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YPP Written Test Samples
YPP Written Test Samples
a connection. All are solutions identified by FAO and its partners for
dealing with
one of the pressing problems agriculture faces today - the loss of
pollinators, mainly bees but also other Insects and birds. Farmers have
adopted these
measures in an effort to bring pollinators back to their fields, thanks to
the support they receive from FAO's Global Pollination Project. Bees
and other
pollinators make enormous contributions to the world's agriculture. In
terms of food production, staples such as wheat, maize, potatoes and
rice can
reproduce without animal pollination. But, most fruits and vegetables,
which are increasingly important in global agriculture, connot. While
the plants themselves
will survive, their yields may drop by as much as 90 percent without
pollination. This is especially critical considering that 75 percent of all
crops have some
dependence on pollinators. Plus, crops dependent on pollination are
five times more valuable than those that don't need pollination, it oil
adds up to an
enormous contribution in terms of improved yields. The French
National Institute for Agricultural Research has valued pollinators'
contributions to global
agriculture at more than USD 200 billion a year. Although pollinators
are essential to the world's ecosystems, the services those bees and
other pollinators provide
freely to agriculture were once taken for granted. It is only recently
that pollination has been recognized as an essential element of
agronomy, a
recognition mainly due to a crisis - the world's pollinators are
disappearing. The reasons include loss of habitat, intensive
agriculture, indiscriminate use of
pesticides and climate change. Climate change is a double issue that
not only affects pollinator survival, it also alters crop growing seasons,
which means that
the pollinators may not be available at the time that the crop is in
flower and needs the pollination. Global statistics are sketchy, but they
show that pollinator
to pollinate their trees If the trees flowered when It was too cold for
bees. Until then, the farmers had considered the flies to be pests and
sprayed to control
them. Farmers in Ghana now plant cassava rows around their chili
pepper fields to increase pollination. Bees do not like chili peppers, but
FAO found that bees
will come to the fields for the nector-rich cassava flowers and while
there, will also pollinate the chilles. Brazil's regulation that farmers
must keep a portion of
their farmland in its natural forested state in order to slow tropical
deforestation takes land out of production. But FAO and its national
partners have shown
farmers that the forest provides habitat to pollinators that. In turn,
increase the production of crops, such as canola. The increase In
productivity has been so
impressive that private sector processors of canola seeds are now
working with the FAO project personnel to train their technicians and
canola farmers in
pollination. The FAO Global Pollination Project is sharing its findings
across countries and regions, allowing more and more farmers and
countries access to
the knowledge about importance of pollination - knowledge that will
eventually inform the policy to ensure that pollinators are protected
and can continue to
do their job - supporting the world's agricultural crops.
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SAMPLE 2
Summarize the following text
IN YOUR OWN WORDS
. The text should be reduced to approximately one third of its original
length; the summary should have between 200 and 300words. Failure
to meet these guidelines will result in point loss.
A tree fungus could provide green fuel that can be pumped directly
into tanks, scientists say. The organism, found in the Patagonian
rainforest, naturally produces a mixture of chemicals that is
remarkably similar to diesel. "This is the only organism that has ever
been shown to produce suchan important combination of fuel
procurement?
a. Only one vendor at the location of the requirement can meet the
requirement
b. Only one vendor is registered for this requirement in the vendor
register
c. The buyer met with one vendor who demonstrated his capability of
meeting
perfectly the requirement
d. There is no competitive marketplace for the requirement needed
Part II: Constructed response items
Part II of the Specialised Paper consists of up to 13 items where
candidates need to produce a longer text, speech, analysis or a similar
answer. Candidates are expected to write a longer response (up to 4
pages) to the first three questions and a shorter text to questions 4
to13 (up to two pages). Please note that not every exam will have three
longer and ten shorter questions. Sometimes an exam may have fewer
questions as well.
SAMPLE.
Constructed Response Items
1.
a) The United Nations is responding to increasingly challenging issues
around the world, while going through a period of unprecedented
economic constraints. These two conflicting forces demand that the
Organization rethinks its operating model by looking for ways to
improve efficiency without impacting effectiveness in delivering our
core mission.
b) The deployment of Umoja, the Enterprise Resource Planning
initiative that commenced in 2013, marks one of the foremost
transformative processes currently underway in the United Nations
Secretariat. The harmonization, integration and automation of
business processes globally will facilitate a new way of working and
will change the way the Organization does business. As a result, the
UN will strengthen oversight and accountability, gain additional
opportunities for consolidation and significantly improve the
efficiency of its operations.
c) With this objective in mind, the Organization will re-engineer its
back-office processes as performed by the different United Nations
Secretariat departments. The goal is to migrate from the current,
3. Name one cost and benefit each of the public versus private
provision of social services (healthcare, education____).
4. Describe, using an example, the human rights-based approach to
development.
5. What is the role of the United Nations in helping to prevent the
supply and use of drugs? Give one example each.
SAMPLE 3. Public information.
ESSAYS;
A. Several influential media have been criticising the United Nations
for being ineffective in addressing crucial issues of importance to the
international community, such as terrorism, human rights,
democracy, peacekeeping and UN reform, including financial control
and management. As a result, the image of the United Nations has
suffered. You have been tasked to formulate a public information
strategy in order to counter the criticisms in one of the areas above
and to help improve the image of the Organisation. Explain your
strategy and how your strategy can be implemented.
B. The Security Council held a high-level meeting on "Mediation and
Settlement of Disputes". The United Nations News Centre, an on-line
news service, wants to highlight the debate on its news website. Using
the press release issued on the debate (see Annex), draft an
appropriate news article for the website. Start with a heading.
C. The Secretary-General wants to publish an op-ed article on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in an international
newspaper. MDGs are listed below. 2009 marks the first year after the
half point was reached between the agreement on the MDGs and the
planned date for the accomplishments of the MDGs. Draft an op-ed
article under the name of the Secretary-General on the state of affairs
on this important milestone. Take into account the fact that an op-ed
article is relatively short and. should be well structured and convey key
messages. Discuss where we stand now and what remains to be
accomplished. You may decide to address future challenges as a whole
or focus on no more that 4 goals.
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QUESTIONS;
1. 2009 is the international year of biodiversity. The UN would like to
set up a website to promote the year and you have been asked to
design it. Briefly present with bullet points the design: decide on 3 key
messages and your strategy to promote them.
2. You have been assigned to produce a three-minute news video for
United Nations Television, which will be aired on an international
satellite television station. The topic is violence against women".
Describe your video production proposal. What elements would you
choose for the proposal?
3. United Nations Radio is preparing a 5-minute feature story on
climate change and the role of the United Nations in it. How would
you go about preparing the story? Describe the essential steps you
would take and how you would structure the radio presentation.
4. A civil society group active in genocide prevention wants to organize
an exhibition at United Nations Headquarters or at a United Nations
office in the field. List three (3) criteria that the United Nations should
consider in order to approve the proposal.
5. The next soccer World Cup will be held in South Africa in 2010. The
Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Sport for Development and
Peace wants to use this event as a platform to highlight the role of
sports for African development. What activities would you recommend
to the Special Adviser? List three (3) and explain how these activities
can be most effectively carried out.
6. You have been tasked to prepare events for the International Day of
Non-Violence. What events would you undertake? Describe your activ
ities in three (3) key media.
7. A new peacekeeping mission is being established in a buffer zone
between two countries with poor communications and transport
infrastructure. The mission's mandate is to monitor a ceasefire in the
buffer zone, to undertake de-mining and to provide social serv ices to
the war- affected population. Your task is to set up a public
information unit for the new mission. Briefly describe:
a. The structure of the Public Information Unit:
b. Three (3) key activities it should undertake:
c. Target audience(s);
d. How to reach this/these audience(s)?