Is it possible to be a sports champion and an IB student at the same time?

Natalia Nikliborc. Not only is she a senior student in Drugie Liceum Ogólnokształcące, but also a double Polish Senior Champion in Taekwondo, achieved 3rd place in Cadet European Championships, 3rd place in Junior World Championships, and many more. She should be an inspiration for all those young people that think that they can’t carry on with their hobbies in high school, that’s what IB Journal conducted an interview with our fellow schoolmate.

IBJ: How do you manage to keep up the good grades, take part in tournaments and attend social events?
Natalia: I think that the most important things are time management and good organizing skills. As it can be overwhelming very often, it’s also crucial to remain calm and focused on your goals. Sport is a huge part of my life and I don’t feel like myself when I can’t train, which is why I do everything to find time for everything. To be honest, after many years of such multitasking I found out that when I have a lot to do I’m more productive, because I don’t have time for things that don’t matter and are not important to me. And to answer your question precisely – I hardly manage to keep up with everything 😉
IBJ: What are some difficulties that you face?
Natalia: The hardest aspect of my situation is having to choose one thing over the other. There are times, when I have to neglect school a bit in order to take part in a competition or train more to prepare for it. After that, it’s really difficult to catch up, considering the fact that I’ve always attended a good school and had to study a lot. Sometimes I have to miss some training sessions, so I can do homework or prepare for a test. I really don’t like doing it, but I often have to, especially in the IB. Compromising is hard, but crucial to keep the balance.
IBJ: Is there one thing you wish you could change in your weekly schedule?
Natalia: If I could do anything, I would probably change the times of my training, so I could go there straight after school and have an evening to study or do homework. Right now I usually have an hour or an hour and a half between the school and training, and I finish it really late, which makes it quite difficult to do school work effectively. 
IBJ: Where do you get your motivation from?
Natalia: I often ask this question myself. To be honest I think it’s just the way I am. I’m hard working and ambitious, so if I want to achieve something – I just work for it. I focus on my goals – both in sport and school – and when I have doubts or harder moments, I just remind myself about it. I also read books and watch films about sport, I follow famous athletes’ lives and get inspired by their stories. I want to combine sport and school, because it’s a challenge for me and I want to rise up to it. No excuses.
IBJ:Do you plan to keep doing sports in future?
Natalia: Definitely. I probably won’t become a professional athlete, because that’s not what I want to do, but sport will always be a part of my life. Maybe I will train martial arts for fun and relax, maybe I will start training new sports or focus on motorical trainings in the gym. I don’t know how it will look like, but I will remain an athlete for the rest of my life.
IBJ: Do you have some tips for other students that wish to keep up with their hobbies and school work? 
Natalia: Start with identifying your goals. If they are important for you just work towards them. Don’t get discouraged easily and never, ever give up. Stay organized and learn to use every free moment productively. Remember to have fun, while doing it and don’t be afraid of failure. It will happen, but you have to get through it in order to succeed. And most importantly, believe in yourself and be confident that you can do anything you want.

The Crown – a historical adaptation or a fantasy?

The Crown is a popular Netflix production, released in 2016. Despite, the ongoing debate concerning the replacement of the main role of Queen Elizabeth by Oliwia Colman in the 3 season of the show, I would rather like to put my attention into the 1 Season of the Crown. Such review, I believe could be useful to those of us who had only seen one season so far and would like to uncover its essence.

The aim of the whole adaptation is to present a biography of the United Kingdom Royal Family, the Windsor Dynasty. The show specifically concentrates on the life of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the current Queen of England. However, one can state a question of how adequately does the show reflects the actual life of Queens and Kings at the time? Creating a replica of the 19th century Britain seems extremely challenging for a 21st century producer. Nevertheless, the show rises to the challenge by spending a lot of money and effort on adjusting the costumes and the scenery to those significant times. While observing the outskirts of the complexed relationship between Elizabeth II and her husband Philip as well as the affair between Margaret and Peter we get a good amount of knowledge about the morale and mindsets of people at that time. In contrary to our current world any affair or romanse would not bring any serious social consequences if it involved regular 21st century people. However, in a Royal family such occurrence could have scandalous consequences. The lack of privacy of any members of the Royal Family is a determinant which brings a lot of irritation especially to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is being placed in the spotlight unexpectedly.

What is more, the shocking approach to the commonwealth territories, acquired by force by the British, echoes among many other alarmingly powerful decisions the country made at the time. We see Winston Churchill, played by John Arthur Lithgow, struggling to succeed in keeping his position in the parlament in this turbulent times in the history of Great Britain. The representation of Churchill did not particularly made a positive impression on my. Original Churchill presented in the books or photographs, seems to differ significantly from the one attempted to be presented in the Series. Apart form the manners and retention of the politician, little resembles the actual picture of the British Prime Minister. In 1952, London is experiencing the Great smog, which brought thousands of deaths and expressed the lack of Queen’s executive power in the events of greater importance. This event is presented with a sufficient detail, therefore provides us with a good amount of historical knowledge. Additionally, as a caption with actual information about the event is presented at the end of one of the Series concerning smog the whole show becomes much more legitimate as it convinces the viewer that it’s aimed at sharing historical truth. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that the concentration of the series mostly on the domestic affairs, disregarding the events of Cold War or mentioning them only superficially as well as presenting rather impecunious picture of the life of ’’regular” British people plays for the disadvantage of the whole season.

Overall, the acting style succeeds in displaying the actual characteristics of the time quite well. Nevertheless, there is a lot to be improved at least in the beginning season of the series. However, such criticism cannot be fully given without watching the whole 3 seasons of the Crown. Therefore, it would be useful to leave one of many such adaptations made by Netflix to convey some part of historical truth to a subjective judgement made by each mature enough viewer of it.

Awakening of Polish start-ups

As during the last few years start-ups have risen to the forefront of economic discussion, it was only a matter of time before government institutions began to invest in actions aiming at attracting them. 

The Polish government is no different in this case.
In April of 2016, the government started the Polish Fund for Development (Polski Fundusz Rozwoju). One of the main goals of the program is to entice individuals from both Poland and abroad. The budget of the project is estimated to reach three billion zł (which is to be used for a variety of initiatives). The key aspect of the fund is the “Start in Poland” program which aims at providing sufficient help to firms budding through the process of establishing themselves, from incubation all the way to international expansion.   

The first program that took place under this initiative was the 2016 “Scale Up”, an accelerator which was co-led by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. The goal of the accelerator was to combine the potential of start-ups with the experience and resources of corporations (some of which belong to the State Treasury and its subsidiaries). Thanks to “Scale Up” program two hundred and seventy-six start-ups had significantly higher chances to develop as well as lay the foundations for their future successes.

Large or small, foreign or national
“Start in Poland” is currently organizing subsequent accelerators, now named “2.5 Accelerator Programs”. In this program, ten accelerators have agreed to support at least 25% of the start-ups functioning in tech industries. The program’s budget of 120 million PLN is currently supporting more than 100 start-ups. In addition to it, another version of the program has recently started to support companies functioning in the electromobility industry. 

Another important element of “Start-Up in Poland” is the “Poland Prize”. Its goal is to encourage foreigners to start up their companies in Poland. The aforementioned support offer includes assistance in processes connected to relocating to Poland, as well as taking up an economic activity.

Additionally, firms and start-ups may also receive substantial amounts of aid in the form of mentoring, schooling, consulting as well as financial support- up to the sum of 250,000 PLN. The condition of the PFR is that at least one member of the board is recognized as a foreigner. The foremost start-ups may also apply for additional help which may be given to them in the form of grants. Currently, 22 teams from all around the world participate in this program, some of them come from the countries with extremely developed start-up markets such as the United States or Israel.

Future Economic Growth
The effect of start-ups on the Polish economy is yet unseen as the rapidly developing sector is, unfortunately still quite young, as it just started to gain momentum with the implementation of numerous government programs. However, several statistics suggest that the future market share of start-ups will be essential for Polish economy. In 2016 Julia Pasterska of Deloitte indicated that by 2023, start-ups existing for more than five years will generate more than 2.2 billion PLN. Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz has pointed out that the highest value of investments in start-ups in Central Europe was attributed to investments in Poland. Partly due to this, the EU has contributed a further four and a half million to the rise of Polish start-ups. 

However some voices are not so positive- Jerzy Kalinowski (advisor to the board of KPMG) to name just one of them, pointed out that although there are more and more young companies, they still lack the capital which is necessary to succeed on the international arena. It must however be said that Kalinowski admitted that the Polish start-up market still maintains a fast pace of development, so this may very well change in the upcoming future. Hubert Lewiński from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development recognizes other issues. He emphasizes that the main barrier is not the lack of capital, but the culture of doing business in Poland. All experts agree on one thing – sooner rather than later a remarkable start-up shall appear on the Polish market, with noticeable success being obtained by it on both the domestic and foreign market, which shall contribute to building up the confidence of foreign investors in Polish companies. Kalinowski notes that the key to success is further improvement, and evolvement of the start-up ecosystem in Poland as well as the stronger promotion of young, prosperous companies.

~ Jan Bartkowiak

Want to get started with Model United Nations? Here’s how

If you spend any time with the older IB students, you might have
overheard them talking about MUNs. What are MUNs? How does one
participate? Is it fun? Is it worth your time to engage with MUNs? Well,
I am here to give you the answers to all the MUN-related questions
plaguing your mind. But first, I want to you to relax, imagine clouds
slowly floating in float of your eyes. You might even think that one
cloud in particular looks like a hippo. How cool is that? Now, close
your eyes.

Okay, now that you have opened them, realizing that you can’t read with
your eyes closed, imagine debating. Then mix in international politics,
add in a spoon of socializing with like-minded people and you know what
those feel like! Model United Nations (further abbreviated as MUN) are
conferences designed and ran by IB students that are made to resemble
the debates of the actual big-boy grown-up United Nations. Participants
get to pick a country whose interests they wish to represent during the
conference. Have you ever wanted to dress in a Burka and complain about
the meat not being halal? Well, now you can, or at least can have a somewhat acceptable reason to do so!

You will be assigned to a committee where you and other people from all over the world will get to discuss topics of international importance. Topics include “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict” or “Preventing measles outbreaks”. No matter what interests you, chances are you will find a committee with a topic that you know you will personally enjoy talking about. Then, you will collaborate with delegations of countries that share your views and write a resolution. What is a resolution? A resolution is a document that outlines decisions made in your committee. A resolution is then voted upon and is finally presented in the General Assembly, a meeting place for all participants of the conference.

Does this sound complicated? That’s because it is. There are a lot of
different aspects to participating in a MUN conference and the best way
to gain knowledge is to actually try one. Well, it just so happens that
POZMUN, your local MUN conference ran by exactly the same people you
pass on the corridors without saying hi to, is looking for pages! Pages
are volunteers who help conduct the conference. In return for your time,
you will be offered two warm lunches, a night of fun at the social event
and the best of all – experience.

~ Michał Roszak

Rainbow Friday – support for LGBT+

The rights of LGBT+ people is very obvious in the 21^st century. Discrimination because of one’s sexual orientations seems to be something that doesn’t belong in our modern, democratic world. The recent events in Poland proved that unfortunately this is not the case. Faced with a great amount of hate and violence, LGBT+ people in Poland feel that they cannot feel safe even in their own country. Discrimination is common not only in workplaces, but also in families and schools. One of the many organisations working to change the situation is “Kampania przeciw homofobii” (“Campaign against homophobia”, a non-governmental organisation working for human rights since 2001). Just like last year, it initiated an event called “Rainbow Friday”, which took place on the 25^th October. 

On this day, both students and teachers in schools of all kinds all over the country showed solidarity with the LGBT+ community by wearing a rainbow element. This simple action was supposed to create a safe space for LGBT+ youth and show that they are accepted in their schools. Something very simple and harmless. Well, not for everyone.

The initiative was condemned not only by many religious officials, but also by conservative, right-winged politicians (especially from the ruling Law and Justice party). They argued that school is not a place for “ideology” and that “Rainbow Friday” will have a negative effect on the youth. They failed to recognise the scale of discrimination young LGBT+ people face on a daily basis and the consequences this has, not only on their education, but most importantly on their everyday lives, their self-acceptance, confidence and feeling of safety. They also seemed to have forgotten about the suicides of children who could not cope with the lack of acceptance of their relatives and surrounding.   

The statistics really are shocking. Over 70% of LGBT+ people face some sort of violence during their lives and nearly 30% of this happens in schools. Aggression is not only limited to physical, but also psychological violence, such as bullying or exclusion from certain groups. Cyber bullying is very common, as people feel that they can do what they want on the internet. When the violence takes place in schools, fellow students and teachers often do not react, leaving the victim on their own. The lack of places were young people could feel safe and respected makes the problem very serious, which emphasizes the importance of initiatives like the “Rainbow Friday”, which should be supported by adequate governmental organisations.

The Polish Ministry of Education had different plans for that day. They thought of an initiative called “The school remembers” (“Szkoła pamięta”). Its main goals were to commemorate the heroes and all people who died during the past conflicts, for example by visiting cemeteries or organising discussions about local history. The Ministry also encouraged parents to strongly oppose to the organisation of the “Rainbow Friday” if it is something incompatible with their world-view. 

Despite being condemned by many, “Rainbow Fridays” were organised in many schools. Students often faced many difficulties during organising this initiative, as some headmasters and teachers were not eager to support them or even accept this in their schools. In extreme cases, students were forced to remove all rainbow flags, badges etc. On the other hand, organisations such as Protest z Wykrzyknikiem (which contributed to the organisation of the teacher strike in April this year) and many others showed great support, through converting their Facebook page to a safe zone for LGBT+ youth. Some Polish celebrities also spoke to not only show their active support, but also to make the society aware of the difficulties LGBT+ people in Poland have to face. 

In Dwójka, people with rainbow elements in their clothing could be seen everywhere. Almost everyone had something colourful – from flags, bags and multi-coloured t-shirts, to small badges or rainbows drawn on wrists. A photo was made to make this event remembered for longer. The atmosphere was very welcoming and positive, with a great feeling of solidarity and acceptance. 

Young Polish people did not listen to the voices telling them to give up the organisation of “Rainbow Fridays”. Hundreds of schools and thousands of students took part in the initiative, proving that they are tolerant, open-minded and empathetic. Students showed that they will not accept discrimination and creating unnecessary divisions between people, and instead focus on creating acceptance, understanding and unity, which can make the world a better place for all. 

The impossibility of creating a safe zone in northern Syria

On 24th of September, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a speech before the General Assembly of the UN, in which he proposed the establishment of a safe zone that would be 30 kilometres deep and 480 kilometres long, stretching along the northern border of Syria (Map 1). The safe zone would host up to 3 million refugees currently living in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. He told the UN: “If this safe zone can be declared, we can resettle confidently somewhere between 1 to 2 million refugees. Whether with the US or the coalition forces, Russia and Iran, we can walk shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand so refugees can resettle, saving them from tent camps and container camps.”

Map 1 – Erdoğan’s proposed safe zone

His proposal was viewed as controversial as northern Syria being inhabited by Kurds, whose armed units Turkey calls terrorist, who saw the idea as a Turkish landgrab. The Kurds also fear that many of the Syrians that might be placed in the safe zone are not native to north-east Syria, which would cause displacement of the Kurdish culture. Between 25 and 35 million ethnic Kurds inhabit a parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They have never had a widely-recognised permanent state of their own. Since 2011, Kurdish forces have been fighting on the Syrian-Turkish border regions with hope to secure the establishment of a Kurdish state.
The problem with the creation of safe zones is that the term “safe zone” does not exist under the recognition of international law, and thus can take on different meanings. Generally speaking, safety zones, also known as “safe zones” or “safe areas”, are territories free from military forces’ deployment or attacks, introduced upon an agreement between the parties to the conflict. In this case, there seems to be little to none agreement between the parties, which is further aggravated by the fact that some parties, such as rebel and terrorist groups, lack a centralised authority that would be able to discuss such an agreement.
Moreover, the failure of past safe zones in Syria does not bring positive thoughts into the discussion about new ones. Four de-escalation zones were established in the Idlib region in 2017 in rebel-held areas. They were protected by the presence of Turkish, Iranian and Russian observation posts on the opposing sides on the line separating governments forces from rebel forces; the purpose was to prevent escalation of the conflict and protect civilians. The zones were seized by government forces by January 2019.
Another problem is that, after the withdrawal of the US Army, that was ordered by President Donald Trump on 13 October, the fighting between the Kurds and the Turks has become even more intense, with northern Syria being the region most affected by it. Most attack are accredited to the Turkish side, with 17 civilian deaths caused by them confirmed, but the Kurds are not without blame themselves.
The creation of a safe zone in Syria seemed unlikely at the time when it was proposed by Erdoğan, but now it seems close to impossible, given the recent development that aggravated the tensions between the warring parties.

~ Tosia

Let’s go hybrid!

Many students in our schools have already gotten their driver’s licence and are now starting to drive their (or their family’s) cars to school, parties or various extracurriculars. But how much do the teenagers actually know about cars, especially modern ones like hybrid or electric cars, that are nowadays becoming more and more popular not only around the world, but also in Poland? By 2040, all new cars on the UK roads will be electric, if the government’s proposal to ban the sale of diesel and petrol cars happens.  So what is the trend for hybrid cars really about? Are they really better than petrol cars?

Hybrid vehicles combine a petrol or diesel engine with an electric motor. The combustion engine charges the car’s batteries, with the electric motor kicking in when extra power is needed, usually during acceleration. Unlike purely electric vehicles, hybrids produce some emissions as they still rely on burning fuel to power them. In general, hybrid cars are great for city driving, as they’re at their most efficient when regularly stopping and starting. Since there is no need for a manual transmission in hybrid cars, they are mostly automatic. Manual transmission would only create conflict with the different power regeneration models, which are delicate and continuously changing, what provides the great efficiency. When discussing whether buying a hybrid car is worth its price, it’s important to consider advantages and disadvantages of the purchase,

What are the pros of buying a hybrid car?
It’s important to know that hybrids improve fuel economy by around 20%-25%, saving considerably on day-to-day running costs. It’s affordable to  drive a hybrid car in town, however they are not well suited for regular long-distance driving, nor efficient on highways or speedways. Moreover, most new hybrid models offer a zero-emission mode for short distances. During this time the car drives completely in electric mode, which saves on fuel and cuts all CO2 emissions. Hybrid producers take pride in being more and more environment-friendly, and they often base their advertisement on that belief.

What are the cons?
One of the biggest disadvantages is that the majority of hybrid cars are built for economy, not speed. They are supposed to save energy, not use it up to accelerate to great velocity. In order to conserve weight, most hybrids don’t have performance enhancements and the location of the battery can result in poor weight distribution. They are therefore not ideal for those looking for a slick, high-speed experience. A hybrid car is almost always going to cost more than a regular gas-only vehicle. The costs of repair is also higher, because not all mechanics have the equipment and knowledge to fix them. Insurance companies also tend to charge more for the coverage of hybrid cars. Last but not least, there are (for now) no third row hybrids, with extra seats in the back, what prevents multiple-children families from purchasing hybrids.

A hybrid car will suit you well if you do most of your driving in and around towns or cities. Most of the experienced drivers agree that when you drive a hybrid vehicle, your mindset changes to care about efficiency. The cars have many great additions, however, it is advised for fledgling drivers to spend some time learning to drive with a manual transmission and fully master it, before moving to automatic, as it is much easier and one could forget that something like clutch exists.