Let's start with the hammerhead shark (Image 1), one of my favorites as its head is such a unique shape. Quite in fashion with its name it does look like a hammer. Their head is distinct, flattened, and wide. It is believed that the form of their head aids in the discovery and capture of various squids and fish as well as crustaceans. 

Sharks come in more than 500 different species, with sizes ranging from the 8 inch long dwarf lanternshark (Image 2) to the enormous whale shark (Image 3) which can reach up to 40ft long. Sharks appear in a wide range of forms and dimensions each one made to survive in its area of the underwater kingdom.

Moving onto the great white shark - the most well known species of shark, which can grow up to 20ft long and weigh 5000 pounds. It's widespread across the oceans of the world and are renown for their amazing hunting capabilities and sheer size. These sharks effectively catch their prey easily with the use of its razor sharp teeth which are continuously replaced throughout their lives. Fun fact - a great white shark can go through 20 000 teeth throughout its lifetime. Some other species of shark can even go up through 50 000 teeth in their lifetime.

Overfishing is one of the major dangers to sharks and all other marine life. In commercial fishing many sharks are trapped and killed for their meat and fins (shark finning) which are prized in certain cultures and regions. The population of sharks across the world have experienced a major drop as a result of all the overfishing people have done. 

Luckily, a large number of nations have put laws and rules in place to protect the wildlife and sharks from overfishing and shark finning. This has reduced the trade in sharks and their fins but there is still an immense amount of work needed to be done to protect these animals even more. Many organizations are doing just that and are trying to promote sustainable fishing methods that have the least negative impact on shark populations and to increase the public awareness and knowledge about these events and the value of sharks in the ecosystem.

And now to lift the mood up, below are some fun shark facts!

Last but not least, there is an interesting fact which you may or may not already know. It's the fact that some sharks (including the great white) have a special organ called the 'Ampullae of Lorenzini' which can detect electrical fields in the water! This helps them navigate their surroundings and catch prey.

Antonio Vulic

The earliest forms of mecha can be traced back to the late 1930s and early 1940s where giant robots were used to present the Imperial Japanese army as a powerful machine which would defeat the US but, as we know, this would not be the case. The earliest of these works was Denki Dako which means ‘electric octopus’ and was published in 1940. The work follows a young boy who pilots a large robot octopus and his exploits. Another example was produced in 1943, called Kagaku Senshi New York ni Shutsugensu, which translates to ‘the science warrior appearing in New York’. The work depicts a giant robot wreaking havoc and devastation on New York and thus served as a propaganda piece for the Japanese Empire and its army (Graves 2020).

On the 6th and 9th of August, 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be devastated by two atomic bombs and Japan would surrender not long after. Much of Japan had been bombed and so the country lay in ruins, however, Japan slowly began to get back on its feet as the economic miracle that would make Japan a leading economic power was beginning. Despite the rebuilding, the atomic bombs weighed heavily on Japanese minds and this was reflected in a mecha manga published in 1948 called Genshiryoku Jinzoningen which looked at some aspects of nuclear weapons. As time went on, in the 1960s Japan entered a period of great economic prosperity which would be known as the “Golden Sixties.” This great economic prosperity allowed Japan’s pop culture to grow as television became more widely available and in 1962 when the first anime would be broadcasted. The following year in 1963 the first mecha anime aired called Tetsujin 28-go and was about a giant robot controlled by a young boy using a remote control. Tetsujin 28-go would be picked up by NBC and televised for American viewers and renamed Gigantor. The synopsis of the show is that several villains try to gain control of the mech for evil purposes but the young hero Shotaro Kaneda foils their plans each time with his perceptive mind and sharp detective skills. This show was famous not just for being the first ever broadcasted mecha anime but also for being one of the first Japanese anime to receive sponsorship from a company as a means of covering costs. Sponsorships emerged as animation studios and their directors came to the realisation that financial support was needed in order to alleviate the expense of animation. The popularity of Tetsujin 28-go and other shows, such as the mecha comedy Robotan from 1966 established the foundation of mecha anime and manga in Japanese pop culture – but this was only the beginning (Graves 2020).

The 1970s saw not only growth in the mecha genre but also in anime and manga as a whole. Two major subgenres emerged during this decade and created the mecha we often think of when people mention mecha. These two genres are called ‘real robots’ and ‘super robots’, the most famous being real robots. Super robots were spearheaded by the release of Mazinger Z by Go Nagai in 1972 and involved young people using mecha as a form of transportation. Almost a car-like super robot as a subgenre often involves a young teenager controlling a unique robot or mech through either voice commands or a neural link and it became immensely popular at the time. Towards the end of the 1970s super robots had not only become popular but also commercially successful, as toys and merchandise from shows would be released and sold out. However, despite the popularity and the commercial success of super robots, the subgenre had become stagnant by the late 70s which created an opening for innovation and change, one that Yoshiyuki Tomino in particular would take advantage of. In 1979, Yoshiyuki Tomino would create Mobile Suit Gundam and in doing so, birth the subgenre of real robots. Tomino was not a huge fan of the basic storylines in super robots and thought they were more like commercials for studios and toy manufacturers. He believed in more complex stories with realistic characters and mechas which showed the grit and realism of war. His vision was that mechs were tools of war rather than some magically powered unique gift. This is exemplified in his 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam as two factions clash using mechas piloted by soldiers. The response to this shift in tone was not favourable at first but the fandom was supportive and this led to a boom in the subgenre as well as the emergence of gunpla. Gunpla are model kits of the mechas that appear in the Gundam series and were exceedingly popular. This popularity of real robots meant that several other non-gundam series appeared and became well-liked and part of Japanese pop culture (Graves 2020).

Despite this, the super robot subgenre did make a slight comeback in the 1990s when Hideaki Anno created his most famous work Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995. The show attempted to deconstruct tropes in anime and demonstrates subjects such as depression, the desire to be loved, isolation and the search for validation. It became a massive success and elevated not just mecha but anime as a whole because it established that anime could be used as a medium to discuss serious issues. By the end of the 90s, mecha was in decline and by the early 2000s it was a shadow of its former self and was all but ignored in the light of other shows being released at the time – except for Gurren Lagann. Gurren Lagann, being one of the most popular and greatest shows of all time, was ironically released in a stagnant and dead period of mecha anime which probably contributed to its roaring success.

Although mecha was nowhere near what it had once been, it would release a handful of shows in the 2010s which saw some success, such as Iron-blooded Orphans. It seemed like all had been lost, mecha had fallen from its mighty peak, but then the tremors could be felt. A new age was emerging for mecha –  could mecha once more scale the mighty mountain it had once ascended so many years ago? The simple answer is yes. In 2018, a series called Darling in the Franxx aired and although it received mixed reviews and much hate for its ending, -which I will not reveal here in case you want to watch it-  it left a mark and a character that even those who have not watched it will recognise. This character is Zero Two who is loved by many and is now the face of Darling in the Franxx. The mecha genre was not done yet however. In the same year the mecha genre released SSSS.Gridman which received good reviews and was well liked. In 2021 mecha went all out by releasing a sequel to SSSS.Gridman called SSSS.Dynazenon which was also well received. Later that year, seasons 1 and 2 of 86 were released and suddenly mecha was in the spotlight as people loved the series and even introduced more people to mecha. This was an exciting period of mecha as it was gaining new fans and viewers who would go back to explore older works. <Gundam, however, had remained quite quiet since the release of Iron-blooded Orphans with nothing major or anything noteworthy being produced for more than half a decade. This held true until the beginning of October 2022 when Gundam cleared its throat and sang an opera in the form of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. This series is not just significant because it is the first gundam series to be released in 7 years but it is also the first Gundam series to have a female protagonist, and a lesbian one at that, which is a massive stride in Gundam as it had only featured male heterosexual protagonists since 1979. The series has received much support and has been well liked both for its story and the superb animation. 

The future looks bright for the mecha genre with more shows in the making. I believe mecha will reclaim what it lost after the 90s for if there is one thing that the mecha genre refuses to do, it is to back down.

Read more here:
Graves, A. (2021, March 2). The origins of mecha: Introduction. Anime Herald. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.animeherald.com/2020/11/11/the-origins-of-mecha-introduction/ 

Viggo Hill

Although it is commonly associated with rebellious youth, it is adapted by many people during their adulthood. There are, obviously, many people who simply choose to dress a certain way without following the culture’s shared beliefs and opinions. This happened due to the increase in people who are interested in these said cultures which then got accepted by those who follow the culture because of its meaning, purpose and message. Similarly, alternative music is music that’s different from what is mainstream - except many alternative genres were mainstream at one point. In most of these cultures, music and fashion go hand in hand, therefore, I’ll be explaining the cultures, how people dress, act and what they listen to. Hopefully this article will give you, the reader, more information about these important aspects of life; culture, music and fashion while breaking stereotypes. 

Note: The information given in this article is based on the generalisation of certain subcultures. As people who join these communities tend to be creative and individualistic they will most likely adapt traits/appearances of many subcultures and will not only identify with one.

1. Punk

The Punk subculture originated in the late 1970s as a movement against the mainstream ideas and figures of authority at the time. Commonly, punks advocate for individual freedom and anti-establishment. It’s common to see them wearing DIY clothing with spikes, leather boots, skinny jeans and jackets, having dyed hair, a mohawk, and piercings. 

The movement spread from the U.S. to the Britain where groups like Sex Pistols -based in London- became one of the most famous punk rock bands ever. U.K. punk slowly got outshined by other genres such as disco as it became too mainstream at the time and it continued as hardcore. Basically, its own success damaged the subculture. However, punk is still around and alive, and it contributed to the British and American culture - as well as contributing to the rapid increase of independent record labels such as SST Records and Dischord Records. Some widely listened punk bands are Green Day, Blink-182, Ramones, Misfits and Bad Brains. 

Despite the stereotype of punks being trashy, rebellious, and troublemakers, this isn’t necessarily true for each and every individual in the community. As a matter of fact, there is a subculture called straight edge that is connected to the hardcore punk scene which advocates for the avoidance of recreational drugs, alcohol, and tobacco -  some also choose a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. A way to recognize them would be the X drawn on the top of their hands at gigs. Straight edge became a subculture that was inspired by the song with the same name by Minor Threat, which then gained its audience. The song's lyrics mention how they don't need recreational drugs in order to have fun at shows which became the main purpose behind the idea. Straight edgers still exist, even though not all of them go by all the rules; the main idea is to live clean and avoid supporting the capitalist system. 

Here are some extra sources if you would like to know more about punk!

A Punk Playlist 

Please Kill Me by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil 

From Velvets to the Voidoids: The Birth of American Punk Rock by Clinton Heylin

Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital by Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins

We Got the Neutron Bomb by Brendan Mullen and Marc Spitz

The Filth and The Fury: A Sex Pistols Film

The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark. E. Smith (Documentary) 

2. Goth

Goth, inspired by the Early and Late Gothic period, is a way of living mostly expressed by listening to gothic music, dressing in dark clothing and doing heavy makeup. It emerged in the late 1970s, - influenced by other subcultures like post-punk and gained popularity in the 1990s. The fashion style is androgynous, meaning that the features of gothic fashion can be seen on everyone despite gender and it is highly inspired by the Elizabethans as well as the Victorian-era. Goths can be recognized by their dark lipstick, heavy eyeshadow and eyeliner, fishnets, spikes on clothing, all black outfits, chokers, dyed or extra hair styles, thin or no eyebrows, etc. As other cultures, goths separate into other subcultures such as traditional goths, cybergoths, gothic lolita, dark cabaret (Victorian inspired goths), deathrockers and many more. 

There have been many bands that have inspired gothic culture such as Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Doors, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure. There are many genres goths listen to but the most common ones are; deathrock, and the subgenres of New Wave - darkwave, coldwave, and ethereal wave.

 Deathrock is a subgenre of rock that includes gothic traits. As expected, the lyrics consist of dark themes like death and isolation. Christian Death and 45 Grave are some of the well known bands of deathrock. Darkwave originated from the post-punk and New Wave movements in the 1970s as a subgenre that is known to have gloomy, dark and slow melodies. These melodies are reached with the use of a synthesiser in darkwave bands - they also can be built around guitar. Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus, and Joy Division are some notable bands in the genre. 

Coldwave is another subgenre that is considered to be a subgenre of minimal wave as well. The reason it’s called coldwave is because of its depressive sound and detached vocals. Asylum Party and Charles de Goal are two of the most famous bands of coldwave. 

Lastly, ethereal wave is a subgroup of darkwave that is inspired by dream pop and synth pop. Its identifiable characteristics are atmospheric piano and high-pitched vocals. The lyrics usually consist of other-wordly experiences which is how people who listen to the genre would describe it. Cocteau Twins, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Autumn’s Grey Solace (my favourite band currently!) and Love Spirals Downwards are some great ethereal wave bands. 

Even though someone may not identify with the fashion style, gothic music is what brings goths together. Despite all the stereotypes, there is no such thing as painting all goths to be Satan worshippers or atheists as this stereotype is merely judgmental and wrong. 

Here are some extra sources if you would like to know more about goth!

A Goth Playlist 

21st Century Goth by Mick Mercer

Goth Chic: A Connoisseur’s Guide to Dark Culture by Gavin Baddeley

Hex Files: The Goth Bible by Mick Mercer

Goth: Undead Subculture by Lauren M. E. Goodlad and Michael Bibby

3. Metal

Metal music is a genre of rock that originated from the hard rock scene in the 1960s which gained popularity and reached its peak in the U.K and U.S. during the 1980s. Metalheads commonly are non-conformists and they can be seen with DIY-ed vests with spikes, band t-shirts, leather boots, bullet belts, corpse paint (mostly seen with Black metal listeners), long hair and piercings. 

The themes of a metal song is usually fantasy, religion, death, anti-establishment, sexuality, etc. Most believe that Black Sabbath’s self-titled album “Black Sabbath” (1970) was the first heavy metal album and the one that inspired the others to come. The band used blues rock with the addition of a gloomy tone, and thus; heavy metal was created. Because of their huge influence in the genre they are also known as original metal - including Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.

The evolution of metal music came quickly - bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica released albums in the 80s which got international attraction. As the genre evolved, the 90s brought many bands that are still famous today such as System of A Down, Slipknot, Korn and Deftones which are considered to be nu-metal bands. There are many subgenres of metal music - those being black metal, progressive metal, trash metal, death metal and glam metal. 

Black metal originated in the 1980s and the Norwegian band Mayhem is known to be the ones to start the genre (they’ve had quite the drama in the band; I recommend checking them out if you’re into true crime…) followed up by Darkthrone and Bathory. The genre can be recognized by its satanic or paganistic lyrics, fast tempo and screaming vocals. 

Progressive metal originated in the late 80s and the exact origin of which group started the genre is unknown as many bands influenced the creation of genre such as Queensryche, Meshuggah, Dream Theater, Symphony X ,Tool, Opeth and Pain of Salvation. Characteristics of the genre are a non-standard song structure,distorted sounds, usually progressing from slow to fast as the name suggests. 

Trash metal, originating in the early 1980s had been inspired by the hardcore punk scene and NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) and includes widely known bands such as Anthrax, Slayer, Kreator, Metallica and Megadeth. Trash metal can be identified through its complex/fast guitar riffs and solos. 

Lastly, death metal, which originated in the late 1980s, was inspired by trash Metal and early black metal.

Bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Death, Gojira and Behemoth are popular ones of the genre. 

It could be surprising for the newcomers, however the death metal scene in Sweden is quite popular that it has its own name; Swedecore, describing the Scandinavian style being used by Non-Scandinavian bands. Some famous Swedish death metal bands are Morbid, Entombed, and Dissection. Death metal can be recognized by growled vocals and dark-themed lyrics. 

Glam metal, although not very welcomed by some metalheads in the genre, is a heavy metal inspired genre with pop riffs that originated in the early 1970s. Glam metal artists have a different fashion style than that of heavy metalheads. They tend to have long, teased hair and sometimes wear makeup. Their look is highly androgynous with patterned spandex jumpsuits, flared jeans and leather jackets. Some mainstream glam metal bands are Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Kiss. 

There are many harmful stereotypes about metalheads since they can be seen as threatening, depressed and nihilist individuals, however, there are many metalheads who try to fight those stereotypes by creating communities against ideas that are associated with metalheads, such as being Neo-nazis, bullying, and such. 

Here are some extra sources if you would like to know more about metal!

A Metal Playlist. 

Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe

Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Didrik Søderlind and Michael Moynihan

Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture by Deena Weinstein

Cannibal Corpse: Centuries of Torment: The First 20 Years (Documentary)

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (Documentary)

4. Emo

Emo is a subculture that originated partially from the hardcore scene in the 1980s and 2000s. The music that is listened to by emos were made in the 1980s while the fashion became a part of it during the 2000s. Emos usually have a dark makeup look, long bangs covering the face (sometimes dyed), wearing black skinny ripped jeans, band t shirts, piercings, Converse or Vans shoes, etc.   

The word “emo” was used for many different things as the genre evolved so what it means depends on the time and context. In the 1980s, people were using the term “emocore” to separate the bands who were against violence at gigs from the others. Undeniably, the most famous emo band is My Chemical Romance (debuted 2001), followed up by bands such as Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, and Fall Out Boy. The traits of the genre are emotional lyrics and melodies that are a mix of other genres like hardcore punk and goth. 

What made emocore different from the other alternative genres at the time was that they added emotional lyrics that were mostly screamed while singing. Just as other genres, emo has other subgenres as well; midwest emo, emo pop, screamo, and scene. 

Midwest emo began as a reaction to the emocore scene in the 1990s. It has a more melodic approach to music while having parts of indie and math-rock included. The fashion style of midwest emo listeners are more casual than the stereotypical way - they can be seen dressed in flannels and old sweatshirts, kind of similar to how grunge listeners dress. Some midwest emo bands are American Football, Cap’n Jazz, and Algernon Cadwaller. 

Emo pop is a mixture of pop music and emo punk which became popular in the mid 2000s. Some mentioned bands above fall into this genre as well, like MCR, Paramore and such. Lyrics mentioning adolescence angst and relationships are a prominent part of the genre. 

Screamo, also known as skramz is a subgenre that emerged in the 1990s with characteristics of dissonance and aggressive screaming vocals. The term screamo has been used for many bands since it was confused with any emo band that uses the screaming technique, however screamo is its own genre and it’s not necessarily mainstream. Some screamo bands are Touché Amoré, Asking Alexandra and Alesana.

Lastly, scene is a subculture that originated from emo and was popular amidst teenagers between 2000 and 2010. The reason Scene became its own subculture was because of its unique fashion style consisting of bright colored dyed hairs with crazy hair styles, piercings, heavy makeup and colorful clothing/accessories. Scenesters, as scene kids are called, listen to emo bands like Bring Me the Horizon, Pierce the Veil and Attack Attack! as well as music from other genres. As scene became their lifestyle, kids changed the way they talked and created slang and abbreviations in their community as well. Although scenesters still exist, the community slowly died out as the scene kids grew up and their choice of social media Myspace had a downfall. 

Here are some extra sources if you would like to know more about emo!

An Emo Playlist 

Emo: How Fans Defined a Subculture by Judith May Fathallah

From the Basement: A History of Emo Music and How It Changed Society by Natasha Van Duser and Taylor Markarian

Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture by Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley

5. Grunge

Grunge originated as a subculture of the rock scene in the late 1980s in Washington, especially Seattle. Grunge picked up characteristics of punk rock and metal like the distorted guitar sounds and raspy vocals, except the pace of the songs were slower. The lyrics include dark themes such as self-loathing, search for freedom, nihilism, and hopelessness usually expressed through a third person. The genre spread around the world and more bands joined the grunge scene. People who listen to grunge can be seen dressed in clothing like flannels, oversized band t shirts, leather boots - mostly Doc Martens which are known as the 90’s grunge scene staples. 

The most commercially successful grunge band is Nirvana, which got widely recognized by their album “Nevermind” (1991) - including one of the most famous alternative songs of all time; “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Other bands contributed to the genre being commercialised and mainstream by their famous albums like “Ten” (1991) by Pearl Jam and “Superunknown” (1994) by Soundgarden. Other bands that are in the grunge genre are Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, The Smashing Pumpkins, Mother Love Bone, and Dinosaur Jr.

Grunge had a decline from mid to end of 1990s due to the disbandment of the most famous grunge band at the time; Nirvana, whose members chose to do so after Kurt Cobain’s suicide. The other grunge bands disbanded as well, since it was hard to reach the standards Nirvana had set. 

Grunge has a subgenre called post-grunge which has a less intense tone compared to original grunge. Another thing that differed from original grunge were the lyrics - while first grunge bands had lyrics that were spoken through third person as mentioned, post-grunge bands usually expressed lyrics about relationships and addiction through first person - focusing on the “I”. Some famous bands that are still listened to by grunge fans are Foo Fighters, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and Creed. Post-grunge was disliked by some fans of grunge as their purpose seemed to be becoming mainstream while what made bands like Nirvana likeable was that they didn’t want to be mainstream despite their extraordinary success. Grunge became a popular subculture during the 2000s and fans still exist -  listening to bands from the 80s and 90s and dressing the way they did. 

Here are some extra sources if you would like to know more about grunge!

A Grunge Playlist

Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge by Mark Yarm

Alice in Chains: The Untold Story by David de Sola

Journals by Kurt Cobain

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

 Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (Documentary)

Jale Azra Arslan

There were two levels, the lesser mysteries which were held in spring, and the greater mysteries which took place in September over nine days. The newcomers would purify themselves by making a sacrifice to Demeter; the god of harvest. If they were deemed worthy, they would be worthy of initiation into the Greater Mysteries. To open the Greater Mysteries, Athenian church leaders would carry sacred objects from Eleusis to the Eleusinion, a haven at the foundation of the Acropolis, where they would remain for five days. And after this, a 14-mile cavalcade to Eleusis would begin, led by two Eleusinian priestesses carrying special items in preparation for the rest of the ceremony. These priestesses would carry torches, flowers and ceremonial vessels until they arrived at the initiation hall. It isn’t known what exactly went on in these initiation halls but it is believed that one of the members would drink a fermented barley beverage that had psychedelic effects. They would then enter the Telesterion, where the rituals are thought to be divided into three stages. The first stage was known as 'dromena' which was a re-enactment of the death of Persephone. The second stage was 'dieknumena' where they displayed sacred artefacts. Lastly, the third stage was narration of Persephone’s adventures. Though, the understanding of this aspect is poor.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Lakshita Shahi

Between 29th September and 2nd October, the MUN team from the International School of Helsingborg hosted a conference, where multiple schools joined. We had an interview with the leaders, Paris Sharma and Aditya Sunil to have a better insight into the conference and to hear what motivated them as leaders.

1. Why did you join the MUN?

“I thought that MUN was a really cool, interesting activity, and a friend of mine--it was her idea to go and I kind of tagged along. After that, it became a fun debate thing.” - Paris

“For me, in my old school I was actually in an African drums group and then I heard a group was going to New York and I got very interested in it. Then when I joined the group I realized it was a debate club and soon I came to realize it was MUN. After being with the group for like a month or so I got invested into this, I was intrigued by the discussions we were having which were fairly interesting for 7th graders back then.” – Aditya

2. What were your first impressions?

“I thought it was quite intimidating because as a kid in PYP6 debating with like DP2 kids, it was scary. They kind of have more skills in terms of researching and they were able to bring up facts quicker. But it was a nice experience.” – Paris

“For me it was quite the opposite. I loved the intrigued discussion thing because I am a more vocal person myself, and I was aware about the world around me but no one to discuss that with, so I felt like I found my place.” – Aditya

3. How did you end up leading the MUN?

“What happened was that we had previously DP2’s leading MUN at ISH and once they handed it over, I and a couple of other people were in charge, however, roles kind of switched and they weren’t in charge anymore, so Aditya came over and stepped in. After we finished a conference in Copenhagen, we talked about how we were going to start MUN here at our school and how we were going to lead it. That’s when the discussion of having a conference at our school started. That is how we came up with the idea. “– Paris

“Since the DP2’s had a very fun way of teaching us, we thought we were taking it upon ourselves since we were the next oldest people in the group and Paris along with a couple of our friends started to lead it and I was late to join, I was a delegate. Due to class time most people couldn’t make it, so I needed to step in, play my part of putting MUN back on the schedule. That’s who I started leading as well. After a few classes we had the Copenhagen conference Paris mentioned, where we had trained our students to do their very best, and I must say three of them got the best delegate awards, which is not easy to achieve at all, but they did it under our guidance. From that conference we were intrigued to create one of our own and after having a few discussions about the conference with our supervisor, Mrs. Beks and the principle and the English teacher Mr. Garrard, we hosted an MUN conference planned between September and October.”

4. Can you tell us more details about the conference?

“We had two schools come over and of course our delegates participated. We had four committies which focused on four different topics, such as gay marriages, Cuban missiles crisis, decriminalization of narcotics and the current news about Ukraine war refugees. We had delegates from our school as chairs, and delegates both. Those chairs were the ones taking over MUN. We felt that we were well prepared for this conference although we didn’t get the number of people to sign up as much as we wanted. We felt that under the conditions and the scenario presented, challenges and obstacles were also there. Even so we think that we did an excellent job with our students to be both the chair and the delegates and making sure the conference was running smoothly.” – Paris and Aditya

5. What are some challenges you faced?

”Some of them were miscommunication between our supervisors and us. Also, between the students themselves as messages were either not received or one of the parties didn’t understand what they needed to do. Miscommunication was the general issue.”

6. What would you advise the next MUN leaders?

”We would encourage them to do better. One thing I will suggest is they should work on their communication as a group, but they should start with delegate roles and responsibilities, because it can be a lot for even one or two people to do the whole work.

https://bestdelegate.com/mun-made-easy-how-to-get-started-with-model-united-nations/

If you have been keeping up about new updates on Twitch then you know what I’m talking about. If you are just a viewer of Twitch content then you might not have. But for those who don’t know, Twitch is dying, mostly because of one big change in the way that the top partnered streamers get paid. Not only this, but for the past year Twitch has slowly been getting a decrease in viewership due to the pandemic coming to a close since people are spending less time inside and more time outside away from their devices. 

The change that Twitch made was that top partnered Twitch streamers such as XQC, Pokimane, and Ironmouse have been getting 70% of the revenue earned from their content and subscriptions. It was then revealed that Twitch would be changing the split to a 50/50 rather than the previous 70/30 on September 21th. You can find this article and more information about the change through this link. 

Naturally, this change has enraged the top streamers as this is a significant decrease in their salary and the money they earn and live on. Suddenly all the content they create is earning them 20% less than what they previously would have earned. Now, many streamers are highly considering changing to other platforms of which YouTube is the likeliest contender. Ironmouse (Popular vtuber and at one point had the most paid subscriptions), as an example, has already announced that she would be trying out Youtube in order to see if she wants to change platforms and move away from Twitch. 

Do you think that it is fair to the streamers of Twitch that they should be getting paid less or do you think that it's only fair that Twitch gets more money?

Arslanbenzer, Hakan. "Osman Hamdi Bey: Self-Orientalist". Daily Sabah, 2018, https://www.dailysabah.com/portrait/2018/07/21/osman-hamdi-bey-self-orientalist. 

Calu, Irina. "Islam In The Eyes Of Osman Hamdi". Dailyart Magazine, 2021, https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/islam-osman-hamdi/. 

Inanc, Yusuf Selman. "Osman Hamdi Bey: Artist, Archaeologist And Protector Of Ottoman Heritage". Middle East Eye, 2022, https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/osman-hamdi-bey-ottoman-heritage-protector-artist. 

"Osman Hamdi Bey". Peramuseum.Org, https://www.peramuseum.org/exhibition/osman-hamdi-bey/195. 

"The Tortoise Trainer - Osman Hamdi Bey - Google Arts & Culture". Google Arts & Culture, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-tortoise-trainer-osman-hamdi-bey/3AFvsWCD87FIWg?hl =en.

What is Helsingborg Expo 2022?

A city Expo is where a city shows all the innovations that have been created up until 2022. People from all around the world can come and visit and get inspired. 

H22 City Expo is an international city fair in Helsingborg. It creates and displays new innovations and solutions to give the people of Helsingborg a higher quality of life in a more sustainable city. The whole idea is to have the H22 expo and then continue to work towards the city’s vision for 2035. What people say about H22 is that:

“H22 is a major initiative by Helsingborg to develop future welfare solutions aimed at improving quality of life in a smarter, more sustainable city.” 

What they mean by "smarter city" is that the city focuses more on creating quality of life, based on the people who live there. Examples are achieving the global sustainability goals, innovation to develop welfare and the city, creating engagement with residents, colleagues, businesses, associations, and academia in the development of the city.

Why do we need H22?

They take a few challenges from the city and create solutions for them.

1. They estimate that by 2035, 60% of the population will live in cities, which means fewer people in the countryside. That means Helsingborg will have more people, but at the same time, they have to make sure that the environmental footprint doesn’t get too big. It is a tough challenge, but it can be possible.  

2. The number of elderly people is rising, as well as children, but the number of adults that pay taxes is decreasing. That results in less money for the city. The idea of H22 comes in handy then. H22 goal is to bring new innovations and ideas to help with these problems. They hope that in the long run, they will create smart and sustainable solutions that benefit the citizens.

City Expo program https://www.h22cityexpo.com/ 

Come and be a part of this new movement!

Tell me more about Hackathon. What happened there?

It’s a competition where you go through a bunch of challenges that were about how would you change education. It went along the lines that you had different challenges like cognitive, social, environmental, and technological. The purpose was to go through each one and then you have an hour where you talk with your teammates and brainstorm ideas that are relevant to the challenge in relation to education.

For example, looking at education through the viewpoint of a person’s cognitive abilities. So like how your brain works and how you can learn information and things like that. 

Who organized this event?

This was organized by one of the teachers at ISH, Yvette Larson who teaches the PYP clasroom. She was one of the event organizers and the event itself had a bunch of people from different parts of the world, so it was a global event, like Thailand, and the Netherlands.

How long was the event and what was the goal?

The event was over a weekend and started on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday you had to submit the work.

The goal of the whole thing or the goal of the competition was, in the end, to get a video summarizing the ways in which we think we can change education for the better. Like what things we should keep, what things we should just throw out the window and make a video summarizing that. David edited an amazing video. (link at the end of the article)

Why did you decide to participate in this competition?

Having a chance to impact how education is developed and how we teach the future generations about important topics such as technology.  It’s exciting to have something that you can give as a student yourself to future students. Also, it looks good on university applications. 

How was the Hackathon experience for you? Did you like it?

David: It started as being interesting at first but it became a bit of a drag afterward because you have to deal with so many things. But in the end, it was a fun experience.

Eleonor: Since it was so intense we got a lot of work done during those days we were there, but it was just overwhelming. It was overwhelming with the amount of information we were supposed to have developed and thought about in that short amount of time. But also as David said it was a fun experience and the results were very good.

Video link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk0eBYKYJP8&t=10s

Another tradition in honour of nature is to create flower crowns. For food Swedish people often eat pickled herring and potatoes for midsummer and for dessert everyone must have strawberries with cream. The importance of having strawberries is interesting as this year midsummer falls on a full moon which is named the strawberry moon.

Midsommarafton has historically been considered a night of magic and when the supernatural is most active; some say that the plants or flowers are magical that night and some believe laying naked in the dewdrops the next morning has health benefits. Many believe relationships are put to the test resulting both positively and negatively which relates to another tradition which was that on their way home from celebrating, girls are meant to pick seven different flowers and place them underneath their pillows before they sleep, in order to invite dreams about their future husbands. Another option is to eat salted porridge which leads girls to dream about their future husband feeding them water. Midsummer or Litha is considered to be a good time to get married - the pagan version of this is called handfasting, where two hands are tied together to symbolise the binding of two lives.

According to the Nordic Museum, Midsummer itself was not a pagan celebration but there were similar celebrations of the summer solstice, called Litha. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and in some cultures is considered the start of the battle between light and dark, between the Oak king (Litha) and Holly king (Yule). However, for modern-day pagans, the celebration still values nature but also represents inner power and brightness. Many cultures around Litha have traditions such as creating large bonfires and going outside to meditate. In Celtic cultures, some people would attempt to jump through these bonfires for good luck. On this day, pagans meditate about the light and dark forces in their lives because Litha is known as a balancing point in the year so for pagans, it is a powerful time for self-reflection.

References

Bhagat, Dhruti. “The Origins and Practices of Litha.” Boston Public Library, 18 June 2019, www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-origins-and-practices-of-litha/

Carlson, Cajsa. “A Brief History of Sweden's Midsummer Festival.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 25 June 2016, theculturetrip.com/europe/sweden/articles/a-brief-history-of-swedens-midsummer-festival/

N.a. “Midsummer.” Sweden.se, 1 June 2021, sweden.se/culture/celebrations/midsummer

It can affect your mental health, like making you unhappy, jealous, feel anxious, or even depressed if you use it excessively or without caution. Another problem with using too much social media is that it often causes problems with self-esteem. Everyone has their own insecurities that they accept or not. Comparing yourself with other people on social media who always post perfect pictures with their friends, holidays, partners, and so on can make you feel insecure about your life, at some point. Studies show that this is called Facebook envy syndrome. When we start to weigh our own value compared to what others do, we make ourselves feel insecure and forget about our own happiness. We compare our true self to an ideal but artificial image, and reality rarely rises to the level of fantasy.

There are more problems based on this but one thing you should always remember is that we need to understand most people go through the same thing and that a collage of successful frames from someone's life does not necessarily mean that the person is living an enviable existence. We should be happy for others and happier for ourselves.

For each problem, we can always find solutions to reduce our time spent on social media. There are a lot of ways and I will tell you some. For example, you can start to track your time spent on your phone. You can look at your screen time but also there are apps specially designed for this like RescueTime. It shows you how much time you spend on each app and per day. With that, you can set a goal about your usage and try to maintain it. Another one will be finding a hobby, something that you like or something that you want to try. There are a lot of things that you can do, for example, different sports, playing an instrument, learning things you’re curious about, knitting or crocheting, meeting with friends, using your creativity like painting and drawing, walking your pet, staying with your family and others. One more way is to leave your phone outside the bedroom when you sleep. I am sure everyone knows about this but it’s actually working. You are not tempted to look on your phone and you can sleep peacefully.

Remember, it’s all about baby steps. A little bit every day or week and maybe you could reduce the time on your phone and enjoy other things that make you happy.

The Biblical story

In his 30s, Jesus became the hot topic of the 30s AD. He was supposedly doing miracles - turning water into wine, healing the sick, and raising people from the dead. He was, among other things, teaching that all people - men and women, slaves and kings alike - are equal in value before God. He preached to anyone who wanted to hear. Thousands of people listened, fascinated by his knowledge and teachings. However, this was not appreciated by everyone. He was stealing the glory and status of the self-righteous and hypocritical Pharisees (members of a “superior” Jewish sect) and other Jewish leaders and priests. They also did not believe his claims of being the Son of God, thinking he was deceiving the people with fake news. 

Easter already existed before Jesus’ crucifixion, or well, a version of it called Passover. It commemorates God’s deliverance of the Jews - AKA the Israelites - after being enslaved to Egyptians for centuries - maybe you’ve seen “The Prince of Egypt”?

In the end, God sent ten plagues to Egypt. The tenth plague involved the death of every firstborn of both the human and animal communities. However, God provided a way for people to escape this. He told them to slay a lamb and paint its blood on the sides and tops of their door frames. When he got there and saw the blood of the lamb, he would pass over their house and spare their firstborns. He also told them to celebrate this event for generations to come, which is why Jews today celebrate Passover. 

Fun fact: The event of a sacrificial lamb’s blood saving the families from experiencing this death is a connection to Jesus’ later sacrificial blood paying the price for the wages of our sins, which is death. This is why Jesus has been referred to as “The Lamb of God”, who has paid the price for us.

Anyway, since Jesus was a Jew he found himself in Jerusalem together with his followers during the time of Passover. Simultaneously, the priests and Jewish authorities were secretly discussing a way to get rid of him, afraid of the people and their reaction. The perfect solution appeared to them when one of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot turned out to be willing to betray Jesus and give him over to them in exchange for money. The deal was sealed. 

Modern Easter traditions and their origins

The original, Christian reason for celebrating Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, this tradition has spread to secular families as well, and the way to celebrate it has changed through time and differs from culture to culture. 

When it comes to the famous Easter bunny, it all started when some Germans who’d immigrated to Pennsylvania spread their stories of an egg-laying hare and kids would make nests for its colorful eggs. Eventually, baskets replaced the nests and a bunny replaced the hare (but this still differs between countries). 

Easter eggs are believed to have originated from non-religious traditions, symbolizing fertility and new life, which was associated with Spring, non-religious festivals. For Christians however, eggs symbolize Jesus’ resurrection, AKA new life (Woman’s Day 2021). 

There are however other traditions around the world. In San Pedro Cutud in the Philippines, a couple of people are literally nailed to crosses on Good Friday, honoring Jesus’ sacrifice. Ouch. 

In Mexico, ambitious remakes of Jesus’ crucifixion are played around the country. Judases made of Papier-maché are also created and blown up with fireworks. Does he deserve it? Would you join?

Summary

All in all, the original story of Easter is one of mockings and pain, fear, and rejection. But it all ends happily thanks to the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and how he was sacrificed for our sins. This story can be read towards the end of all four of the Gospels - the first four books of the New Testament in The Bible. They all contain eye-witness accounts on the event.

The story was spread throughout the world, but Easter celebrations still take diverse and fun shapes and forms around the world.

Have a happy Easter! No matter how or if you celebrate it. Thank you and you’re welcome.

References: 

Why Easter. The Easter Story. https://www.whyeaster.com/story/the_easter_story.shtml (Accessed on 2021-03-30)

History. 2021. Passover. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/passover (Accessed on 2021-03-30)

Various authors. Ancient times. The Bible. https://www.bible.com/sv/bible/160/MAT.28.SFB98 (Accessed on 2021-03-30)

What puts the ‘news’ in NewsISH? What has been covered over its lifetime?

“Oh, I wish I could give you like a miles-long list, but we haven’t gotten that far yet. We have covered a few things going on at ISH like last year’s winter assembly and when our class was trying to get new subjects for DP last year. I also wrote an article on a nuclear power plant in February or something, but we are working so hard to get more articles out there like we got this CAS section, we also have someone working on a sports section and others interviewing teachers which I think is gonna be a real hit.” 

What were your main ideas about what NewsISH would be in the beginning? How has that changed?

“I think the biggest difference is that it has become a lot more fun, yeah, like in the beginning I had four sections, I think, planned it was news at ISH, news outside ISH, Comics and Rumours, that was it. But now we have people coming up with all these crazy fun ideas like doing a series on sex ed, horoscopes, and movie reviews. It’s just so much fun seeing what I did on my own at like 2 in the morning in January of last year become like this huge project with like 25 people involved. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.”

What have been some of the challenges you have faced so far in maintaining the newspaper, how has distance learning impacted it?

“Oh God, distance learning is such a pain in the you-know-what. First off, last year it basically caused the newspaper to die for like a long couple of months which was extremely disheartening. Because I did this newspaper on my own and like created it, it’s my baby and I love with all my heart (anyone who has ever talked to me about Newsish can testify), to see that just not move forward and evolve in all the ways I knew it could be was like a kick in the face. This year is hopefully another story, though, because now we have a bunch of people who know what they’re supposed to do, so they can keep at it even if they are at home. The thing is I think that a school newspaper is the kind of thing that can really bring the community together even when we’re far away from each other. If Newsish could do that, that would be awesome!”

Are you hoping that NewsISH continues after you finish your diploma? What steps would you take to ensure this?

“That is the dream, yes. My absolute greatest hope is that Newsish continues until no one who’s left actually knows who started it, that would be so cool like it has just become a feature of the school. Obviously, it is really hard tho cause I know what happened to our last newspaper the ISH Observer which is completely forgotten by everyone so really what I try to do, or what we try to do, is to involve the younger people at school so like no we got a couple of MYP5s who are writing and coming up with really cool ideas (I’m jealous of creativity) and hopefully some of the MYP5s next year will be the same and that that will continue for forever. Also, getting the teachers in on it so that they can talk to students cause that’s really the easiest way to get information out there.”

What are your aspirations for NewsISH for the coming two years?

“I don’t really have any specific aspirations beyond just growing, I think the more readers we get the more we’ll be able to do. I would love to be able to post more frequently though, but that’s also a question of getting more people involved so it all kinda comes back to growing.”

If someone was interested in taking part in the paper, what jobs are you in the most need of? How would they be able to take part?

“Well, we always, always, want more writers like always. If you come up to me and say hey I wanna write for Newsish I will love you for the rest of the universe’s existence. Also, just a little disclaimer wanting to write for Newsish does not mean you have to write articles, you can write other stuff too like Rumours or do interviews or whatever else you come up with. There is also absolutely no need to know what you want to write, we brainstorm together and you will find something, trust me. Some people also just create their own roles, like Kylie who came up to me and said “hey can I write horoscopes” and I said, “yes, of course, I love that”. We also really want some more people for our review section, we already have someone for movies but it would be so much fun if someone/some people could do books or maybe music or whatever y’know? The short answer is we want as many people as possible and they can all send me an email if they want to join.”

There you have it! Now hopefully you know a little more about how this neat project was created and shaped into what it is today. If you have any further questions fee1 free to contact Lova herself at lova.norling@utb.helsingborg.se. 

With that, I’d thank you for reading this article. If you are doing something outside of school that you would like to advertise/share with your classmates you’re more than welcome to get in touch with me, I’m always interested in what goes on in your out of school life.