Internet should be affordable and accessible for everyone if persons with disabilities have to become more independent in the society

In the face of rapid globalization, internet has certainly become an integral part of everyday life today. It has reduced the world into one small global village where people can interact with each other just at the click of a mouse. With appropriate internet tools in place, even persons with disabilities have been able to come out of their closets to meaningfully participate in the public life. The internet technologies have enabled persons with disabilities to become more independent by breaking barriers that hindered their participation in the mainstream society. Today, persons with hearing impairment across the globe can comfortably send and receive real-time text messages on social media and communicate with their friends/families through video conferencing and video-chats. Likewise, persons with visual impairment are able to effectively communicate online using different types of access technology such as the screen-readers and other assistive technologies. It is true that internet has now really become indispensable for everyone in the world including the persons with disabilities. This is the main reason why the disability movements around the world are fighting for affordable and accessible high-speed internet services for all so that persons with disabilities can easily interact with their peers and loved ones, and lead an independent life.

How unhealthy relationships can ruin your life at such a tender age

Choden was an innocent girl who had the entire world at her feet. She was strikingly beautiful with eyes and hips that could easily melt the heart of boys who came her way. It was just a couple of weeks since she had arrived at the college when she first bumped into Tashi, a senior male student of the college whose looks and smiles instinctively weakened her knees. She found Tashi very gentle and kind when he spoke but since she was already running late to her class, she could not talk to him nicely. However during the fresher’s night, their paths crossed once again. This time, they got to introduce themselves to each other and talk about various subjects of interest. Thereafter, they continued to catch up whenever they got free time and they became close friends as days passed by. Soon they realized they were in love with each other and started dating. Their relationship grew stronger every day as they continued to discover special meaning in each other’s love.

Food adulteration: Another deadly symptom of human madness!

With the total population of 7.6 billion people on the planet today, the world seems to be running out of food supplies if what we have been seeing on social media is true. It seems the increasing demand for food has led to the birth of notorious network of business people who mastered the production of cheap, adulterated foodstuffs without any concern about the health of their consumers. Over the years, the adulteration of foodstuffs has progressed from being a simple means of fraud to a highly sophisticated and lucrative business across the globe. This issue has been further compounded by the greed of food dealers to make easy money and the lack of clearly defined international laws to strictly regulate the global market. As a result, we have started seeing different foodstuffs in the market that are made of plastic and other materials.

The close parent-child relationship is one of the most important factors that contributes to positive youth development

Considering the fact that more than 31 percent of Bhutan’s total population is below the age of 24, the Royal Government of Bhutan invests heavily on youth development to ensure that the youth of Bhutan get the opportunity to spend their childhood meaningfully so that they grow up to become responsible and productive citizens of the country. Since the year 1996 when His Majesty the Fourth King first issued a Royal Decree to institutionalize youth guidance and counselling programs in the country, several major initiatives have been undertaken by both government and non-government agencies to address emerging youth problems. Nevertheless, the youth of today continue to face numerous challenges that come hand-in-hand with the modern socio-economic development of the country. The rising cases of juvenile crimes in urban centers coupled with unemployment, substance abuse and other issues further highlight the need to meaningfully engage and empower young people through educational and recreational activities so that they would get enough avenues for positive growth. Recognizing young people as potential agents of change in the society and the future custodians of our nation, the Royal Government of Bhutan attaches the highest importance to youth development.

Beware of internet scams

In 2008, I received an email from Nokia Company based in the United Kingdom saying that I had won 450 million pounds as the best Nokia customer of the year and that I was required to provide my personal details to claim the prize. Later, I received another email from a bank in Nigeria saying that they had sent me a debit card containing 10 million US dollars since a millionaire who had recently died had mentioned my name in his will. Then there were emails from strangers requesting me to be a money mule for them. But no matter how much they tried to convince me, I could not be impressed by their unbelievable promises. I knew that all such emails and messages are part of the strategies adopted by scammers to lure and deceive people across the globe.

70 days of labor contribution that shaped our economy

When Bhutan finally woke up to the era of modernization in 1960s after centuries of self-imposed isolation, we had to walk an extra mile to catch up with the rest of the world particularly in the field of modern infrastructural development. The construction of Bhutan’s first road, the Phuntsholing-Thimphu National Highway which began in 1960 brought a lot of new hopes and dreams for Bhutan’s economy as people knew that it would pave the way for smooth flow of trade with India. However due to the shortage of national labor force, people had to be conscripted from all corners of the country to contribute to the project. As a result, all the adult Bhutanese got the opportunity to be part of the national workforce that shaped our economy at the beginning of our modern history. Both men and women left their families behind and came forward to contribute to the project as laborers for 70 days after which they were replaced by their siblings or relatives.