THE
Edition 2, 31st October 2015
COMMUNICATOR 25th Anniversary of MUNISH
With over a thousand participants coming from schools in over 13 countries, MUNISH celebrates its 25th year of existence this year. Kees Cath is a former student at the Maerlant Lyceum, who attended MUNISH 11 years ago. He now is a junior diplomat at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Department of European Integration. He attended MUNISH 4 consecutive times, from 2004 to 2008, and progressed from delegate in the Security Council to the Deputy Secretary General of THIMUN. Cath developed a set of skills throughout his MUN experiences, which have proved to be fundamental in his current line of work. A key aspect of his profession is to be informed of international relations and politics. During his years at MUN, Cath first began to educate himself, and a passion flourished. Enthusiastic MUNISH participants this year agree: “We think the skills that we develop in debating and communicating with other participants will help us a lot in university or in our future careers”. This kind of enrichment is unique to MUN, which is what keeps drawing students in, eager for more.
Cath also noted that each year he has returned to MUNISH, the event has evolved, becoming increasingly professional. The progressive growth is what makes it so unique and is what brings over 1,000 participants in, annually. Cath took the issues that were discussed in the conferences seriously and expressed real interest in the conflicts of the Middle-East. Cath was determined to solve the issue during the weekend of MUNISH, which of course proved to be impossible, given such a short time frame. Current participants agreed that if the event were to be longer, more topics would be discussed in more depth and perhaps more realistic solutions could be found. But, being a ‘Model’ United Nations, we do what we can to involve ourselves in current events and learn from one another. As MUNISH continues to grow over the years, more participants join to create a better and more successful event, hoping to keep finding solutions to important global issues. Julée Al-Bayaty de Ridder Illustration: Daniela Fais
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MUNISH in Perspective
MUNISH is one of the biggest Model United Nations conferences in the world, and as we are celebrating 25 years of MUNISH, we thought it would be interesting to find out what outsiders think about the school we are all so proud of. Upon arrival, people were swept away by the building itself, the exquisite decorations, and the welcoming party. They were incredibly impressed by how well looked after they were in the early hours of the day, feeling very welcome as they were escorted from the central station. Students from other schools are amazed by our modern architecture and spacious environment, stating that the ISH is “a very big, pretty, and bright school, in comparison to ones we have been to before”.
whelming, coming in where everyone looks very well-prepared and so professional”.
Many of the beginners felt lost and a little unsure of where to go; a few suggested providing a beginner’s guide, perhaps one sent to their school beforehand. The professional atmosphere was found to be refreshing, making participants eager to get to work. Most people were more than happy to be a part of this year’s conference, reporting “I don’t know how others will even compare,” when expressing their amazement. However, some first-timers even thought that the conference was too formal and intimidating. Those who had been to conferences before said that this year’s was the most organized conference they First-time visitors feel a sense of celebration upon had ever been to, with past MUNISH conferences, seeing the blue and white decorations, feeling included, and thank the BOD for “overwhelming proud to have been able to partake in such a us with excitement.” milestone in MUNISH’s history: “It’s very overAmy Van Rooyen and Magdalena Villa Photo: Aaron Wang 2
Humans of MUNISH I applied to MUNISH (as a chair) because I saw this as a perfect opportunity. Not only as an experience for future conferences but also because I’ve done delegate work so many times that I felt like it was time for some change, and I want to do new things, not just the same thing for 3 years. What is it about MUN that excites/interests you? I think it would be the issues that we discuss because you can choose a committee. You always get issues that you are passionate about. If you’re there because it’s your passion, because politics is your passion, like it is for me, debating issues or finding solutions is the only thing you want. You want to find the solutions and explore all the possibilities.
Name: Valtr Mandemaker Age: 16 Nationality: Dutch / Filipino MUNISH Position: Deputy Chair of GA3
What is the toughest part of MUN?
That would definitely be the first time. When you are there the first time, you don’t know what to do, you don’t know the rules of procedure, you make a lot of mistakes, and you feel as if you’re an amateur. Also, just getting up there and talking for the first time, and having to deal with people who are experienced that ask you tough questions Most memorable moment of an MUN conference: on purpose because they know it’s your first time. When I was in THIMUN, I was the ambassador of the delegation of Argentina. This meant I had to talk with the flag alongside the ambassador at the opening ceremony. I felt honoured to be able to interact with the ambassador and carry the flag to represent her country. Why did you apply to be a chair at MUNISH?
What are your expectations for MUNISH 2015? I think this year’s MUNISH will be a lot bigger and better than any previous years. There are also more people, so I am expecting valuable discussions, true passion, and interest in debate. Rita Alves Photo: Axelle Do Rego
I applied to be a chair this year because it’s always been my dream to grow in MUN. I used to Thanks to Valtr Mandemaker for his contribution to think that being a delegate was going to be it, so this article. I would be a delegate until the end of MUN, but as I became more passionate, I decided that there were other options to grow within MUN. So now I want to be chair and next year I would like to be part of the BOD. 3
About the BOD It is definitely appropriate to award special tribute to The Board of Directors (BOD), who are responsible for the organization of the conference. The BOD consists of individuals who are enthusiastic, motivated, and who have a lot of experience in MUN. Aside from the logistical organization of the conference, the BOD’s tasks also include press, public relations and hospitality. Without the BOD, MUNISH couldn’t possibly exist, and so all the work that they do is greatly appreciated, even if most of the time their work remains behind the scenes.
First of all, the head of the BOD consists of the Secretary General, Tim van der Horst (featured in the previous issue) and the Deputy Secretary General, Anna Begeer. They are in charge of overseeing the different aspects of the conference and ensuring that participants can debate in an atmosphere that is, as they describe it, “intellectual and enthusiastic.”
To achieve, in their words, a “memorable weekend”, MUNISH participants can also count on Elliot Bonfils, Thomas David and Victor van der Bom, the Academic Advisors, to supply all participants with a highly qualified Student Officer team as well as interesting, relevant issues.
However, the External Affairs team isn’t the only one involved in informing participants of MUNISH news. The Heads of Press, Nadia van der Meer and Ka Kee (Sissi) Ma, lead the Press Team, a large team consisting of photographers, journalists, videographers, and editors. The Press Team ensures participants are informed of MUNnews and world news through The ComMUNicator, our conference newspaper.
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Working closely with the Press Team, the Public Relations Managers (Megan Wall and Sebastiaan Verbeeten) aim to not only provide insight into the theme, but also to connect all participants from the different committees. This is a new position in MUNISH, as the Press Team previously dealt with all public relation matters. Within public relations, social media is key, and they are constantly updating their Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook page.
Like other years, this year’s MUNISH conference has a theme: Good Governance and Cooperation. The External Affairs team (Joanna O’Flynn and Felice Oostelbos) is responsible for informing the participants about the theme, arranging speakers who will provide insight into the theme, and organizing workshops.
Thank you to our sponsors
Another crucial member of the BOD is the IT Specialist, Pieter Verweij. We are living in a technological era, so MUNISH would be impossible without someone in charge of overseeing all the technological aspects of the conference, whilst simultaneously updating the MUNISH website with relevant information.
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Organization seems to be an important requirement within the roles of the BOD, especially for the Conference Managers, Anne Gaanderse, Laura De Herde, and Julius Vos. They are involved with various aspects of the conference, in charge of tasks such as the set-up of committees and guaranteeing that the conference runs smoothly. The BOD adds his or her final touch to the conference through this position. It’s the perfect role for anyone more interested in the administrative work and the physical set-up of the conference.
The BOD members Clara Wolf Pinto and Djordi Soet, the Hospitality Managers, ensure that participants have a place to stay, and feel comfortable and welcome throughout the whole conference.
Each member of the BOD in in charge of a certain aspect of the conference, although the Logistics Manager, Alex Horin, and his team act as the “extra person in every team�, collaborating with others to organize diverse aspects of this conference, such as the workshops. Being a Logistics Manager involves meeting many deadlines, but also allows for great involvement with all aspects of the conference.
Last, but certainly not least, the conference requires Business Managers. Maria Belenkova and Batoul Al-Motwekkil fill this essential role, overseeing the financial side of MUNISH. This involves invoicing, budgeting, transactions, and supervising the Merchandise Team. Rita Alves
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Current Affairs
In 2011 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2011-2020 as the “Decade on Biodiversity”. This can be seen as the UN’s way to let us know that they are expecting significant changes in our behavior, commitment towards our use of resources, and level of respect towards our planet.
The UN has devised several goals that should be achieved by the end of the decade, requiring all of us to contribute in order to make them happen. However, the UN is also working hard towards doing their share on conserving our planet’s biodiversity. For those who don’t know what exactly we are trying to conserve, biodiversity entails the variety of species on Earth. This can be genetic biodiversity, which is the variety of genes in a specific species (for example, different breeds of dogs). Another type is ecological biodiversity. This means that different species have specific ways of interacting with each other within their communities or habitats. This provides evidence of overall biodiversity between different areas of environment on Earth. The UN is aiming to find a more sustainable way of production and consumption, so that we can improve the current state of the environment. As we hope you see, biodiversity is overwhelmingly broad and significant, and the rate at which we are losing it is similarly overwhelming. The first goal of the Decade on Biodiversity focuses on raising awareness of the increasing scarcity of biodiversity. The United Nations seek to promote sustainable use, and by doing so, they hope that by 2020, people are aware of the importance of biodiversity. The UN also hopes that people are able to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainability globally. Another important aspect of the first goal is to find solutions to decrease poverty in less developed countries. The second and third goals aim to decrease the destruction of ecosystems and habitats of living organisms. Another set of goals which has recently been
quite popular within social media are the United Nations’ goals for sustainable development. These consist of 17 goals, agreed upon by 193 countries, which aim to achieve 3 main goals in the next 15 years. To “end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and to fix climate change”. The purpose of these goals are to improve our world and to guarantee that we can live in a better world, a world “where no one goes hungry” and “where all women and all girls have equal opportunities to thrive, be powerful and safe”. As is said in the global goals website (http://www.globalgoals.org/), we can’t fight for rights that we don’t understand. This is why spreading these goals is essential to make a difference and to create a world we all dream of, a more realistic reality. Everyone around the world can get involved in different ways. By visiting the website, you can find different ideas of how the word of these goals can be spread. Something as easy as posting a “#globalgoals” selfie or sharing the global goals video of “We the people” can make a difference. In the words of the Global Goals, “This is the plan. Let’s get to work. Let’s make it happen.”
Rita Alves, Magdalena Villa, Julée Al-Bayaty de Ridder Illustration: Dani Fais
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Committee News
This weekend, issues of national and global importance will be debated in various committees at MUNISH. Each committee has been given issues that will be discussed in order to arrive peaceful and logical resolutions.
tion of the production of genetically modified foods, the establishing of protocols to balance the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies with efforts to facilitate access to medicine, the implementation of measures to prevent gender-related killing of women and girls, and The General Assembly is composed of three dif- the fight to support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). ferent committees, GA1, GA3, GA4. Each committee is going to be discussing issues from different parts of the world, which will cre- Meanwhile, GA4 debates will include discourse ate a culturally diverse debate. The variety of the about establishing protocols to prevent future terissues stretch from discussing war in the Middle ritorial disputes in the Arctic Region, the securing East and the prevention of their usage of nuclear of people’s rights to self-determination, the quesweaponry to considering the securement of peo- tion of Tibet, and the determination of sovereign rights over the dispute of the South China Sea. ple’s rights to self-determination. GA1 will discuss International Security and Disarmament. They will be researching and debating the issues of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, the measures needed to be implemented to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, the question of national sovereignty and asymmetric warfare, and the concern towards the protection of individual’s rights to privacy in this digital age. The GA3 is considering issues such as the ques8
The commissions and councils include 5 different committees: the Security Council (SC), the Historical Security Council (HSC), the Economical and Social Council (ECOSOC), Environmental Commission (EC), and the Human Rights Council (HRC). These committees’ topics vary from the situation in North Korea to the protection of human rights for illegal immigrants. More specifically, the issue being discussed by the SC is the question of the Islamic State and the
situation in North Korea. This committee will be discussing the escalated problems in Syria over recent years and North Korea’s isolated country. The Security Council will be discuss courses of action to maintain peace and security globally, as well as the problems regarding weapons, poverty, human rights, and more in North Korea. The SC’s main goal is to achieve peace through the resolution it passes, but will have to turn to military approach resolutions if nothing else is solves the issues. The HSC will be discussing the apartheid policy in South Africa and the conflict in the Korean Peninsula. This council will be conferring about of strengthening women’s participation in politics, the racial discrimination in South Africa and dis- ensuring the impunity, safety, and freedom of journalism, taking measures against the brain drain of cussing post-war effects on South Africa. human capital, and addressing the food insecurity ECOSOC will be discussing four different issues: caused by the discrepancy in global distribution. strengthening the coordination of efforts to combat The second committee turns its focus to interhuman trafficking, the combatting of international national cooperation, facing issues of combatting tax avoidance and evasion, the implementation the growing threat of cyber terrorism, resolving of measures to stimulate economies affected by the global water shortage, facilitating international health epidemics, and the promotion of equal ac- disease research, and the taking of measures to cess to new and existing technologies for sustain- decrease global dependency on fossil fuels. able development. EC’s discussions will involve the implementation of measures to manage the rapid deterioration of the Arctic, the prevention of illegal hunting and killing of endangered wildlife, the ensuring of global cooperation to allow universal access to clean water, and the preparations for future climate change refugees, resulting from extreme weather events.
Lastly, the G20 tackles issues like the prevention of corruption, the combatting of counterfeit consumer goods, enabling access to reliable energy in Low Income Developing Countries (LIDCs), and the increase in participation rates of women in employment to address the unemployment growth phenomenon. The Advisory Panel on the Question of the Israel Palestine Conflict (APQIPC) focuses solely on the Israel Palestine conflict, while the ICC (International Criminal Court) remains active on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The Prosecutor versus. Sylvestre. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) concentrates on the legality of use of force, focusing on Serbia and Montenegro versus The Netherlands.
On the more social side of the spectrum, the HRC will debate about the abolishment of the death penalty, the measures to protect religious diversity, the evaluation of the situation regarding basic human rights in the Guantanamo Bay camp, and the protection of the universal human rights of We hope our delegates will be successful in creillegal migrants. ating the best resolutions for their issues, we wish The special conferences on good governance and you all the best of luck! international cooperation have been split into two smaller committees: SPC1 and SPC2. SPC1 focuses on good governance, tackling the problems
Marianne Besson-Burke, Amy van Rooyen, Justine Meyer and Rita Alves 9
IT Specialist
Manager. You will have to be very creative in filmmaking and active on social media!
Congratulations! You should be a Head of Hospitality. You will be able to use your people skills to welcome all of the conference’s participants.
Head of Hospitality
Congratulations! You belong in External Affairs. In this position you get to set up all the workshops and deal with all the guests and the people outside of MUNISH.
External Affairs
Congratulations! you should be a Conference Manager. You are probably very social and creative. In this position you’ll get to plan all the parties and work very closely to everyone in the conference, which will help you develop your communication skills.
Conference Managers
Congratulations! You should be a Business Manager. You are probably comfortable with being an authority figure and are very interested in the business world (merchandising, budgets).
Business Managers
are particularly interested in the academic aspect of the conference and this position will allow you to be involved in it in various ways (you get to read all the application essays!).
Congratulations! You should be an Academic Advisor. You
Academic Advisor
BOD
Congratulations! You should be the IT specialist. In this position, you will get to Head of Press work with experts who you can learn a lot from and gain experience with technology. Congratulations! You should be Logistics Manager Head of Press. Communication and organisation are extremely Congratulations! You should be a Logistics important to meet all of the Manager. You will be very hands-on during deadlines! You’ll get to exercise the conference, helping anyone who needs your creative skills, supervising it. photographers, journalists and Public Relations Managers many more, being in charge of the MUNISH newspaper! Congrats! You should be a Public Relations
10 Congratulations! You belong in the Secretariat! As the Secretary General, you will be able to share your passion for MUN in the opening speech!
Secretariat
What role best suits you?
the brain teaser A chair asks ten delegates to sit in five rows with four delegates at each row. How did the delegates solve this problem?
Answer: If we draw a star with 5 ends and we unite these ends with straight lines, we will form a pentagon t the middle of the star. Therefore, if one delegate is places at each end of the star and the one placed at the points of the pentagon, you are able to have 5 rows, each with 4 delegates (as shown in the diagram below).
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C r o s s w o r d Across 1. Leader of a MUN conference. 2. Order in which issues will be discussed. 3. Delegates may vote for, against or ...
Down
Across
4. delegates 5. second 6. placard 7. rollcall 8. amendment
Down
By: Rita Alves
1. secretary general 2. agenda 3. abstain
4. They are the ones involved in debates. 5. When you agree with a motion which is proposed you say... 6. A sign that identifies your country. 7. Attendance at the beginning of a MUN session. 8. Change made to improve a text.
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