2019年4月13日社会类(讨论型)

　　Some people believe famous people’s support towards international aid organizations draws attention to problems. Others think celebrities make the problems less important. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

　　To raise awareness of global problems more and more charities use media personalities to lead their fund raising campaigns. However, critics argue that using such stars trivialises the serious problems that people face.

　　It is true that using celebrities can create public awareness about the problems that need to be dealt with. For instance, the most famous example of this was the success of the Live Aid concerts that raised millions of pounds worldwide for African charities. If it were not for pop stars such as Bono from the group U2 the African famines might not have reached our TV screens. Consequently, it is my strong belief that having high profile people associated with international aid organisations can raise public awareness and it is evident they can positively influence society at large to participate in the charitable activities held by such associations.

　　On the other hand, there is a view that using celebrities can detract from the problems at hand. Firstly, this can be because some see celebrity involvement as nothing more than self-promotion to gain more fame. Secondly, others point to the “white saviour” mentality where the majority of celebrities involved are from the West and are representatives of the colonial societies that caused these problems in the first place.