Avatar: human reality

By Martha Rincón & Anamaría Zambrano

Avatar was directed by James Cameron. It was produced in the United States in 2009. It last 162 minutes. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, MIchelle Rodríguez, and Giovanni Ribisi. It is an action, adventure and science fiction film that shows our reality as human beings.

Jake Sully is an ex-marine that is handicapped due to the war. A long time ago, he was trying to get better, or recover his mobility, and Sully is selected to participate in the Avatar program, taking the place of his deceased brother. So, Jake is transferred to Pandora, a moon which not only has a totally new atmosphere, but also an amazing biodiversity.

Avatar is a scientific program which pursues the creation of a new body, one of the community members of Pandora. They create this, by mixing both human and native DNA.

The main idea of the movie is the conflict between humans and the native species, because humans want to extract unobtainium, which is a very expensive mineral.

On the other hand, Avatar could be interpreted in various ways. From a political perspective, we can analyse the relationships of power and the desire to colonise and command.

Finally, we totally recommend this movie, because it makes people think about the reality of our planet and its environment. It's so thought-provoking.

How to lose weight

By Daniela Amaya & Ana Taborda

For the people who want to lose weight, there are two things that are important to do.

The first piece of advice is that you have to have a good diet. During the day people need to eat at least five different meals. The main meals like breakfast, lunch and dinner are important, and between these, you have to eat some snacks like yoghurt, fruit, or healthy cookies.

The main kind of food for your diet in the main meals needs to be protein, like meat or fish, etc., with one carb like potatoes, yucca, bread or other things. Also, it is healthy to add vegetables and water to drink. All of these need to be low in sugar and salt.

The second piece of advice is that it is important to have an active life, doing sports or exercise, because our bodies need to be active to help our muscles and cardiovascular capacity as well as your self-esteem. You have to consider that all of this is going to be achieved with discipline, because if you don't do this, it isn't going to work.

Healthy Diets for University Students

By Andrea Garzón Garzón & Juan Villalba Muriel

Nowadays university students have bad health routines, because stress, academic burdens, heavy traffic, and so on, are causing bad life habits. For this reason, many students suffer from illnesses related to the academic system that is implemented through bad time management.

As we mentioned before, this terrible practice is the cause of serious health problems, such as cancer, diabetes, stress, stomach flu, gastritis, headaches and mental health disorders.

For this reason, a good management of healthy life routines accompanied by exercise, calm, and frequent medical checks, guarantees a long life with a healthy and perfect daily routine.

Finally, it's important to implement this life habit in our daily lives to have good health and avoid future problems that could compromise your life.

Chinese: More than a language, a tool for business and life

By Andrés Ferrans

In recent years and since China has become one of the biggest commercial powers, Mandarin has become particularly important, primarily in the world of business. Because of this, many people who are interested in working in the area of trade have started learning this complex language, in order to have an advantage over their competitors.

Why Mandarin?

Even without this being planned, Mandarin – commonly known as Chinese – has become a fundamental tool for international trade: even more so than English. Carlos Aguirre, Strategic Planning Manager at INCAE Business School, suggests that due to China’s relevance, it is necessary for businesspeople to adapt and learn Chinese. In the same way, according to Universia Chile, learning this language opens many doors for people in the world of work and more and more national and international companies see the importance of job candidates working on this language in order to be able to create and formalise trade agreements with China.

Mandarin is not only used in traditional business, but it is also a truly useful tool when doing business via the Internet. There are businesses – and more than a few – which obtain the majority of their income through the Internet. This means that being able to communicate in Chinese guarantees access to a larger amount of potential customers, as well as giving these companies the opportunity to promote their products and services to a much wider population.

Bearing this in mind and due to growing demand, many universities, business schools and language institutes have opted to teach this language, with the aim of helping their students to be successful professionals. At the same time that these institutions give more and more importance to this activity, they are not the only ones. Many companies have also started to hire teachers who can teach Mandarin to their employees. We can also see that various schools have taken the initiative to start teaching this language to their pupils starting from primary school.

However, it’s also important to remember that as much as Chinese is a great tool for online business, English still is and will continue to be the most established language for both Internet-based and more traditional forms of business. Carlos Aguirre asserts that English is the international language for business, and points to how the majority of websites, including Chinese sites, have English translations. This shows that English is still the global language and that it would currently be difficult for Chinese to overtake it. All the same, Aguirre restates that Mandarin is important to learn.
Not just good for business

Even if you’re not interested in business, Mandarin can be very useful for anyone willing to learn it. One vital reason to learn it is that it’s a very effective way to stimulate and train your brain, given the amount of symbols that are part of the language and that studying it means that you are developing both hemispheres of your brain. It has also been shown that people who start to study Mandarin from an early age become skilled at mathematics, due to calculus being part of this language. Another positive effect of learning Mandarin is the possibility to learn more about Asian culture. Learning a new language means learning about its literature, philosophy, films and music. Starting to learn Chinese can be seen as a challenge, as for Spanish speakers this sort of language, with so many symbols and different interpretations, can be difficult to study, but with time and dedication it’s possible to master the language.

Finally, I’ll leave you with your first challenge to start to learn one of the world’s most important languages: 千  里  之  行 ，始  于  足  下

There is Hope behind ‘Colombia Humana’

By Cristhian Leonardo Moya Prieto

Most Colombian people have had enough. Corruption, injustice, terrible management and wrong governments have made this country an unhappy place that is currently getting worse. However, we have always chosen the same fake and dishonest politicians every year and then we complain about how they have destroyed our nation. In addition, we often judge what seems to be different and believe that alternatives will never bring something good. Nevertheless, one of those alternatives that is getting stronger this year is Gustavo Petro. I believe that his proposals promise a revolutionary change for Colombia. What he wants to do has never been done in our country before. He plans to improve the nation by having a full vision and is sure about what he will do for education, environment, transport, security and economy. He possesses a confidence that no other candidate has right now. 

Firstly, all of his ideas revolve around one objective, which is to fight against inequality. Colombia has historically been a place with lots of people whose needs are not covered and who have limited chances to advance through their lives. To achieve this goal, his government will prioritize the services for early childhood. These services will encompass health, education, and the most important, affection. I agree with the importance Petro has given to education in his plan. With Petro, education will not be a privilege anymore. He will make education a free right and will guarantee its access to everyone. In addition, education will start with giving teachers more job guaranties, and with giving students more spaces for sports, arts and culture. Furthermore, Petro believes health and access to it should not be a business, which is why he will make the health system free again. I strongly believe these ideas are enough to make Colombian people worthy. Education will make us reach freedom and wealth, and the access to health will improve our quality of life.

Secondly, he wants to reform the economic system that has ruled our nation and that evidently has not been good at all. However, this is a difficult challenge to implement. Firstly, because he is going to implement a productive economy, and the economy that currently exists is an extractive economy. I personally think this is a large step to recognise something that identifies Colombia, which is its agriculture. The deforestation and extractive model executed in the whole territory has affected our progress economically, industrially and environmentally. Making Colombia an agricultural nation will allow its industrialisation, the protection of ecosystems, the improvement of strategic sectors (such as the sector of services or the textile sector) and the importance to rural people who currently sustain millions of inhabitants. In conclusion, Colombia has not known how to take advantage of its almost unique natural and social resources to produce and be a strong economy, and this is what Petro wants to take advantage of.

Finally, one of the most important points that will make us live better together, is the recognition of diversity. Gustavo Petro will emphasize his government and his policies for those who have almost always been excluded from the rest of the nation. This diversity consists in giving power to women in all aspects of public life and in providing them the same opportunities men have. Children, teenagers, disabled people and older adults will also benefit from the proposals that Petro has made. Something that most of Colombians have not even recognized or given importance to is the impressing diversity in culture and origins this country has and what Petro specifically wants to achieve is to make them more visible and more participative. I can say that many people in this nation do not feel represented and are sadly quiet. Petro wants to remove this. He explains that diversity and pluralism are wealth, and I believe that making people own their values is going to be the first step to eradicate inequality, poverty and inequality.

Finally, these arguments show the real purpose of Gustavo Petro, and the goals he aspires to achieve. I believe he is the candidate with the most potential, and the most honest of all the campaigners. He has been specific and knows exactly what he is going to do, and how he will do it. Petro has seen the reality of the people. Traveling around his country has permitted him to become the candidate of the people.

What I most value from his plan is the interest he has in recovering the essence of Colombia, by reviving agriculture, industry and culture. Gustavo Petro will be a person who will fight for a better quality of life, will improve education and health and will try to recover the confidence people have lost in the state. I trust he will do it well and that he will be different. Colombia needs an urgent change today, more than ever. Colombia Humana gives us hope in dreaming of a much better country.

The greatest problem facing Colombia today is the destruction of the environment

By Laura Maria Zapata Burgos

The environment is the most important resource in Colombia and I believe that its devastation is the most serious threat to the country. Recently, pollution and extraction of resources have led to destruction. Illegal crops and illegal extraction of minerals are a big problem because they create contamination of water supplies. Natural areas have decreased consistently because pollution, illegal crops and illegal extraction of resources have all increased. The greatest damage that is being done to the environment is the destruction of natural resources and the contamination caused by the extraction of important minerals.

Firstly, Colombia is a country that depends on agriculture. In the year 2000, it accounted for roughly 19 percent of GDP, employing 30 percent of the population. This is a good reason to protect the environment. If we don’t protect the environment, it will be destroyed, along with the well-being and employment of Colombians. They depend on working the land to survive, feed and have a decent life.

Therefore, it is necessary to create employment in agriculture to supply the entire country and encourage people to return to rural areas. This is even more important now that we are going through a peace process that guarantees the security of the people to work in the countryside.

In addition, within precious ecosystems in Colombia, land is exploited or extracted by illegal mining companies or to grow illegal crops, which increases the damage or destruction of the environment. Illegal crops are sown, and when discovered these crops are burned by the government. This damages the soil for the next plantations. Furthermore, illegal crops affect the national economy because they are “enclave economies”, which is detrimental to the activation and proper functioning of the national financial and economic system.

Finally, Colombia has part of the Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon is considered the most important jungle in the world. This rainforest is one of the last large natural regions in the world that have still been largely unexplored and contains an immense diversity in flora and fauna. The Amazon not only provides us with water, plants and animals, but also absorbs carbon dioxide and provides us with oxygen.

In conclusion, I believe that the biggest problem in Colombia is environmental damage. I think Colombia should take care of its nature. If it does not, it will become economically depressed.

Women stereotypes

By Valeria de la Torre Monsalve

The word stereotype is defined as a belief about a group or class of people, which can be a positive or negative belief. When we think in stereotypes, we deduce that a person has a range of characteristics or abilities. Usually, when talking about a stereotype, people think of negative characteristics of a certain group, because sometimes it makes us ignore differences between individuals. That’s why we think things about people that might not be true.

Typically, stereotypes are based on illogical beliefs, often inherited from previous generations or imposed by public opinion.

For instance, women have been stereotyped, commonly by men, but also by other women, since many years ago. Beginning with the belief that women can not have good jobs or have a better position in an enterprise. Is that why people believe that the role of women is to stay at home, take care of the kids, cook, and wait for their husband when he arrives after a long day of work. This has been a constant struggle in which women have been “fighting” for many years to have a better position in society. Despite this continuous battle, nowadays there is still a worldwide gender gap due to differences in income, education, health and politics.

Only a small percentage of women around the world hold an important position in a company, represent a country or are considered as an important leader of a group. Maybe this will take some more years, but for now, for example in countries as Albania defenders of gender equality have allied with governments and parliaments to take positive measures, such as electoral quotas, that have been successful. Quotas have doubled the number of women in the Albanian parliament to more than 16 percent. This has been an important progress, but still, it is important to promote equality and equity so that it is no longer a matter of quotas within parliament, but rather that it be something fair and decided in an egalitarian way.

For things like this to continue to happen and for women to position themselves in society as equals and achieve the equity that should exist worldwide, there must be efforts in all institutions, governments, to be an effective measure. It is also important that women believe in their abilities, show them to the world and show that they have the same skills as any man, to gain the respect and position they deserve in society.

Voting Ignorance

By Valentina Lozano Olaya

“An ignorant people is a blind instrument of its own destruction. Ambition and intrigue abuses the credulity and experience of men lacking all political, economic, and civic knowledge” Simón Bolívar.

Even though it is not new, ignorance still an enormous problem for Colombian people. Especially, when it comes to democratic elections in small towns.

The electoral participation depends on three main factors: having the necessary resources to take an electoral decision and carry it out, negative or positive motivations to politics and politicians and the context which takes in account if other people encourage or not the political participation.

The individual resources are related to the access to the information, the free time and the scholarship of the people. Those aspects are closely linked when people vote, although they represent a hindrance for most of the people who live in small towns. This is due to the low levels of reading literacy and the low schooling, which are marked mostly in the towns than in the cities, and make the electoral decision a difficult one for the information gathering, alternatives’ identification and the candidate selection required.

Although most of people have access to the Internet, they do not use it as a tool to seek out information about the candidates and their proposals. This is due mainly to the selflessness and distrust of the people toward politicians.

Moreover, in the last few years social media has played an important role as well as the political marketing campaigns. Those online resources are attracting increasing interest. However, the information can be manipulated easily to influence in the behavior of the possible voters and many people aren’t aware of that. Consequently, accessing to unbiased information become difficult to find or very limited.

Finally, another issue that has present the small towns is the influence of the major and leaders, which choose to support a candidate for their own interests and persuade the ones who do not know about politics to make the same election. 

If that’s not enough, eight of ten Colombians, do not vote. During the 52 years in which Colombians have elected President of the Republic, the abstention has been somehow the winner of the electoral elections. This can be attributed to the factors just mentioned and determine the interest of certain groups, which will dominate the political decisions.

To sum up, there are different factors (low individual resources, political selflessness and other influences) which seed the ignorance of the people. Nevertheless, a possible solution to this problem have to go beyond the institutional changes to promote the electoral participation, and focus more on education programs that boost an intelligent vote. A vote that demonstrates political, economic and social knowledge of the citizens. For this is necessary to become more conscious of the importance of voting, because it is a decision that determines the future of everyone in Colombia, not just a few. 

The Post: How the US championed democracy back in the 70s

By Lucia Fillippo

Throughout history, we, the westerners have been taught to cherish and worship democracy and everything this political system entitles. Democracy is like buying a basket with tons of things that you may not know what they are, but you know they are there.

With the basket of democracy, liberty, freedom, universal suffrage, separation of powers and the rule of law come along. The United States has championed the standards of democracy not only in its domestic affairs but in the international arena. All these victories could have never been possible without the Constitution as the main guideline of the country. Without any doubt, the founding fathers of the United States of America truly believed that freedom and liberty as in individual, political and civil liberties, is and must be the epicenter of any successful society.

For many years, Americans have sold democracy and everything it entails, as the best government system there is. The cinema industry is no exception, the movie The Post released last December, clearly shows how the respect of freedom of speech and the separation of powers make the US a clear example of what the western values are. The Post narrates the story of the newspaper the Washington Post and its determined view on publishing leaked documents of Nixon’s presidency and in general, the US government. More specifically, The Washington Post unveils government papers and demonstrates that the US is losing the Vietnam War, that indeed is a proxy war with the USSR and that the intervention of the States was planned since the John F. Kennedy presidency. In response to this, President Nixon in an intercepted call with his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, states that he is pulling all the strings together in order to make the Supreme Court of the US close the Post. At the end the movie, the Court declares that within the interpretation of the constitution, freedom of speech is one of the main values the US and that any newspaper must never be closed for publishing any content.

In this order of ideas, freedom of speech can be either a check or a balance for the US government, and that is what democracy is all about. This alongside many other stories shows how the success of the US as a society regards to freedom.

What is net neutrality and why is it a big deal?

By Nicolás Escobar Uribe

The way that the internet works has been something really apathic for the population around the world since its creation.

In the western culture the internet has been a place of freedom, where you can watch and post wherever you like unless it’s something illegal, that freedom and limited restrictions make what I would like to call as I refer to the internet an “organized anarchy”.

Globalization has a main role in the evolution of the humanity as a society in the last two centuries.
Iconic events like the documents leaked on Wikileaks, the resistance movement Anonymous, or even the Arabic Spring had been influenced by the information founded and shared online.

Since the creation of the internet there has been an oligopoly of companies that have the resources to exploit this market and they have been consolidated in the United States, the most relevant policy making, and restriction of this market also lies in the U.S which is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

In the last 20 years, the FCC has been having a debate of great concern for the users of the internet and the countries that have similar policies with the U.S and that is the net neutrality debate.
To get started on the importance of this debate we have to explain the term, the net neutrality or the also called open internet explains how the Internet Service Providers (ISP) have a low interference in the way consumers use the internet, this means that the consumer just have to pay for the service to get access to wherever information he wants regardless of its illegal.

Under the actual legislation the ISP have the obligation of providing the access of every webpage at the same speed because you are practically free to do whatever you want with your data, however, this can change if you affect the policy of the net neutrality.

People who say that the net neutrality must be regulated claim that the customer can get access to premium speed data download in your favorite websites by just paying more, and that would incentivize the development and productivity of the websites that are successful and are not getting enough retribution.

People who defend the net neutrality current regulation claim that if the ISP can manipulate the information of the consumers preferences and eventually slow the streaming of specific websites forcing the people to find alternatives with better streaming and eventually eliminate the small opinion groups or emerging websites of the internet because they don’t have the resources for paying the ISP for a better streaming service.

In December of 2018 for the first time in the history, the president of the FCC Ajit Pai forced the initiative of ending the net neutrality and it was approved by the board of directors of the FCC, this will imply great changes in the way we use the internet worldwide because most western countries tend to adopt the internet related policies of the U.S.

Challenges for Arabs and Islamists in the world: Islamophobia

By Daniela Garcia

 “Islam terrorist attack” is a headline that doesn’t surprise society, people are used to hearing and associating slam with terrorism, because of terror attacks like 9/11, the bomber attacks at Ariana Grande concert in the United Kingdom or the bomb attack of 2004 in Madrid.

The mass media helps to create and promote an international public opinion that connects Islam with terrorism but sometimes the information isn’t enough to make a rational opinion about Islamism and Arabs.

The reality is that we cannot talk about Arabs, Islamist and Muslims as the same, because they are not.  Usually, and as a consequence of misinformation and social media, people tend to think that Arabs are all Islamic people who wear turbans and that are capable of committing criminal actions in order to defend their religion. This helped to create stereotypes and Islamophobia, that according to the anthropologist Angeles Ramirez is racism against Muslim people.

Before continuing, it is important to clarify some important concepts. First of all, Arabs are all the people that were born in any of the 22 Arab countries in the world; like Iraq, Egypt, Syria, etc., being Arab doesn’t involve religion or political ideology.   Muslim refers to the person that practice the religion where there is only one God called Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of God, Muslim people exist all over the world, and even in an Arab country like Lebanon, the percentage between Christians and Muslim is the same. Being Islamic makes reference to the person that believes that Islam (the religion) creates a political ideology and also promotes the adaptation of the political and economic life to the mandates of Koran and last but not least the definition of someone Jihadist, that Is the person who uses violence to impose the Islamic religion.

Usually the majority of the terrorist attacks are organized by jihadist, but news presented them with really big mistakes that make people believe and create and image of all the Arab people as “dangerous” person. This conception of Arab people nowadays is a stereotyped for the refugee for Arab tourist.

Islamophobia is growing so fast that the CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations”) make a project to combat it, and that according to their website their mission is “to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding” .Arabs nowadays faced difficulties by living in some non-Arabic countries, because of the stereotypes that people have about them. The islamophobia is growing and that makes the necessity for Arabs and Islamist to be constantly defending themselves and trying to make a change of thoughts about what it really means to be Arab and Islamist

Exercise: healthy and fun? or just boring?

By Daniela Ortega Amaya

Nowadays, most people belong either to a gym or a sport club. However, being healthy does not only mean practicing a sport every week. It is the result of the amount of quality effort that a person put in, (Taylor, T) obtaining different benefits such as reducing the risk of diseases.

There are many studies that guarantee that doing some physical exercising, whether if you take a walk for 15 minutes, or you have an intense training, it actually works. According to Scientific American, when a person exercises, the heart muscle contracts frequently and forcefully, which increases blood flow through the arteries. Additionally, it lowers the risk for certain cancers (breast and colon), because overweighed people are more likely to develop insulin resistance, which makes the pancreas produce even more giving as a result, high level of insulin that are linked to cancer.

Moreover, exercise reduces the risk of osteoporosis, in other words, if you do not do anything, your fracture risk is much greater. Therefore, working out your muscles, will be an exert force on the bones and also the supporting of those parts of the body.  In addition, something important for all of us, exercise makes you smarter, because it increases levels of some molecules in the brain which boosts cognition; this means that “the more you exercise, the more you are going to have changes in the brain” (Scientific American).

Now, leaving aside the medicinal conceptions and regarding the amusing part, people have to take into account that they can start to exercise at any time and the most important issue to have in mind is that they have to find a kind of training that makes exercise fun and not boring.

With the last information, CrossFit arrive to California as a workout program emphasized in military training and Olympic weightlifting (Health Fitness Revolution) and nowadays there are already 9,000 CrossFit affiliated gyms worldwide. This means that, people are demanding this type of exercise, not just because it is an intense cardio and strength training, therefore burns more calories in a shorter period of time, but, people prefer it because the workout of the day (which in a CrossFit box is called “WOD”) is always different, so there is no chance of getting bored, also you will make new friends, and whether you don´t believed it yet, every time you training, you are going to feel in family.

Finally, despite that everything at the beginning is complex, at the moment you make it; you are going to feel incredibly accomplished and stronger. In summary, CrossFit or any other training you feel is the ideal is going to make you feel empowered, and it boosts your confidence and making you feel better than before.

Corruption: a problem of regulation

By Andrés Felipe Joseph

Today, it seems that corruption is in the center of the public agenda of our Nations. It doesn’t matter if we are in elections period of if we aren’t. If you ask any citizen, politic or academic about the problems of our society or politic system, he or she, would mention corruption in the answer. But, despite of this perception, corruption isn’t a new topic in the agenda, and most important, should not have the importance and diffusion it has at this moment.

A little bit of research will show you that, at least, for the last 25 years most of the headlines of local media are related with corruption, and has been also, the main topic in the public agenda. For example, back in the earlies 90’s, our President quitted after the opposition groups proved his campaign was finance partially by money from illegal groups, related to drug traffic and murder. As and other examples, nowadays, every week media is discovering new scandals of corruption in the public and private sectors. From cartels to deviation of public resources, it looks that nobody acts transparently and in the rule of law.

But, whereas the visibility of this scourge, nobody in our country has full aptitude to quantify or monetize corruption, and much less, to determine the factors that motivate it and perpetuate it across time, despite the regulation, the administrative sanctions and sorrow. In this respect, it becomes clear that the problem of corruption (being this concept constructed based of subjective values materialized in a juridical framework) is caused artificially by the state regulation, that has defined most of political and corporative practices as criminal acts.

Therefore, the best way to provide both public and private sectors with a veil of transparency is by promoting the decriminalization of the conducts and practices that are inherent to the day to day develop of each sector. At maximum, the duty of the State must be the construction of a legal frame that provides standards of communication, transparency and good practices for public and private actions and the agents that develop them.

Growing up: a cultural change

By Veronica Gregochuk

Throughout my life, I have never dealt with change in a proper way. I mean, there’s no proper way of facing new realities, each person has their own process, but mine hasn’t been the right one. For you to understand what I am referring to, you need to know my reaction towards change is physical.

Whenever things change, I get sick. My first memory of a life-changing event was the moving of my best friend to Washington D.C. I was only four years old when it happened and I threw up for two weeks after she left. The same thing occurred whenever I changed schools or family members moved in or out. One of the hardest changes I had to face was moving back from Argentina. I remember throwing up every morning before going to school for two months. Because of this, I developed a chronic and nervous migraine, plus gastritis. As you see, I have never dealt with change in a proper way.

My last big life change may be summed up in one word: 2017.  I began my year suffering the most stressful months ever. I was supposed to pass every subject with high grades for a scholarship opportunity; enjoy my last six months of senior year; figure out my career and attend tours of universities that I didn’t even know if they were in my options and possibilities. When everything calmed down for a little bit, I felt reality as it was: change was coming without any warning. Trying to keep my feet on the ground, I spent the last few months creating the most amazing memories with my best friends. By June 23rd, I finally graduated.

Everything since then is kind of a blur. One month later, I was already attending university guidance sessions. In the same week, I took public transport for the first time in my life, I met my classroom partners and main teachers, I got food poisoning eating meat from a humble and suspicious stand located a few blocks away from the university, I fought over and over again with my education loan system and I got lost twice trying to walk from the university to the bus station. I hope it sounds as awful as it was for me. I spent the last six months of 2017 fighting against change. I was so mad with small unfairness, with the new people’s attitudes, with our chaotic weather and transport service. All I wanted was to go back to my comfort zone, to my tiny world. 

Leaving school is really hard. In the same year I passed from having a bus picking me up every morning, a warm lunch served at the same time every single day, teachers who felt more like friends than authorities, homework that may never be compared to university assignments and, mainly, a lot of time to spend, to a reality where the bubble-like world is no longer accepted and there’s nothing to do about it. I know we are still all students, years away from the real adult life, but the cultural change is still a shock. Leaving school and entering a university changes your way of perceiving yourself and your priorities. It changes the way you deal with reality, people, responsibilities and time. It even changes the way you use your language or decide your everyday meals. You become aware you are not a kid anymore and you have to respond to new demands. Most people, without realizing it, deal with a major cultural change that is also known as growing up.

After the long year I had, I found my place among my new friends and life choices. I taught myself to embrace change every single day and learn that better things are always coming. I haven’t seen my nails grow since July 2017, but that’s okay. At least my body is getting used to the whole changing thing.

Why do we Consider that Leaving the Country is like Going to Narnia?

By Valentina Silva

About a year and a half ago, I traveled abroad for the first time.It was such a challenge for me to leave my country, first of all because I was just with my best friend and had no family support, and secondly because I was leaving not because I wanted to be a tourist, but to get out of my comfort zone working in a place totally different and pretty far from everything.

The departure date was approaching and definitely my emotions, fears, excitement and expectations every day were higher and higher. My mind was full of questions: Would I be able to face this new phase of my life? Am I brave enough to be alone in a different culture? Would Canada be like people paint it in the movies? Am I going to be rich if I stay there instead of where I’m from? What about holidays like Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day and the other famous ones? Normally, a person has different ways of thinking about this kind of celebrations, traditions and why not? malls, cars, streets, buildings, restaurants, behaviors that are going to find abroad like no traffic, no corruption, no homeless people or poverty and that’s not even a bad way of thinking; usually when you visit another culture you will find differences between where you’re from and the place you’re visiting. And that’s part about living your comfort zone and being able to meet any other culture.  Which you can see it in two different ways: the positive and the wrong one (got it because maybe you heard this information from an article in google, movies, songs or maybe one of your friend’s father went to USA and then told you some information about that culture with no basis and no support) 

Once I was in Canada, after 5 months living there, sharing with native people and getting to know the culture deeply; my mind, perspective and way of thinking changed a hundred percent. Surprisingly, one of the most amazing things happened on November the 20th, when I decided to go to the grocery store to get some stuff and I saw so many places, trees and buildings decorated with Christmas lights. Christmas lights? Yes. For sure, many Colombian people will say –seriously? I thought Colombia was the only intense one where people start decorating and waiting excited about presents, Christmas songs, food and stuff- and absolutely not. That’s a lie! There are lots and lots of Canadians (and I still don’t know which other country does that too, but after this I can give a chance to every country) who love, and enjoy decorating early. This experience changed this thought and blew my mind even though it is not something amazing and “new” but it was such a good way of learning from a tiny thing. And that let me change one of my wrong thoughts that underestimated not only my country but also others’.

The paradox of the Arab culture in Europe

By Sebastián Jiménez Melo


Currently, a large group of people in Europe are afraid of Arab culture, especially in the field of religion, because they have an image of an Arabic person as someone who is violent, evil or even a terrorist. That image is the product of national and international press that only shows the acts of a small group of people who commit illegal acts, but the result is the generalization of all the people.

Consequently, the number of people who see the Arab culture as something bad is growing, and therefore they ask for the separation of their culture and the exclusion of Arab influence. At this point is where the paradox arises: Those people think that the influence of Arab culture in their countries is something recent, but the truth is that it isn’t. Europe has a long history in relation with the Arab world, a history of cultures interacting. And the product of that relation is not only the bad things that the news these days is showing as the opposition of Arab Vs European culture; the product is a process  of interculturality where both cultures are taking and adopting things from the other.

In fact, we can see a lot of examples in different countries in Europe, where Arabic families have lived there for a long time and have adopted some of the values and rituals of those countries, without forgetting and excluding the things that have characterized their own culture. The same thing happens with some of the native Europeans; they have adopted values and ideas of the Arab culture.  The products of this kind of interaction include the adoption of things like food, parties, rituals, ideas and/or the creating of new things that mix the characteristics and features of both cultures. On the other hand, a better and more important example is the product of the creation of new personal relations. Now, it is much easier to find a European who has friends or even family from the Arab culture, so their daily lives are a process of interculturality. Thereby we can see that the original relation is more one of respect and curiosity towards the other, instead of the opposition between both cultures that is the main topic in the area in the news these days.

Its is here then, where we can see that the real problem is the generalization of some acts, and therefore the creation of a unique image as evil, where all those who are part of the Arab culture are seen as terrorists and with a bad influence for the European culture. The result of the prevalence of that image is what we see these days: the destruction of the ties that had been created for a long time.

A destruction which is based not on something completely true, but on the product of a constant kind of image created by the news. This is where it is necessary to call the public attention towards what is the origin of the relation between European and Arab culture; it is important to show how this relation has been constructed and which have been the products, and recall that the majority of them have been more of interaction and adoption rather than just the opposition and the will to destroy the other. We cannot allow the generalization of an image that is not applicable for all to destroy the ties between the Europe and Arab worlds.

From Colombia to Idaho

By Natalia Moncayo López

It takes courage, leaving your home just to see what’s outside, and by ‘outside’ I mean going to another country to try your fortune, to experience new things, to embrace different points of view, to eat another kind of food, and even shower with water that smells different.

In 2014, I decided to leave my home. I didn’t want to be just a wife, or a fabulous mother, or an excellent student; my parents finally understood that my way wasn’t here in Colombia, or at least, Colombia didn’t have the air that my body needed. I bought the thickets, I felt really anxious about the future, and about the trip. I wanted to become someone better, so that way I could transform the world I was living in.

I left on 31 December 2014 at midnight. When the plane’s departure was getting close, my family was unable to fight back tears, and so was I; we knew that it was going to be a year in which everything could change. I literally felt my heart skip a beat for a moment; even though things weren’t going right, and we were going through rough times, I was watching the perfect picture of my family while they were hugging each other, forgetting all their differences just so I could remember them at least smiling for a moment. I turned and left. 

WHEN I GOT THERE
When my plane arrived, I felt chills running through my whole body, I couldn’t believe I was completely alone in a completely different world, where nobody spoke Spanish, but me. Two feelings were fighting in my head: the first one was excitement for meeting my host family and desperation, because I couldn’t express myself, not even to buy a coffee in the airport! When I was in Colombia taking my English classes, I swear I thought I knew how to speak English, yet now I realized I had a “broken English” and could barely speak like a 3-year old kid.

It was winter when I got to Idaho, my bones were freezing. Everything I saw was new to me, every single detail made me feel like a different person.

The first 2 months felt like the ultimate test for me. I had to be strong enough to recognize that I wasn’t living in my own house, that I had to coexist with our differences and that I had to learn to express myself with my body, while I learned to speak better English. I was homesick, even if my new friends tried to take me to new places or just to drink coffee, I felt a huge hole in my heart, because the things that bothered me the most in Colombia, were the things that I was also missing the most. Weird thing that I couldn’t understand myself.

Starting the third month, I decided to stay, I understood that I left home for a reason, a good one, and I needed to learn how to be happy and responsible by myself. Weeks started passing by and I met an amazing guy who I dated during my whole exchange. He took me to the best places in Nampa, and with him I went to Lake Lowell, my favorite place so far.

The last month, I realized I had to come back home, but I wasn’t the same person as a year ago. I didn’t want to leave, my heart wasn’t just Colombian, I felt like an American. My accent got softer, I had fallen in love with someone, I had amazing friends, so I understood that no matter how rough things can get, what’s really important is your attitude to face them.

The Bogotá that for years I did not know

By Lina María Silvina Sánchez Rivas

It started when my group of  Public Policy Analysis Methods and I identified as a public issue "the difficulty in generation of income in an autonomous and sustainable way by the displaced population that lives in Caracolí, Ciudad Bolívar".

In September 2017, we did our field work; we went to Caracolí and discovered the Bogotá that for years was invisible to us, a Bogotá that had only appeared in conversations with friends or family, on television, in one article or another, and all the descriptions we had about this place were related to poverty, children with nothing to eat, violence, criminality and thieves.

When we arrived in Caracolí, we settled in the community eatery where there is food and activities for children, women and elderly people. Until we had our first focus group, Angie, one of the daughters of a local cook, gave us a tour of the dining room, told us how much she liked to go to school, the importance of saving and how happy she was in her neighborhood. While she told us her anecdotes, we had in the background a panoramic view of a part of Bogotá. However, it is not the Bogotá that is seen from Calera, it was a Bogotá with special characteristics: tin rooves (not all, but most), a rural atmosphere, houses with an unstable appearance, striking colors on the walls, narrow streets, urban music, dogs, cats, everything was part of Caracolí, and identified it.

The first focus group that we had allowed us to understand how Caracolí was the place that welcomed many of the displaced people that our country has, each of them came from different places in Colombia, but all agreed not to want to return, they preferred to bring a bit of their customs to the capital or leaving them behind, the conflict took them away so much that it even took away their desire to return.

One of the women participating in the focus group invited us to her house, which, as she called it, was the house in the air of Caracolí, only two wooden poles supported it, and because of the height it was at, we could see the landscape and the go of sun in the sky. Her stories, contrary to what we would expect from the biases we had (there was no bathroom, the kitchen was the same place where she slept) showed that she was grateful and how lucky she was to live in that place , how grateful she was with her neighbors and the work she found sporadically.

Nobody had ever told us about Caracolí, its landscapes or its grateful and hard-working people; they told us about thieves, but not about the people who had to leave the places they once belonged to because of violence. They did not tell us about the fear with which they live, not because of the insecurity or criminality that is supposed to exist in every corner; they live with the fear of having to return.

From this experience, I have a reflection: from that moment, every time we say we are and feel like Bogotans, I wonder if we refer to all of Bogotá, or only to the part that is visible to many. We believe that the city is full of problems and we live in fear of thieves, annoyed by pollution, etc., but there is a Bogota that shares these and other fears and other anxieties, which clearly identifies them and makes them feel part of their community. I think that when we say we feel like Bogotans, we omit a large part of it.

Facts of Academy: Quality vs. Quantity

By Lina María Ramírez Fernández

In a socio-historical context that sustains academia as a tool for advancement and development, the most elementary parts that interact with this perspective are quality and the application of the lessons learned. Seen from this perspective, it would be necessary to evaluate how the models of education have transcended and have been transfigured according to the needs of the world in constant change, and here is where the true uncertainty arises, which refers to the current context of education and the possibility not very close to certifying that over time, education has effectively managed to train competitive and regenerative people in every aspect of the current situation.

Education is the tool through which people, since the beginning of time, have used to think, propose, devise and overcome, contributing not only to individual well-being but also to a collective well-being, since through this, it is possible to generate survival strategies that help the development of societies. However, when it no longer responds to the needs of the population, and is not seen as an indispensable virtue, but as a waste of time, and even worse an unnecessary obligation, this is when the time comes to reassess and generate changes, strategies and proposals, which seek to encourage the interest of students to perform quality work.

The cultural decadence that we live day by day, helps us to understand that what was once the best way to teach, in those times of the industrial revolution, has become a system in a few words, "useless", which gives as a result people unprepared for the advanced society that becomes more competitive every day. It is important to recognize that if times change we must do it too, otherwise we will be stuck in the sea of ignorance, and impotence will arise to solve the new challenges proposed by this reality.

It would be questionable to affirm that the educational methodology that has been carried out since the illustration, is giving positive results, in terms of preparing integral people, that contribute to society and counteract the current problems, in a globalized world, taking into consideration the evolution of a world changing and its new technological distractions.

If it is not working, how can we improve the quality and replace the old teaching parameters, with those that adapt to the variable society, and that reconnect the lost ties between the student and the teaching, creating spaces driven by creativity, inspiration, and multiple intelligences, which not only seek the realization of the student in the long term, but to highlight their qualities and guide him/her in the development of their skills.

It takes more strength, more energy, more creativity. Teachers must believe that they are not workers of a factory of Chinese products; instead they are the guides of the future.

The cards are placed on the board, quality versus quantity. How many people need to go through the assembly line that has been generated in education, in proportion to the quality of it, to understand that we are in a drought of brilliant minds at the service of change in the world?

Brazil: Many Countries In One Through A Colombian Vision

By Julio César Botero

Brazil is the biggest Latin American country, with a territorial extension of 8.514.877 km2,  equal to 7 times the territory of Colombia. This country is known for its incredible beaches and landscapes, as well as its great cultural diversity which is distributed between 26 States -  each of these with customs and totally different traditions.

Colombia and Brazil are essentially recognized by the warmth and kindness of their inhabitants, as well as the happiness that their people transmit when sharing with others. Nevertheless, quite Colombian, or any person who has had the opportunity to live in Colombia, will agree in affirming that the cultural diversity that exists is very big, and that the people of every region of the country are totally different in their way of being, their way of speaking, of interacting, of celebrating, of living and even of dancing. Now, if you were thinking that a country like Colombia possesses a great diversity, now imagine Brazil  - a country 7 times bigger than Colombia.

It is for this reason that if we want to talk about a real culture shock, the answer is Brazil, because if in Colombia it becomes difficult to categorize the Colombian culture, it becomes even more complex to define the Brazilian culture. This is why inside Brazil, people defend the idea that they are many countries in one.

 Comparing the regions: The Brazilian version of the paisas, costeños, rolos, and llaneros.

Brazil is divided into 5 big regions, each of them with a great number of States; nevertheless, it becomes very complex to differentiate each of the details and differences of any one State from other one. It is because of this, that I will do a regional comparison to do a more general approximation of the type of culture that prevails in every region.


Northern Region: In this region, we find  the great jungle of the Amazon, which is why there is a strong indigenous influence in their development and cultural construction. Likewise, there are many immmigrants from all parts of the world who helped to populate these territories, bringing about a great mixture of races. This part of the territory of Brazil is characterized by the tropical climate that it possesses, meaning its inhabitants are sociable, happy and friendly and even a bit over-familiar,  so it is a land where it is easy to meet new people. This is why foreigners always are got well. It is possible to compare these people with the people of the coast because of their friendliness and extroverted way of being.

Central region: This region of Brazil is characterized by the great development in ranching and agriculture. Cultural construction happened through the big competitions of coleo, and festivals of agriculture. This region of Brazil can be identified by the cowboys of this country, in the same way as the llaneros in Colombia - both cultures that turned concerning certain economic development and positions that men and women were adopting in the development of this type of societies by what often they manage to be considered sexists.

North-east: This region can be compared with the Caribbean people of Colombia, sharing big similarities in terms of the climate and the beaches, that form part of the cultural construction, as well as the strong influence of the African culture that came to these coasts through the great number of slaves who came to these regions in the epoch of the colony which was determining in the ethnic and cultural construction.

Southeast: In the southeast are loated the biggest cities of the Brazil like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, cities that are characterized for being cosmopolitans receiving people from all parts of Brazil and of the world, likewise they are financial and managerial centers and as any big city handles big dynamics that can be compared with Bogota, what does of this region similar to the rolos in the measure that they are a multicultural construction of the country and that in turn for it waves and the fan of day after day the people do not tend to be so sociable for being running across the work or the study.

Region South: This region is totally different from anyone that we could imagine in Colombia due to the fact that their construction is done in a climate by stations and to a great number of European emigrants who populated this region to be making them more comparable to a small Germany, nevertheless I do the comparison with the paisas due to the kindness of the people with the foreigners and the great culture of the work and the entrepreneurship that these people possess which though can being comparable with everybody in Colombia however the paisas has this typical stamp of being always recursive enough.

Undoubtedly the Brazil is such a rich country culturally as Colombia reason for which depending to the place that is visited the experience will be totally different. It is to take the risk and to risk always to live through new things.

Colombian “Democracy”

By Juan David Ayala

Last Sunday, 11th March, Colombia decided who are going to be the men and women that will take the decisions at congress in the next 4 years. Believe it or not, you, me and the other 48 million people that live here, are going to face the consequences (good or bad) of a decision that was taken by just 15 million; this is NOT about left or right, liberal or conservative: this is about representation.

Almost 36 million people were able to vote and express their will in the elections, but more than 20 million of them let the others take the decision. With a rate of 60% abstention, the decision was made in the name of the majority, but without a real majority in terms of population. Even if that rate of abstention is very high, for the Colombian case it would be considered normal: less than the half of the people participate in decision-making processes, distorting the relation between representatives and represented. 

The majority of the Colombian population don’t consider the vote as something important, no matter the kind of elections; the people just don't consider that as a mechanism to change the things in the country. Less than two years ago, in October 2016, the abstention reached a rate of 62,5%  in the plebiscite votes, that was decisive for the acceptance or denial of the peace treaty after a 50-year war.  As in the legislative elections of 2018,  that decision was not made by the majority of the population.

It is not about the yes or no position, it is about representation again. When less than half of the population decides the future of the entire one, there is not a real representation of all the positions and opinions about the most important topics of the country, because the majority of the people is simply out of the system - not because of a restriction, just because of the lack of interest.

The elections represent the competition between the different perspectives; people choose their direction supporting a candidate to defend some ideas, which is the basis of a representative democracy in general terms, but the reality in Colombia is different.  A common explanation that the people give for this situation is that the majority of the candidates buy votes and are corrupt, but actually not going to vote is not a solution for this problem, it only makes things worse.

Abstention makes it easier to give places to the people that pay for votes. This happens because the votes that are corrupted are more meaningful if the number of total votes is reduced, so this also helps the corrupt candidates to maintain their positions for several periods. If we want to change the country, we must start changing ourselves, and part of that is to comply with our vote at the national or regional decision-making processes. We as nation must change this reality in order to improve our democracy and representation.

The defense of Kurdistan

By Juan Camilo Hernández Melendes

The current territory known as the Middle East (or fertile half moon for academic circles) is the product of a territorial division imposed by the great powers after the First World War. The Ottoman Turkish Empire dominated almost the entire Arab territory at the end of 1915, as it did from 1915 when the Caliphate of Osman was established. However, after the end of the first World War, the imperial territory was divided according to the interests of the United States and Great Britain.

After this division, territories like Palestine, Armenia and Kurdistan were eliminated from the map to privilege the geographic dominance of Israel, Turkey and Iran respectively. Kurdistan was for centuries the center of power of political Islam, the Muslim branch that structured the centers of power of the fertile crescent, and today seeks from all fronts to recover its lands.

Next to the dissolution of the empire and the arbitrary theft of Kurdish territory, the Kurdish Independence Movement emerged among civil society; this political current sought through legal means to recover the sovereignty of the country, but before the refusal of the world institutions, formed the Peshmerga guerrilla, dedicated to fighting the neighboring armies of Turkey, Iran and Syria to gain ground, little by little. The word peshmerga is of Persian origin and gathers two words in one, on the one hand Persh that means frontal and on the other hand Merg, that means death, for what translated could mean the one that goes to the front (of battle) to die.

The origin of the resistance dates back to the 1920s, but by 1970, there were few advances and triumphs that were awarded to the Peshmerga. For this reason, the communist political leader Abdullah Ochalan, Kurdish by birth and former Peshmerga soldier, decided to create a new combat front under the acronym YPG, which from Kurdish translates as: Units for the protection of the people. The YPG then distanced themselves from the Peshmerga, not only at the political level, but geographically they were located on the borderline with Syria, and from there, they ordered the guerrilla tactics of resistance to combat the persecution by the Turks and the Iranians.

The political structure of the YPG is quite clear, following the Marxist line of the distribution of the means of production, they have self-managed their struggle until now, when they have managed to build a model of State that provides the population with health, education and in some cases housing. But beyond these administrative achievements, we can highlight the creation of the YPJ or Women's Protection Units, in 2012. The YPG and YPJ work together under the same political banners in favor of Kurdistan, but these women's units claim the political and armed role of women breaking the macho stereotypes that are so popular in the Arab world.

In this way, today, these armed combat units stand out in the world political plane not only for the territorial struggle, but especially because they have served as a retaining wall to stop ISIS. As a curious fact, the Muslim extremism that represents ISIS condemns a soldier falling into combat at the hands of a woman; for this reason, the YPJ pursue the units of ISIS (or Daesh as they call it in the Middle East) to demoralize them and create a psychological war.

The fight for the Kurdish territory is today more and more distant and this is understood by both the Peshmerga and the YPJ / YPG, but their contribution in the war against Arab extremism is fundamental to preserve order in the territory and also break the schemes that for so many years have stigmatized Islam and Arabs. Undoubtedly, the Kurds represent the struggle for justice and the breaking of stereotypes, both nationally and globally.

Traveling Abroad as a Colombian

By Danna Guarin

I have had the fortune of visiting 15 countries throughout my 18 years of life. My mom argues that money invested in material things such as houses, cars or luxury objects can’t bring to your life the satisfaction that personal experiences can offer you.  She also says that material properties are temporary, but experiences last forever and help you grow personally, open your mind and be aware of situations people live all over the world. However, travelling abroad as a Colombian can be difficult because of the stereotypes that classify us.

Novels and internal conflicts have shown at international level that Colombian people are drug traffickers (or potential consumers), prostitutes, easy life lovers, guerrilleros and more. In spite of this social imaginary, in any of my experiences of visiting different countries in America or Europe, migration authorities have had a disrespectful attitude towards  Colombian travellers. It is true that security parameters are high when flights depart from Colombia to specific countries such as Mexico (a territory that is facing a critical period because of drug trafficking and criminality) or Spain (a ‘’door’ that communicates Europe and America); in these cases, luggage is opened and all your personal belongings are exposed to airport authorities.

Many people get concerned because of these controls, but this may be seen as minimum security requirements to ensure the safety of all passengers. If you travel for tourism, educational or professional purposes, you won’t have anything to be worried about.

Having a bad Colombian reputation is just an imaginary that you can change from the moment you start interacting with foreigners. I had an experience in Florence (Italy) when I went to a laundry to wash my clothes. I didn’t know that the payment for this service was in coins, so I didn’t have enough money. By coincidence, I met a polite Italian guy that gave me some coins to complete the required rate. I was very thankful to him and suddenly we started talking about Colombia and Italy in Spanish and Italian; we were amazed because we became aware of how close our languages were, despite their geographical distance. Part of the conversation was about reggaeton singers; the man knew J Balvin and Nicky Jam (who resides in Medellin) and we started singing their songs! After that conversation, I became more aware of how globalization has joined people through technology, music, arts and sports and I’m sure that Colombian stereotypes were changed by a nice and cheerful image of Colombian people. 

My advice is to not be afraid of the world’s thoughts about us; surely you can change them by showing foreigners the image you want to be spread of Colombian people all around the world!

Corporate social responsibility

By Nicolás Traslaviña

Have you ever thought about the impact that you generate or that companies produce to the environment to meet our needs? It is time to talk about our impacts and be aware that there are solutions to help the environment and make decisions that help preserve our environment.

Social responsibility is the commitment, obligation and duty of individuals, members of a company or society to contribute voluntarily to a more just society and to protect the environment. Social responsibility can be comprised of negative and positive actions, that is, the former refer to refraining from acting and the latter to act.

Social responsibility was caused by the concern of individuals, public authorities and institutions for the damage caused to the environment as a result of economic activity.

Is satisfying know that companies have social responsibility because they help strengthen functions that the government has for example in Colombia a country where  for the state this is not important  that some companies like post-employment care to create social politics  oriented to children supporting them in the practice of sports and  investing in the education of children, obtaining in this way results that drive the development of a nation.

In Colombia there are companies that do the opposite of social responsibility and due to their activities generate large damages in ecosystems or alter the operation of soils, product of exploitation and use of chemicals, frequently generating environmental damages that affect ecosystems and populations.

Today is a necessity that our state represents the population and makes norms that regulate social responsibility as an obligation which could generate great impacts in the business society and in the economic and social development of Colombia.

I think that this concept help to Colombia because it is  developing country that needs help to meet the needs of people being social responsibility the complement of a large number of companies that contribute to the individual and group growth of the country.One of the comapnies that apply this concept in our country is Coca-Cola, “It is not uncommon to see quality of life of people or that aim to care for the environment. Thus, as part of a campaign carried out a few years ago, he lives positively, the company has carried out different activities such as the planting of more than 25 million trees and seeds to generate environmental protection and numerous water births, as well as the donation of 12 water treatment plants that today benefit more than 165,000 inhabitants”. It is obvious that people think that Coca-Cola makes these social and environmental projects only for publicity but what is certain is that responsibility is an issue that all companies are applying, and not doing so could have their corporate name or image see discredited.

Independently if the companies decide to do it for publicity or not, this is a win for all because they are good projects that significantly benefit the state of the environment and the quality of life of the people.

The truth is that to be able to incentivize social responsibility it is necessary to invest a lot of the companies, so to begin with transformations you need to wait for time because the Colombian economy is very stabilized and does not offer the sufficient guarantee to invest a lot of money that could be used to get out of losses or cancel obligations.

Subliminal Messages: Another problem of consumerism

By Juan Pablo Gómez

If do you like analyze things that many people can´t detect, this topic could interest you. Subliminal messages are a technique that has been used since ancient times, mainly by publicists, in this age is very easy to persuade people by publicity, for example this can be in Youtube, Facebook, Instagram or TV. All time we are impact for all types of messages, in this moment we can analyze the political campaigns in that publicity repeat many times some words with the purpose of cause recall in viewers and after achieve a vote.

Neuromarketing is other type of technique used by neurologists to measure how we respond to certain stimuli, especially advertising. It shows the effectiveness of these stimuli with a test done by Kevin Randall where he shows us how the subconscious takes 85% of our decisions, while 15% are really decisions made by ourselves.

These subliminal messages are strategies that nowadays use the world brands to promote their articles and / or products. Some criteria used to send these messages are, the search for sexual satisfaction, because these are persuasive forces that can lead a person to be oriented to a topic related to this.

In Colombia we can analyze the political campaigns in that be one in specific, this is a song about a candidate in that his last name is repeated in many parts, this is a strategy for the people remember permanently and after most of they will be influenced for vote in the elections for this candidate.

We are in a consumer world, we get carried away by what the media say, call the internet, radio, television, etc., hundreds of companies coexist that are dedicated to producing items that are not necessary but they make us look like this and is very important that we can select our needs before buy anything and don’t believe all that said the media that try to convince for buy their products.

How is the nutrition of a university student?

By José Amado

If you want to know what are the options of a university student to feed? You need to read this article on how to improve your daily diet.

The feeding in the university is one of the great problems that all the university students have, due to all the problems that can be caused when buying balanced food; This means that most students have nutritional decompensation problems and can not perform in the same way in the academic process.

The first problem is the short time you have to eat, since the normal lunch time that is had in most universities, is not enough with the long lines that must be done to get a proper lunch. The second problem is the lack of options for the student to eat enough nutrients, since not all students have the same tastes and this generates that they stop consuming certain offered portions of the daily lunch; for this reason they should give the option in different universities of an exchange of certain things, making the person replace things as they are: vegetables, soups or fruit; so there would not be days when some students had to consume unhealthy food, that in the long term begins to damage the metabolism of the body. The third problem is the little balanced food near the university, since most of the surrounding businesses are responsible for selling foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs or pizzas; which are not the best option for lunch time.

Normally university students eat the first thing we see or can find and where we first see space to eat, but the question is how to achieve this, without affecting our health; Many students decide to take their lunch to the university, but this is not a solution for those who can not carry their lunch every day, so how can the other students have a good diet?

Next, I will name some solutions that other students can take to improve their diet and health status; during the week try to eat fruit inside the classes and in the intermediate spaces during the classes, look for home cooked meals near the university to eat more balanced, only in cases of real need buy fast foods, so that this does not turn into a habit and finally try to go to lunch as a group, as it helps to make it easier to find a place to eat, since some look for the table while others buy the food of all, giving us more time to eat quietly.

In conclusion, feeding is difficult in university life, but there are many solutions to avoid suffering from this, the important thing is to get to know them throughout our journey at the university and thus make our experience easier at lunch time.

Will Halo change Formula 1?

By Jorge Buitrago

The formula 1 is the maximum category of the driving where it is the competition of the most popular international driving overcoming to categories as the NASCAR and the World Championship of Rally. The careers of F1 move along for different places of the world, in the career the winning pilot is rewarded so much as also the prize to the best builder there it is where this mercies Benz, Williams and Ferrari between others.

The cars of F1 are the most rapid and technological of the world, due to his extraordinary aerodynamics. A modern car of F1 can come in ideal conditions to 360 km/h to 18,000 RPM and they can generate lateral accelerations of up to 5 g in some curves.

The new technology implemented in the formula 1 for the protection of the pilot in the world the careers is a polemic, due to the fact that his aesthetics are not the identical more opposite to what form many years behind it was implemented. The halo not only expires with the safety opposite to an accident, but also it helps in the advertising Brand in equipment. The FIA like a regulator was fixed in the protection that would extra option to the drive, due to accidents spent as that of the pilot Ayrton Senna, Halo can serve in moments of impacts offering an additional protection in the head.

The appliance adds 14 kilograms to the total weight of the vehicle this with better reinforcements in the structure of the vehicle does that in moments of impacts all the exercised forcé transfers for the whole body of the vehicle. The arrival of the halo also influences the caracteristics that the pilot must have since to the momento to enter to the vehicle wings are complicated owed you measure that they are diminishing every season.

The comercial impact that has this piece is very big since the sponsors can use it as way to ahow his Brand, this to commercial leve lis more strongly since the logos would be more visible of the normal thing, the sponsors want to have more sales since the public is seeing the brand that they like in the car.

The Current Stone Age

By Jessica Valentina Beltrán Castro

Wouldn´t it be interesting to see the Stone age today? To see a community that coexist under these terms?

According to “The Daily Mail” there´s a island in theindic ocean called “North Sentinel Island”. In that island there´s a tribu of hostile indigenous that live in the Stone Age.

Many of tourist and fishermen don´t dare to go close to that island.

That comunity it´s reconiced for killing hundreds of people with arrows and stones, it´s for that reason that we don´t know a lot about them or they´r lenguaje and culture, but we do know that they exists because of the pictures and stories people say about them.

The goberment of India has try to get close to them, but they decided to leave them by they´r own terms given to they could be the most vulnerable society on the planet because of they´r adaptability of the diseases we have now in our industrial comunity.

It´s for that reason that i consider that they should be left alone so they could grow and envolve on their own.

I believe that if we have any kind of contact with them everything will change because they could still be hostile and kill many of our people or just start believing that we migth be God and change all in what they believe.