The Munday Times Sunday Issue
Interview with SG Page 4
Press: Behind the Scenes Page 9
6th November, 2011
Amendment to Saturday’s Issue;
Leonie Reese has been DSG at THIMUN 2011, and will be SG at THIMUN 2012.
MUN: How We Change The World
By Zina Bibanovic
Evelyn Duindam
“You’re spending the WHOLE weekend at SCHOOL?!” is a question familiar to all MUN-ers’ ears. Many of our fellow teenagers simply cannot comprehend the idea of doing even more work then usual, losing a weekend, and actually having fun while doing so. For all of you who refuse to be beaten down by these statements – you are the future. MUN is one of the most powerful tools young people have in order to express their feelings about the world’s most important issues. Passionate, uncorrupted, bright young minds – this is what the world needs. This is what MUN gives it. It’s easy to wonder why you’re putting all this effort into these debates and resolutions, if this conference is just a model of
the real thing. Rest assured, you are making a difference, and a significant one at that. The fact that MUN even exists lets politicians and world leaders all around the world know that we care, even if they don’t, and we will make changes. Resolutions that are innovative and inspirational get passed up, and can travel to places you wouldn’t imagine. Not only do we inspire the world, we inspire each other as well. Ideas are passed from conference to conference, constantly expanding and constantly improving. Not only does MUN affect the world on a global level, it impacts the lives of every participant at every conference. After being asked how MUN has changed their lives, these four wonderful members of our MUN community answered: Delegate: MUN has allowed to me to pick my career path – I know for sure I want to do something with politics. I would not have been able to make that decision without MUN. Chair: MUN has changed my entire perspective. I now fully appreciate how privileged we are to live in the circumstances we live in. I have grown much more aware of the issues surrounding me. BOD Member: MUN has given me much more confidence, and I find I can speak to people a lot easier now than before. I am also much more aware of the global issues around us today.
Admin: MUN has helped me become far more organized, not only as an Admin, but in my personal life as well. It has broadened my perspective, and awareness. These four wonderful young adults represent the MUN community perfectly. The International School of the Hague prides itself on having its very own MUN conference. As a result of the hard work and commitment it takes to set MUNISH up every year, every student in ISH is involved, and it not only creates a sense of community, but also an atmosphere of change. When asked what they liked about MUNISH, the same four people answered: Delegate: MUNISH has excellent speakers and delegates, and is very high quality qua debates. Chair: I love that MUNISH is so international and innovative. It is also very well organized. BOD Member: My favorite aspect of MUNISH is that it is so international! I also like that it is in our school, as that gives ISH that special something. Admin: I like the diversity of nationalities – such an international community is so inspiring! It is obvious to me, to you, and to everyone out there that MUN is a life-changing experience – never forget, and always aim to make that difference.
APQP: The Expert’s Committee
By Masami Hazu
APQP (Advisory Panel on the Question of Pakistan) is a committee that fully discusses and evaluates the issues of Pakistan. Being a small committee of 14 delegates, an Advisor, a President and a deputy President, it was expected to have fierce debates, where each expert delegate has their chance to express their opinions strongly. Nonetheless according to the Advisor, Ymiel van der Zanden, the debate on Friday was slow and not as exciting as his previous experiences in the APQ committee. However the debates on Saturday seemed to pick up and it became more serious, fiery and intense.
the procedure of the APQ committee back to front, unfortunately was not an expert on Pakistan due to his lack of research. Noticing the extent of how little he knew during the Friday debate and even being told off by the President of the APQP, he went home and worked extensively on researching Pakistan to be ready for the debates of Saturday and Sunday. His research seemed to have paid off, as he proudly started understanding the entire debating that was going on. Bringing it back to the actual committee, the panel were confused by the set up of the committee. Lashkar-e-Taiba, an example
MUNISH Press Team Members Head of Press
Karina Dukalska Journalists Marcelle Antunes Zina Bibanovic Masami Hazu Vincent Knijff Milaap Mehta ChloĂŠ Steffen Hannah Welsh Ruben van Zoest Editors Alex Kruijsse Joanna Mardal Nikki Saville Corine van der Schans Layout Artists
Yet even so the delegates debating with all the extensive research they had in front of them was a trivial fraction of about five main delegates. As one takes the floor the same delegates would turn their heads with attention whilst the rest would stay slouched in their chairs looking into open space; one even leaning on their hands trying their best to keep their eyes open. Nonetheless some were trying their best to join in by shouting out for amendments at the last minute. It was not only the delegates who were not totally into the debating; the Advisor who understood
2
Evelyn Duindam
of the terrorist groups in the APQP, which are officially banned from the UN have been given the same voting right as the USA at MUNISH. This meant that the terrorist groups could out-vote USA and receive total power of Pakistan, which would not aid Pakistan but put it in more danger instead. Considering the bizarre system and the majority lost in their own world, the APQP is doing well with enthusiastic delegates debating to get their amendments passed, and every delegate trying his or her best to make APQP a success.
Marlon vom Bruch Marc Latour Xander Maes Tim van Rugge Cartoon Artist Carlos Gonzalez Photographers Evelyn Duindam Annabel van Eijk Anna Soer
By Milaap Mehta
Approval Panel: To the Future!
By Milaap Mehta
ICC: Cops and Robbers
The Approval Panel has been working hard and is an integral part of MUNISH, the one panel that keeps the floor intact. If a process like this had to be done by hand, it would take a lot of time (as experienced by the staff during the previous MUNISH conferences). However, to combat this issue, the Approval Panel has been more environmentally friendly and has moved everything online. This Annabel van Eijk year, the merged resolutions have One major component of to be submitted online by the stuany MUN conference is the merging dents and corrected online by the of resolutions into one solid final AP. According to Alain Meidsinger piece and forming a coherent bloc of the Lycée Francais Vincent Van in an act known as lobbying. After Gogh, this method has been much the different delegates merge their smoother. However, one problem respective resolutions into one, the they have faced with this novel idea Approval Panel (AP) has to pass the is that, from time to time, the Panel resolutions. In order to this, they forgets to press ‘checked’ and some have to correct the spelling and teachers have to go back and regrammar and make sure that the check if the resolutions have been resolutions are actually debatable. approved.
The ICC (not the International Cricket Council guys, but the International Criminal Court) today was on the issue of the war crimes committed in the Central African Republic and the potential war crimes on the part of the political leader Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. When first thinking of a MUN conference, you would generally imagine big rooms with many people in fancy suits and dresses; however, in the ICC it’s a room with 2 prosecutors, 2 defendants, 3 judges and 2 chairs. Moreover, an ICC discussion gives you the impressing of a court case complete with pacing ‘lawyers’ battling against each other, drawing on witnesses, Internet sources and clauses in the UN constitution. Imagine, ‘Law and Order’ in the court, but smaller and more serious: then you get a basic impression of the ICC. It gives you a sense of the game of Cops and
Robbers as the cops are trying to convict the perceived felons at all costs, while the robbers are trying to sneak themselves out of any trouble that they may face. The issue on hand is that in 2003, when the Central African Republic was going through elections, Memba sent his troops into the country in order to ensure that democracy was correctly enforced. However, when there the MLC (Memba’s political party) troops ‘treated African women like animals’ and on many occasions raped them as well. One of the major points discussed among the prosecutors and defendants was regarding article 28A, an article, which deems that if Memba knew about the actions of his troops, and failed to take sufficient action, he could be charged with war crimes. One man actually came forward and confessed to committing these counts of war
Overall, there have been many positively regarded resolutions. In the HRC, there was one particular resolution that was praised among the Panel. There was one resolution in particular, submitted in the ECOSOC committee, that Mr. Meidsinger found would be heavily debated. The resolution was regarding gender equality, and contained a clause that suggested that 35% of the Parliamentary positions should be given to women; one point raised by Mr. Meidsinger and many other Panel members was that, if they truly wanted equality, the number should be raised to 50%. The teachers are thoroughly enjoying themselves while being in the Approval Panel. I mean with all the free croissants, breads, candy, drinks and other treats, who wouldn’t want to be approving resolutions over a weekend?
Anna Soer
crimes in 2006. In actuality, Memba was seized in 2008 near Brussels and was charged with two counts of war crimes. Albeit having been arrested his case is still in the trial phase, and is still going on today; the main concern is the relative lack of evidence to attempt to convict him. Anybody else want to play a game of cops and robbers now?
3
By Chloé Steffen
Interview with SG: Adrien de Wulf
Although constantly interrupted by mumbles from his walkytalky and a bombardment of questions from overwhelmed heads of Admin, the (super fashion savvy) Secretary General of MUNISH 2011, Adrien de Wulf, managed to squeeze in an exclusive interview with a member of the press team. As well as giving us an insight on what being Secretary General really means, Adrien told us all about how particularly well this year’s MUNISH is going… CS: How do you feel about this MUN conference overall? Secretary General (SG): Well this year’s MUNISH has improved so much compared to all the previous years! First of all, we went from having 400 participants, to 700, which is enormous. It’s a lot more international too; half of the participants this year come from outside of the Netherlands. They’ve come from as far as Kenya and Abu Dhabi. We’ve also got some wonderful guest speakers: we’re having an old child soldier coming to talk to the Human Rights Committee and a UNESCO ambassador for the Environments committee. This is also the first time there have ever been sponsors for MUNISH. Both the Gemeente Den Haag and Shell are sponsoring us, which has enabled us to make everything look fabulous and innovative. We’ve really embraced technology (reflecting this year’s theme for MUNISH), with iPads for the BOD, a lot of available computers and the all-new online approval panel system. Oh and the online photo gallery is new as well. CS: And as far as your concerned, it’s all going well? SG: Yes, definitely. I could hardly imagine it going any smoother. For example, yesterday MUNISH officially started at 12:35… and by 14:00, everyone was in their right committees, debating had begun, and the conference started on a very good note!
4
CS: Any particular reasons why everything went so well with the commencement, and why it’s still going well? SG: Not to brag, but we have a fantastic BOD this year. We have a very tight organization schedule; we’re prepared for anything and everything. We’re all very motivated to make this conference PERFECT. We’re hardworking, effective, but above all, enthusiastic. The communication between us (and the Heads of Admin, directors and staff) is great too… walky-talkies with us 24/7, you know how it is. I very much enjoy leading this team.
sically, I just keep an eye on everything that goes on. I also took care of finding sponsors, setting up the reception, shop and staff lounge, AND I organized all the chairing for the two SPC committees. CS: Anything not going so well? SG: *laughing* the BOD and Heads of Admin were the only ones left to clean up yesterday after the anniversary celebration! But other than that, there’s nothing going significantly badly.
CS: And finally, how do you feel about this being your last MUN conference? CS: As leader of the BOD, what ex- SG: This is my 17th (!) and possibly actly is it that you do? one of the best ones I’ve attended. SG: I’ve done a lot. And I still am. I I’m a bit nostalgic but this definitely do a bit of everything really: I make is a perfect way to put an end to my sure everyone meets the deadlines extensive MUN career. I set, I check everyone’s work. Ba-
Annabel van Eijk
By Marcelle Antunes
The Board of Directors
The Board of Directors. The consecrated superintendents of operation “MUNISH 2011” have been working for months to make sure this year’s conference is the best one yet. As MUNISH is completely organized by students alone, this young arsenal of brains comes together to make sure this year’s mega event is “MUNISH accomplished. So what do they do? Very demanding yet immaculately styled Secretary General, Adrien de Wulf, strives to be avant-garde about everything this year and demands the most innovative ideas, plans, products and issues for MUNISH 2011. Because of this high demand of perfection, the rest of the B.O.D have to make sure their jobs are as innovational as ever and carried to complete excellence. IT specialist Nikhil Potdar, states that his job is to make everything much clearer for everyone. For example: using the TV screens to inform delegates of locations
and speeches/events happening throughout day. His aim is also to reduce the use of paper and create a sustainable environment, which he believes is extremely important to keep in mind. Always rushing and always smiling, Vijender Chaubey of External Affairs, explains how this year him and Denise Preira (also EA) helped involving many more schools from all over the world to participate in MUNISH 2011. From last year’s 400 to this year’s 700! They have invited a variety of schools including school’s from the Middle East and Kenya and also acquired a different range of guest speakers, Vijender believes this will make the conference much more gripping and fascinating for delegates. Dionisios Korovilas, the charming as ever Conference Manager, casually affirms that him and Erika van den Berg (also CM) tried their best to convey the theme of
Nikki Saville
“Innovation” by, for example, organizing a visit to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) which has never been done before and both believe is a great way to show innovation and promote MUNISH 2011 well. Georgia Letcher and Victoria Bünemann, both academic advisors along with Gabriel de Morant, Business Manager, have strived to achieve excellence in their designated areas like no other year has. Last but not least Karina Dukalska, the wonderful Head of Press, is working harder than ever to make us at the Press Team the best and most original team for MUNISH yet. Organizing everything (and everyone) to stay on track and have our issues running smoothly. She’s been a patient yet determined H.O.P and it’s definitely safe to say we’re all proud to be a part of PRESS TEAM 2011.
5
Your picture
not here? Check
munish.nl/gallery
By Vincent Knijf and Ruben van Zoest
Behind the large masses of delegations there is an occasionally unnoticed working force addressed as the MUN Directors. As Press it is our duty to report on these individuals to unite their voices and share their thoughts in general. First of all the experienced and dedicated directors Ryan Davidson and Theresa Armentrout reflect and agree on the fact that “most people are calm” (which is in contrast to what the previous issue suggested) and Ryan particularly would like to add “there is a certain mode, certain focus.” This all adds to the main impression that the Directors are satisfied with the professional attitude and standards of this year’s MUNISH. The international atmosphere is highlighted and frequently addressed by Eric Beck traveled all the way from the Spanish capital and concludes: “It’s fantastic, but I’m trying to not look forward to the party too much in order to focus on the debate.”
Anna Soer
The organization as a whole has a positive impression often mentioned and in particular complimenting the beautiful location. Model United Nations rookie Jane Barnes suggests that MUN helps
8
MUN Directors
understanding of the bureaucratic process and relationships between countries. Even though she was reluctantly interviewed she had a lot to say, in special she expressed: “ I wish something like this would have been available when I was a student” One of the questions we asked the MUN Directors were what is better from this year’s MUNISH and those from the previous years? What was great for us to hear was that they all thought the articles produced by the press team were more professional than the previous years. Ms. Peterson, teacher at the International School of The Hague, said the following “This year’s Press team is much more professional, for example the issue’s paper is of much better quality, the topics are well picked and are very well written with both serious and entertaining articles. Ms. T Armentrout also had some positive aspects about this years Press “The layout has improved greatly through out the years that I have been coming, with this year being the best layout you guys have had so far.” Ms. Armentrout has been coming to MUNISH for the past 9 years. Not only were the improvements with the Press team acknowledged, Ms. Armentrout said the following about all the improvement that he had noticed from the previous years. “The housing system this year had booked great improvements. With
Anna Soer
the gathering being downstairs rather then upstairs, this makes the whole housing system so much more organized. Other improvements were also noticed here are the other improvements briefly in a list:
• Better housing set-up • Conference information booklet • The black delegates folder brought back in • Rooms were assigned better • The gyms were well set up • MUNISH has doubled in size but this growth has been handled very well.
In conclusion the MUN Directors greatly contributed both to the atmosphere surrounding MUNISH and of course the organizational side. We can all agree that without the MUN Directors MUNISH would not be the same.
Anna Soer
PRESS TEAM: BEHIND THE SCENES
9
By Hannah Welsh
The End of MUNISH 2011…
The past two days have flown by, giving everyone barely any time to just stop and breathe. The halls have been filled with delegates rushing around, the media centre filled to the brim, rooms echoing with cries of “can the delegates please come to order!” However, even after the first few hours, it was obvious that delegates had already got into the rhythm of things – thinking, speaking, and acting with the same sense of formalized chaos that reflects perfectly the essence of an MUN conference. It seems that this year’s BOD has made a good impression on the new delegates. “The conference seems really professional and well organized,” said Hannah de Leeuw and Sanny Tooen, two delegates new to the MUN scene. When asked, it seems that what most people like best about MUNs is interacting with new people of different cultures and nationalities (meaning By Vincent Knijf
a struggle to immerse yourselves in tests and essays and listen in class again, when what you really want is to be with your committee and all those new people you met, discussing important issues, partying and of course changing the world – in your own way, anyway. Even though MUNISH is over for now, on the plus side, for many of us, there’s still next year to look forward to.
lected MUN-ers there were a few passionate opinions, and a few dull ones. Of course we have some opinions, which we can all relate to. Sarah de Herde was one of the students which really touched the Press Team. Ms. De Herde is part of the admin team and said the following about this years MUNISH: “FUN! It’s an fantastic way to meet people from different communities and learn about the different cultures amongst us.” Denise Preira (our very own Queen Bee) is part of the Board of Directors and manages External Affairs. “Hectic and crazy, but extremely fun! What is the best thing about MUNISH? Where could I begin? Well everything I guess, from the new layout of the gift shop to the actual debates in the different committees.” An honest and fair answer, If I may say so myself.
So what are the best parts of MUNISH? We as the Press Team believe it is the articles summing up the serious and funny issues about MUNISH. Keeping you up to date on everything that is happening around you so that none of you miss out on the great things that MUNISH has to offer. It has been an honor and we wish you all good luck in the future – we hope your memories of MUNISH will stay with you forever.
Best parts of MUNISH
Unfortunately MUNISH 2011 is coming to an end; too soon some would say, others are too grief-stricken to comment. What will we do on the coming Monday? How will life ever be the same again? Those are questions that none of us can answer and little of us want to hear the answer to. But it does not have to end here. MUNISH can and will be a part of us through out the rest of our high-school life, and for some of us for the rest of our life. For we all know that MUNISH has been an experience that no one will want to forget and some of us will have the privilege to experience again next year and possibly the years after. With this in mind, the Press Team thought: why don’t we ask the students amongst their thoughts on MUNISH, and how, in a couple of words, they would describe MUNISH 2011? Among these few se-
10
they just love to socialize). It has been a crazy three days of socializing, partying and maybe doing some work and note passing in between. Unfortunately, time is ticking by and the end of MUNISH 2011 is drawing near. It is almost time to pack your bags and head for home. Then you have depressing thoughts of sending your suits to the dry cleaners and putting away your MUN gear for another year. After getting into the frantic swing of things, it will be weird getting back into the pace of everyday life once more. “It’s a shame it’s so short,” one participant said about the conference. Smiles turned into pained grimaces – and maybe guilt, while thinking of all of the essays they did not complete this weekend – when delegates were asked about going back to school. Everybody said that it would be horribly difficult to go back on Monday morning. It will be
Carlos Gonzales
Annabel van Eijk
11
Your picture
not here? Check
munish.nl/gallery
MUNISH ‘11 EXHAUSTION