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Ciudad+: An environmental boost for positive change

What is CIUDAD+?

Ciudad+ is an event created by young people for young people, which seeks to raise awareness in the community. We know that we cannot change what has already happened, so we believe that the only way to ensure a better future is to act in the present, learning from the mistakes of the past.

This space was created in 2019 as 'City+ Forum', with the main focus on the environment. In the following versions of the event, other thematic axes were introduced, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the complex situation experienced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the forum did not stop, as the third and fourth versions of the event were held in virtual mode.

A word from our General Secretary

Hello everyone, I am Carlos Burgos, general secretary of the fifth version of Ciudad+ V. I would like to welcome you to this new chapter of Ciudad+, a crucial space for us young people.

I remember the admiration I felt when I observed the general secretaries in academic events, leading with seriousness and solving problems effectively. This reminds me very much of what we experienced in 2020, when a new disease generated uncertainty in the world. Despite the adversities, Ciudad+ overcame virtuality in the third and fourth editions.

After two years, we are back in the fifth version, facing new challenges. The lesson of these years is clear: despite the difficulties, there is always a way to reach our goals. As the saying goes, "he who wants to can". No matter how adverse the world may be, with will and determination, we will achieve our goals.

FACING THE DEBATE

Cabs vs. Taxi Platforms in Colombia: Collective Solutions

A debate session will be held on the topic 'cabs vs. digital platforms in Colombia'. For this, the speakers will have to research about this issue in order to reach the best possible solution. In the forum guide you will find more information.

ENRICHING IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES

Ciudad+ Forum: discover, debate and transform

Format of papers

Forum guide

Example of format of presentations

Environment

Animals
  • Animal rights.
  • Alternatives to the testing of products potentially dangerous to humans.
  • Animal testing. Animal abuse?
  • Ethics of the use of animals for medical testing.
  • Penalties for animal abuse.
Sustainable tourism
  • Hotels: social and environmental responsibility.
  • Alternatives for sustainable tourism in mangroves.
  • Zoos: educational environments or prisons?
  • Tourist impact on the places they visit.
Natural resources
  • Water management: Are we aware of its finiteness?
  • Water waste: what to do about it?
  • Big companies that take water from vulnerable communities - Are they equal rights - "All year around" crops: advantages and disadvantages to the environment.
Mines and energy
  • Mining: destruction of the subsoil for money.
  • Effects of illegal mining on the environment.
  • Energy transition.
  • Are "clean" energies really clean?
  • SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), its efficiency and global implementation.
  • Will lithium be the oil of the electric age?
  • How green are biofuels?
  • SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy - how far are we from achieving it?
  • Is the world ready to generate electricity for the electrification of transportation?

Philosophy and Politics

Philosophy
  • The "depersonalization" of humanity through the unbridled consumption of unfounded technology.
  • Did the human being live a pandemic, or was it the consequence generated by the syndemic of indifference and social order?
  • What is the globalized purpose of a mercantile society? How are natural values founded in a society with a tendency to the immediacy of materials?
  • The churches and their social commitment in the midst of a world constantly in transformation and less believing: What happens after death? Does
  • reincarnation exist?
  • Perception of aesthetics.
  • How human beings perceive time and reality.
Politician
  • How are we doing? Government of Gustavo Petro in Colombia.
  • Health reform and its viability for the welfare of the country.
  • Do members of the government deserve to have such high salaries?
  • Left vs. Right, which is better for the people?
  • Relations between Colombia and Venezuela with the arrival of the new government.
  • Corruption in Colombia, how is the new government dealing with it?
  • Expropriation, the fear of many towards Gustavo Petro.
  • Iván Duque's government, why was it so disapproved by society?
  • Political tension between the United States and China.
  • Nayib Bukele, Latin America's next dictator?

Health and Wellness

Feeding
  • Food waste in different settings (hospitals, schools, restaurants, households, etc.) - causes, how to avoid it?
  • Strategies for food waste reduction and redistribution of food resources in cities, regions or countries.
  • Alternative packaging (packaging evolution, non-polluting packaging)
  • Organic food, a fad or a solution?
  • SDG 2: Zero hunger: too ambitious to be achieved?
  • Malnutrition in a world where more food is produced than consumed. How is this possible?
Treatment of diseases
  • Health system in Colombia, how efficient is it?
  • The walk of death.
  • Patients with pathologies that do not receive treatment. Why does this happen?
  • The odyssey of getting a medical appointment in Colombia.
  • Vaccination against Covid-19. Did it really work?
Mental Health
  • Depression risk reduction guidelines.
  • Family communication and expression of emotions.
  • Mechanisms of attention and action before drug-dependent population.
  • Mental health, a reality that we must face and not avoid.
  • Social pressure: its causes and consequences on people.
  • Effects of the pandemic on people's mental health.
  • Consequences of diseases such as cancer on the mental health of those who suffer from it.
  • Why do people pay attention to physical health and not to mental health?
Sex Education
  • Abortion: can it become a new contraceptive method?
  • Sex education in school, taboo?
  • Sexual care in adolescents.
  • STDs and their prevention.
  • Teenage pregnancy.
Bullying
  • Cyberbullying: a new way to destroy others.
  • Suicide by bullying
  • Discrimination in all its forms, what causes it, how to avoid it?
Sports
  • FIFA, passion or business?
  • Social pressure on professional athletes.
  • The mafia behind sports.
  • Feminism and machismo in sports.
  • Transgender participants in sports competitions.
  • Participation of athletes with disabilities, true inclusion or publicity?
  • Sport as a way out of substance dependence.
  • Sports infrastructure in cities.
  • Are motor sports really sports?
  • Why does the Colombian baseball league only have 4 teams?

Society

Drug trafficking
  • Illicit crops: illegality for profitability?
  • Peasants and crops: marimba bonanza.
  • Legalization of crops.
  • Discrimination of Colombians abroad due to the stereotype of drug traffickers.
  • Substance use among adolescents.
  • Micro-trafficking and the "pots" - Drug traffickers and cattle ranchers, potential allies?
Economy
  • Digital investment, how reliable is it?
  • Inflation 2022: who is to blame?
  • Cryptocurrencies and their advantages.
  • Social inequality.
  • Digitalization of money: is the end of banknotes near?
  • State of enterprises and microenterprises after the pandemic.
  • Suffering of entrepreneurship after the pandemic.
  • Starting a business in Colombia: mission impossible?
  • Government subsidies and their effects on the economy.
Consumption
  • Programmed obsolescence: the company against the consumer.
  • Consumerism: today's worst evil?
  • High-end cell phones: necessity or whim?
  • When cheap is expensive
  • How, what, and when to buy?
  • Luxuries vs. necessities, what is the limit?
  • Fast fashion: being fashionable at the cost of destroying the world?
  • SDG 12: responsible production and consumption: Are we responsible when we buy?
Social Networking
  • Entrepreneurship in social networks
  • FOMO (fear of missing out) social networks
  • Tiktok as a platform to earn money, is it a formula or just luck?
  • Social networks and entertainment: two words that go hand in hand?
  • Influencer, the new profession- Influencers in digital currency and digital business
  • Is it possible to make a living without a university degree?
  • Onlyfans: the evolution of prostitution?
  • What do children and teenagers consume on social networks?
  • Do social networks bring us closer to those who are far away but distance us from those who are close?
  • Data theft and trafficking
  • Identity theft on the web
Weapons
  • Arms trafficking.
  • Access to guns for minors.
  • School shootings: a consequence of ineffective regulation of gun sales or the result of an oppressive society?
  • How easy is it to make a gun, whether it is a knife or a firearm?
  • Non-Proliferation Treaty: is it being complied with?
  • Use of weapons by law enforcement.
  • Albert Einstein once said, "I don't know with what weapons the third world war will be fought, but the fourth will be fought with sticks and stones." Is he right?
Inclusion
  • Religion vs. women's human rights.
  • At what point does feminism stop being good or bad?
  • Optimal educational and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
  • People with disabilities: how do we include them in everyday life?
  • Is 'inclusive' language really inclusive?
  • Inclusive Language: What is it? What isn't it? What (or how) should it be?
  • Trans people and their integration into society
  • Discrimination and discriminatory language.
  • Machismo and feminism, which is better and which is worse?
Urban Areas
  • Urban population growth What to do to have more sustainable cities?
  • Should Bogotá's subway be subway or elevated?
  • Will a return to the countryside, or reverse migration, be a solution to the overcrowding of cities?
  • Alternatives to the increasingly chaotic urban traffic.
  • Disorderly expansion of urban spaces: should limits be set?
  • Flooding. Runoff management
  • Intelligent traffic lights to improve city traffic.
  • Smart Cities: how do cities become smart?
Citizen Culture
  • Motorcyclists without helmets: why don't they wear them if they know what they are exposed to?
  • Why do we call the new generations as 'Generation of glass'?
  • Pedestrian bridges, beautifiers of cities or an element to avoid traffic accidents?
  • Pollution of public space as a consequence of a lack of civic culture.
  • Xenophobia towards low-income and homeless people.
  • Social protests as a pretext for vandalism.
  • Insecurity in cities as a sign of the education of its inhabitants.

STUDENT DIPLOMACY IN ACTION

MUN Commissions: today's leaders, tomorrow's diplomats of tomorrow

PNUMA

Remarks by President Olmos:

Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Commission (UNEP) at the Model United Nations. Here, you will address critical issues in environment and sustainability. As chair, I urge you to work together to find innovative solutions.

You will explore challenges such as climate change, resource management and biodiversity conservation. Take this opportunity to learn and develop problem-solving and negotiation skills.

I wish you success in your deliberations and look forward to seeing the results of your efforts. I thank you for your commitment to addressing environmental challenges. Sincerely, Juan Vicente Olmos

Guide
Handbook

Congress of the Republic

Congress of the Republic Remarks by President Ganem

There is no one less fortunate whom adversity forgets, for he has no opportunity to put himself to the test." - Seneca

Welcome everyone, I am Shamuel Ganem, chairman of the congress committee for the fifth edition of "City+". I thank those who make this possible and you, the participants.

My goal is to make this committee a space where ideas for the improvement of our country, Colombia, are expressed. Although facing adversities is not easy, as Seneca said, it is necessary to evolve as human beings. I want each one of you to end up with significant learnings.

The Colombian population faces alarming problems, and as congressmen, our duty is to propose solutions through bills that meet the needs of the people.

Guide
Handbook

DISEC

Remarks by President Blanco:

"Men build many walls but few bridges." Isaac Newton

Welcome to the DISEC committee, where I have the honor to be chairman. I greet those who make the fifth edition of 'Ciudad+' possible. My goal is to create an environment where everyone expresses ideas for a better Colombia, fostering critical skills and a debate that brings together the potential of those who seek to be agents of change. We are concerned about the current direction of our country and the problems that affect it. We are in the midst of uncertainty, but it is time to be part of the change by acting in the present.

Guide
Handbook

UNODC

Remarks by President Mestra

"Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I will remember, involve me and I will learn" - Benjamin Franklin.

I invite you to actively participate in 'City+ V', an opportunity to learn and test your knowledge. Welcome to the fifth edition of 'City+' and to the UNODC committee. Every failure is a step towards success. As the next generation, we develop knowledge and seek solutions together. 'City+ V' is an ideal space to improve our world. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will be guided by me and my co-chair, committed to bringing you the best. We welcome you in anticipation of your exceptional participation.

Sincerely, Santiago Mestra Negrete.

Guide
Handbook

UN WOMEN

Remarks by President Gründmann:

"Young women and girls, your voice is powerful and important." - Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States.

I greet the delegates of the UN WOMEN Committee, Model UN is an opportunity to learn and teach about global issues. City+ is an opportunity for the future generation to speak up and make a difference. Participating in this event can transform you, contribute to the world, advocate for human rights and equality. As president, I am here to support you - welcome to the fifth version of City+!

Sincerely, Camila Gründmann

Guide
Handbook

Unforgettable Moments

Exploring Ciudad+ through the Lens

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