
Leong said that the contest’s organising committee hopes that participants can explore “our own roles with nature, how we interact with it, how it interacts with us, and how we envision a future where we coexist in a very fruitful way”, as well as about how we can nurture it while it nurtures us, rather than just taking from it.
“The whole idea is kind of behind the sustainable development goals because everything is interlinked”, further elaborating that the goals are “interlinked in a way that nature plays a role” in each of them.
“How we can look for these connections is going to be crucial in the next 20-30 years”, Leong emphasised.
By taking part in the contest, Leong said she also hopes that participants can think about nature in a “deeper way” and take a closer look at one’s relationship with nature and the environment. She added this also meant looking at the bonds that people have with nature, including how it affects our food, living, the planning of urban spaces, and even how nature affects people mentally. “I think these are really important for us to explore”.
Facilitating a wider discussion
The last two editions, themed “The Change I want to Make” and “An Inclusive World” respectively, together garnered 2,600 students.
“Every year, we are always surprised about how many students are so willing to participate in our contest, especially considering that we have no monetary prize. But the fact that a lot of students and teachers want to know more about sustainability and how we can build a better world, I think to us [the contest’s organising committee], as a team, it’s very rewarding to know. So hopefully this can inspire some change in Macau so we can all put a little bit of effort together to make things better.”
Rather than putting expectations on how many people will join the contest this year, Leong said she hoped instead to reach Macau’s youths, even those who decide not to join, and have them think about the topic as increasing conversations about it proves important.
“I think that’s our goal every year. How can we have more people brainstorm ideas on changes we can make, on inclusiveness, and [now] on nature”, Leong concluded.
More details about the contest, including events that the committee organises to help participants think about the topic from multiple angles, can be found on https://essaymacao.com/.
This image downloaded from the Macao-wide English Essay Competition’s (MEEC) website last night promotes the contest.
