MUNITY-East

by Diana Lee, Korea International School

One can immediately recognize the serious atmosphere and the intensity of the debate sparked by determined speakers in the General Assembly 2 committee. Consisted of a jumble of delegates from various places – one can just tell by the different types of accents of the speakers – the General Assembly 2 committee is an excellent place to make new international friends. Deputy Chair Junsu Jang proudly stated that his committee is “a roomful of brilliant minds.”

Superlatives: Amid the intense debate in General Assembly 2 are delegates who each have distinctive traits that define their individual characters

Most Diplomatic: Delegate of Mexico

Gabriel, the delegate of Mexico, from the International School of Singapore: MOST DIPLOMATIC DELEGATE. “Diplomacy has always been the forefront of my family,” claimed Gabriel, “I will surely miss this conference and wish there was more time for debating.”

Most Likely to Become the Next SG of UN: Delegate of India

Nicholas, the delegate of India, from the International School of Beijing: MOST LIKELY TO BECOME SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UN. “I’m quite shocked but honored,” he said, “It was a lot of fun, meeting many different people.”

By: Diana Lee, Korea International School

What is METV? METV is the abbreviation for MUNITY-East Television, a broadcast film produced every day to capture the events of the conference as the delegates debate in their respective committees. Although the final product is under ten minutes, the process requires hours of discussing, filming, and editing.

What happens behind the scenes? Every morning, the small yet selective group of talented METV students gathers in a separate press room to discuss the day’s stories and assign responsibilities. Designating the roles is relatively flexible as it is based on the equipment available and individual preferences. Therefore, anyone in the team could be a news anchor or the cameraman. After choosing the stories to cover, the members disperse to compile their storyboards, which they will eventually film and edit accordingly. “The task mostly seems to be individual work, but it’s group work at the same time,” says Shloka Narang from the American School of Bombay, “Everything I do contributes to the whole, and I love the feeling of working as a team.”

What do they enjoy about it? The process may be long and tough, but these hard workers definitely have a strong passion for the work: the members equally enjoy what they do and are excited about the final product. According to Editors Paul Choi and Albert Joo from Korea International School, working with new people is a major source of their enthusiasm. “Although we have experience in the field of journalism, everyone else is just as skilled if not better,” they claim. “Since every person is talented in different aspects, we can assemble an exceptional product and end up learning a lot as well.” These ambitious workers are motivated by the sense of accomplishment that comes from transforming a series of raw film clips to episodes that win the hearts of the entire conference. You can see their daily episocles, as well as other great articles and photos of the conference, at http://2010.east.munity-online.net/

By: Diana Lee, Korea International School

Junsu Jang, the Deputy Chair of General Assembly 2, from Beijing International School in Singapore, states that he is proud to be able to stand up in front of people today. “My school is actually a quite small school, so I am very honored to be here representing my school,” he stated, “but to be honest, I am also nervous at the same time.” He, like Philip, believes the exchanges of differing cultural opinions makes participation an exciting experience.

“Hey there, what’s your name? Where are you from?” From this one casual line, where one can learn a lot about each individual participating in this year’s THIMUN Singapore conference. You will meet a number of people with names hard to pronounce participants from Singapore, China, Russia, Korea, and many other countries.

Just look around the Hwa Chong Institution and notice the rich diversity in dark and light-toned skin, ebony and fair hair. Participating delegates create a well-balanced patchwork of various races, all gathered in one place to discuss global issues as young representatives of not only their respective schools but also their own nations and cultures.

Beijing/India:

“Singapore itself is full of people from diverse backgrounds, but having participants from different parts of the world makes the conference all the more international,” said Britika Philip, the delegate of Mauritania of General Assembly 1 from Beijing City International School. Philip believes that the culture of each delegate inevitably affects their views on the issues, and enables an assortment of opinions to be brought up during discussions.

Singapore/Korea:

Junsu Jang, the Deputy Chair of General Assembly 2, from Beijing International School in Singapore, states that he is proud to be able to stand up in front of people today. “My school is actually a quite small school, so I am very honored to be here representing my school,” he stated, “but to be honest, I am also nervous at the same time.” He, like Philip, believes the exchanges of differing cultural opinions makes participation an exciting experience.

Perhaps the diversity of the participants contributes to this conference as it allows them to have an open-minded outlook on the worldwide affairs being addressed, and qualifies them to be young ambitious leaders with evenhanded viewpoints and judgments in the global community.

Singapore/Korea:

Jane Moon, the delegate of Eritrea of General Assembly 1, from the International School in Singapore, said is honored to have a voice in the conference. “I see a few people like me who are not strong public speakers,” said Moon, “I feel a bit pressured because I am not a confident speaker, but I think I will be able to learn a lot from this experience and will try my best to improve.”

Diana Lee, Korea International School

Clean environment, cosmopolitan foods, a convenient transportation system, large shopping malls… What’s not to love about Singapore?

For example, Singapore’s developed transportation system enables anyone to move easily from point A to point B. Buses, taxis, and MRT stations are just about everywhere. Double-decker buses are a common method of travel, as the bus fees are cheap, especially considering the amazing night view.

Singapore is also home to must-see food and shopping. Usually available for around $2.50, chicken rice is definitely a dish even someone without an appetite can never get tired of. The dish is best when eaten with green chili, a pickle-like chili side dish. An additional unique dish is laksa, a noodle soup, usually cooked with coconut milk, which adds a characteristic richness. Only the brave dare to try laksa; its strong taste and smell are difficult for some people to get used to. The dish, however, remains popular and famous.

Furthermore, Downtown Singapore (Orchard and City Hall) is known as the world’s largest concentration of shopping malls and eateries. Among them, Takashimaya is one of the largest departments stores in the region. On top of all things, don’t forget to stopover at Marina Bay. The front region of the harbor is near Vivo City, another favorite hangout spot. A popular, oriented food court named Food Republic is located on the top floor of the mall. Outside of Food Republic is a bridge connecting Singapore and Sentosa, a manmade island with a newly built Universal Studios and casino. There is also a nearby park where people can go for a stroll, chit-chat after dinner, and dip their feet into a small pool.

Likewise, the potpourri of the conveniences, foods and shopping centers make this place all the more lovable; Singapore is a small yet vibrant place with such a large and diverse world of its own, waiting to be explored.