The role of media and information and communication technologies in building a peaceful world
(Original)

Vanessa Ivanova Vazharova
(Age 14, Bulgaria)
English Language School “D-r Peter Beron”, Kjustendil

My name is Vanessa, and lots of people call me Nessa. Actually that happens because of the existence of media, information and communication technologies. In my opinion, the world we live in nowadays is far more developed and extremely modern. That’s useful, because of information and communication technologies – that is to say computers, different television programs, radios, and, of course, the wide variety of magazines and newspapers.

I have already mentioned that I am known as Nessa due to Skype. I am from the small country of Bulgaria, but I have friends from Japan, America, Germany, Africa and I dare to say that we are quite close. The distance between us is not a problem owing to the Internet. People like, using it, are thankful for inventing it because this kind of communication allows people getting closer. That would be sorrowful, because there are many incredible people all over the world.

The colour of the skin or the religion, which someone believes in does not matter. The brightest thing is what kind of person you are – if you are gentle, generous, open-hearted and optimistic or cruel, fierce, arrogant, big-headed or pessimistic. I think that we do not have to detest someone because of his or her race, nationality or appearance, just the contrary, we have to help each other. I know how important real friends and their support are. We all live on same Earth, we drink water, eat food, wear clothes, and we even live almost similarly so I appeal to everybody with the suggestion “Let’s be much more humane and live together in peace”.

The programs on television, articles in newspapers and the information on the Internet are these things which influence us most. Everyday we read the latest news, published in daily magazines, while we are having breakfast. In the evening, after long and exhausting day full of problems, waiting to be solved, the only thing we want is a hot bath and a nice film on TV to relax. But what happens when we turn on the TV. It is extremely compound to find a comedy or a kind of sitcom. The channels are full of violence, fierce murders, cruel deaths, the news also tells us about burglars or natural disasters – strong fires, big floods or twisters, which killed many people and destroyed the earth and its crop. Even talk show topics are frightening and sometimes petrifying. Is this our peace? It is definitely not, but every time, when we switch the TV set on, we become spectators of something as fierce as a lion. We are influenced by all of that and it can be seen and heard. We become more arrogant, vindictive and unfriendly instead of being polite, sympathetic, chartable and as happy as a lark.

Every film producer, without exceptions, has to think deeply before making his new movie. He is obligated to choose the right way for making a film and to take part in saving international peace, because without it our world would be destroyed. The reporters and everybody working in media sphere should do the same thing.

Everything has two faces. On the one hand television has a lot of minuses but many of them can become pluses. To prevent a particular part of us from unpleasant and unsuitable moments in different kinds of films like drama, western, crime or other type, the producer puts a warning label before the film starts. Another good example, for instance, is subtitles, which help deaf people to understand the film. On the other hand, television, Internet, and press have taught us many things and they continue doing that. For example “National Geographic” is the most popular and successful science program in the entire world. I have learnt lots of facts and secrets. I have also visited new worlds - from deep oceans and long rivers to high mountains and vast deserts- through “National Geographic”. Not only this program reveals us ones of the most astonishing cultures and nations that have ever existed, so do many others. They try to save the world and to show us how to live with nature in peace.

We are obligated to admit the fact of positive and negative sides of media but that does not mean to become absent – minded and careless about our lives. Just the contrary, we have to try to do everything right because if we do them wrong we can, after years, regret these things, which have happened but it would be extremely late to fix what was broken. Now is the moment to think about our lives and do everything we can, to help save world peace. We have to find out the strength of media, information and communication technologies, and to use it rationally and justly. Let’s do our best!