MUNITY-East

by Minah Kim, Mon’t Kiara International School

8:00

Whoops. Last minute memorization of the opening speech in front of the mirror while tying his tie, thinking of that female delegate from the dance last night.

9:00-10:00

Debate begins. Main Submitter opens with a speech while co-submitters start sending continuous notes to the chair in order for the floor to be yielded.

10:00-10:30

Delegates all know that MUN isn’t all work, and that those wonderful MUN pick up lines make for a great bit of frivolous time at the end of every conference.  Flirtatious notes with the pickup lines begin. Admins run around the room delivering one’s love for the other

10:30-1:00

Inappropriate notes get revealed. Delegate receives a warning from the chair.

1:00-14:00

Lunch hour begins. Delegates line up for some Singaporean Economical Rice and manage to order their lunch speaking in third person: “Motion to put some chicken on his plate.” Casual bonding time between the two delegates who were flirting previously.

14:00

Decides to make a POI or a speech for the resolution

14:01

Gets recognized by the chair

14:02

Trips on the stair while walking down to the microphone. This delegate is not embarrassed. Really.

15:00-16:00

Debate gets heated up and delegate gives a striking speech,.

17:00

Packs up and walks out of the committee room. Hierarchy abolishes, the chair is now my best friend.

By: Minah Kim, Mon’t Kiara International School

The GA3 committee is appealing in so many ways. It is incredibly diverse as it includes delegates from Asia to Europe, humorous, and definitely a group where a vigorous debate is expected. Several delegates along with deputy chair Hee Su Jang have once again returned to the same committee because of the enjoyable experiences they had in past years of THIMUN experience.

General Assembly 3 is a social, humanitarian, and cultural council. The three chairs of this year’s GA3 describe their group as a “diligent, productive, and positive” group of delegates. The atmosphere was described by Delegate of Zimbabwe, Ciaran Downs from the Garden International School of Malaysia to be a “calm before the storm.”

Delegate of the Palestine Authority, Michelle Pak (Korean International School), says the atmosphere is “chaotic.” She says that while writing their resolution there have been delegates disagreeing on solutions such as job fairs for the disabled and their practicality, mentioning how some co-submitters found the idea to be too “idealistic.” However the delegates discussed and eventually produced a realistic and “step by step” solution to the issue.

“Tension?NO! My committee is all so sweet!”

-Jennifer Pak, delegate of Baharain Yongsan Int’l School of Seoul

The delegates of GA 3 represent true MUN-ship by being immersed in their topics. Delegate of Australia, Tiffany Lin (Pacific American School) —- who is the main submitter of a resolution on social development of youth, aging, and the disabled expressed her personal connection to the topic. “We are youth; everyone goes through different stages in life, so I understand what they are going through right now,” she said.

While trying to change the world from a socio-humanitarian standpoint, the delegates have also managed to entertain themselves with their well developed senses of humor. Delegate of Senegal, Justina Hwang (Shanghai American School) said of her committee that “It is awesome.” Delegates like the delegate of Mali, Lorenzo Videl (Brillantmont International School) told jokes to his co-submitters while taking a break from the tiring lobby session. Therefore delegates say that they’ve been having a lot of fun just by making new friends.

The lobbying time is coming to an end and debating time is now approaching. From the delegates’ zealous attitudes, the next few hours of the debate will without a doubt be exciting. The overflow of amendments, speeches, and points of information are already foreseen in the General Assembly 3 in the next few hours.

By Minah Kim, Mon’t Kiara International School

As Article 1 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations exists in order to protect the rights and freedoms that all human beings deserve. This year’s conference features topics that cover various aspects of human rights that urgently need to be addressed. One of the six topics of this year’s conference is promotion and protection of the right to development for developing countries. During lobbying, the delegate of China, Akshay Savlani said, “one of the primary concerns of this topic is whether the more economically developed countries are willing to support the development of less economically- developed countries.”

Another topic is combating the defamation of religions. Delegates who are working on this issue are already having a heated discussion within their lobbying groups. Delegate of Norway, Kasthury Paramiswaran, says that the issue is a highly sensitive topic and it is difficult to come up with an appropriate solution which satisfies all the religions around the world.

Protection of journalists in situations of armed conflict is said to be “an interesting yet controversial topic.” by the delegate of UK, Annika Winsness. It deals with the freedom of press, which is different in every country. The safety of journalists was one of the main concerns regarding this topic.

The global food crisis and the right to food are described as be a serious issue that the world isn’t too aware of. Therefore the delegates plan to emphasize their resolution in promoting the awareness of the issue. The protection of human rights defenders discusses the security and rights of individuals who work to promote human rights.

Delegates are also working to support the issue of human rights for persons with disabilities with respect to national implementation. The theme for 2011 includes the monitoring of international cooperation in support of national efforts toward the realization of rights for persons with disabilities. Delegates of this issue are working on creating infrastructure and providing services for the minorities such as disabled women and children. The delegate of Slovakia, Marco Francis, said, “It is simple to implement government policies for this issue; however, it is important for people in the country to actually be willing to help. Also it is crucial to prevent corrupt governments from taking away the donations from those who are in need.” The chair of the HRC describes their committee as a hard working. “We can’t interrupt them when they are focused”, said the president of HRC, Katja Putzke.

The Human Rights committee is definitely ready for their debate to begin. There is no doubt that the debate will be intense, fruitful and constructive as it is filled with passionate delegates. It is a committee we should keep an eye on for the next four days of the conference.

Minah Kim, Mon’t Kiara International School

“Being the General Assembly president in THIMUN Singapore has always been my dream,” says this year’s president, Sameer Rizvi. Sameer is a committed, persistent, and balanced individual. His passion for the UN, political sciences, and economics, and his perseverance and dedication to enhancing the conference truly sets him apart from other MUN-ers. Sameer firmly believes that balance is one of the most important virtues in life. Hence, he strives to be a well-rounded individual: he is a member of varsity sports teams as well as a drummer for a punk rock band. His MUN career began as a delegate in 2007, as his interest in world affairs grew. Today, Sameer has been appointed Student MUN Director in his school, a position that is considered prestigious. Thanks to all the knowledge, skill, and priceless memories he has gained from his many years “MUN-ing”, Sameer can confidently say that MUN has become a lifestyle for him. To this year’s delegates, he advises, “On the first day of the conference, you will merely be ambassadors of your respective schools. However, at the end of this conference, I trust that every single one of you will become an ambassador of the UN with a deep appreciation of the challenges of international diplomacy and will be ready to ably communicate the work and mission of the UN, as if it were your own.”

Minah Kim, Mon’t Kiara International School

“To me, MUN is more than just an extracurricular activity; it’s a lifestyle,” says this year’s ECOSOC president. Nina Kammarudin describes herself as charismatic, perfectionistic, and considerate. She represents all of those qualities through her strong commitment to MUN. Starting from her first position as an ECOSOC committee delegate, Nina has been working her way up the ranks, including serving on the Advisory Panel at last year’s THIMUN-Singapore, until she finally reached the status of ECOSOC President this year, where her passion ultimately lies. Nina shows a high degree of professionalism when she shares her personal belief that the socioeconomic structure of individual countries is what shapes the world and its events. Nina’s objective in life is to devote herself to humanitarian or diplomatic circles, making a difference as both a realist and idealist, particularly in her own country, Malaysia. Other than being a girl who gets her hands on the The Economist every week, she is an avid dancer who has experience in multiple genres, from ballet to more contemporary styles. When asked about what advice she would give to the delegates of the conference, Nina answered, “Don’t work by yourself in the corner! Get up, get to know people, make friends, and work effectively with others.”