The European International Model United Nations Newsletter March/April 2011
Contents: GrunnMUN|Registrations| Locations | Uri Rosenthal| Staff GrunnMUN 2011 was a great success! GRONINGEN, March 21 – ONE OF THE WORLDS SMALLEST MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONVENED FOR the ninth time on Monday, once again in Groningen’s beautiful Academy Building. The conference addressed international issues within the theme Giants of the World, Increase of Cooperation or Conflict of Interests. Although this might seem paradoxical at first glance, the current situation the world finds itself in, makes this question more relevant than ever.
GrunnMUN Groningen
Model
Un ited
Nat ions
Giants of the World Increase of Cooperation or Conflict of Interests?
21 March 2011 A c a d e m y B u i l d i n g - € 8,--
General Assembly - Security Council - Economic Social Council
www.teimun.org/grunnmun
Secretary General Kühlmann opened the conference by stating that; “many matters are in the need of your attention, today is your chance to make a difference’’. Several high placed officials attended the conference, such as, but not limited by a very awkwardly dressed Muamar Ghaddafi and a appropriately timid High Representative Catherine Ashton. For students based in Groningen, GrunnMUN was a very nice preparation for the next TEIMUN session in July 2011.
The European International Model United Nations
Newsletter 2011 March/April 2011 Registrations for TEIMUN 2011 We are happy to see that people from so many different countries have already registered for TEIMUN 2011. Currently, we have registrations from more than 30 different nationalities for this summer. In the picture below you can see the diversity at TEIMUN 2011 so far: Even though we have registrations from so many countries, we are still busy recruiting students from all over the world. To make delegates experience this global gathering during the conference, TEIMUN was the first MUN
that created a ‘Global Village’. Over the years this social event has evolved into an amazing event. All participants are encouraged to bring national specialities such as typical food, drinks, music, and traditional clothing. Check our website for our other social activities and further information on accommodation in The Hague. We would like to remind you to arrange your overnight stay on time. Suggestions for hostels and hotels can be found online at ‘The Hague information’.
Locations TEIMUN Mondriaan College TEIMUN’s 2011 Conference will be held at the Mondriaan College in The Hague. It is located only five minutes from the Central Station and is therefore a very accessible location. Busses depart every ten minutes from the bus station. However, when the beautiful Dutch summer is in full bloom a lovely ten minute walk through one of The Hague’s typical streets, the Theresiastraat, gets you to the Mondriaan as well. The Mondriaan is a college for catering and tourism and is well equipped with all the necessities for a successful conference.
The European International Model United Nations
Newsletter 2011 March/April 2011 Locations TEIMUN 2011 Theatre Diligentia Where once was the backyard of a house on the Hoge Nieuwstraat, is now the Theater Diligentia. Here the Opening Ceremony of the TEIMUN Conference 2011 will take place. At the site of the original house, two rooms were built for the Royal Society of Physics in 1805, that owned the complex until 2002. These two rooms merged into one room in 1853. Diligentia derives its unique character from this fact: a wide shallow hall, ideal for cabaret and chamber music.
Uri Rosenthal one of the speakers for the Openings Ceremony! Uri Rosenthal is a Dutch politician for the Liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He is Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Mark Rutte since October 2010. Before that, he served as a member of the Dutch senate for over a decade, the final five years of which he served as parliamentary group leader. Rosenthal studied Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. In 1970 he received a doctorate in the Social Sciences at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, where he went on to teach Political Science and Public Administration. From 1987 to 2010, he was a professor for Public Administration at the University of Leiden. Until 2010, Rosenthal was also chair of the COT Institute for Safety and Crisis Management. Rosenthal played a prominent role in the formation of the current Dutch minority cabinet, composed of his own liberal VVD party and the Christian Democratic Appeal. His experiences as both an academic and a politician should give Rosenthal enough interesting to say at the opening ceremony; TEIMUN is proud to have minister Uri Rosenthal as one of its opening speakers.
The European International Model United Nations
Newsletter 2011 March/April 2011 Staff TEIMUN 2011 The staff are of vital importance to holding the TEIMUN conference. In this newsletter we would therefore like to shortly introduce them. After a careful selection at last year’s conference, the staff successfully provides the conference with its intellectual content, in coming up with interesting topics, writing background papers, and last but not least: a full week of chairing. This year’s TEIMUN staff is composed of 19 MUN-veterans in the field, who have participated in TEIMUN at least once. They will be responsible for chairing the Secretariat, and the various councils, the International Court of Justice and the Crisis Staff. Before the conference, in order for the delegates to prepare properly and deepen their understanding for the topics at hand, the staff will be responsible for providing the necessary background papers and information. During the conference they will chair and supervise the debates, so as to allow the delegates to write fruitful resolutions. This Year’s Staff: Secretariat This year’s Secretary General will be Dilpreet K. Dhanoa. This 25-year old, enjoys debating, mooting, reading, music and visiting museums or art galleries, will be the undisputed leader of The European International Model United Nations. In her duties as Secretary-General, she will be assisted by Under Secretary-General Ece Aygün, a genuine MUN-veteran. She has participated as a delegate in numerous conferences including TEIMUN 2008, and won awards at RiMUN, OxiMUN, and Harvard National MUN. As a staff member, she has chaired at TEIMUN 2009 and also served as a chair at UNISUN 2008 and later became the Secretary General of UNISUN 2009.
Security Council The Security Council at TEIMUN 2011 will be chaired by Babak Mohammadzadeh, who had the privilege to participate and chair conferences in Nijmegen, Amsterdam, London, Utrecht and Groningen. Yiqun Wang will be the other chair in this council. Yiqun has plenty of experience in chairing councils; In 2010 she co-chaired the Security Council at GrunnMUN, and co-chaired the General Assembly at TEIMUN. This year, Yiqun has also been selected as Director of UNEP at LIMUN and as Chair of UN Women in GIMUN. General Assembly Onur Görmez will be the one chairing the General Assembly at TEIMUN 2011. He loves debating and participating in MUNs; furthermore, he is interested in international affairs/economy, cinema and sociology. He is currently a fourth year student at the Galatasaray University’s Faculty of Law in Istanbul. As Vice-Chair will be operating Suzanne Klein Schaarsberg, last year’s Programme Coordinator in the Board of Directors and a student of International Relations and Religion at the University of Groningen. North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council will be chaired by Mark van Embden, formerly a delegate in this council, Participants Coordinator in the Board of 2009 and a member of the Crisis Staff. He studied International Relations at the University of Groningen. Peter Jaap Blaakmeer, a student of Business Administration in Groningen, who runs his own web development company, will co-chair this council.
The European International Model United Nations
Newsletter 2011 March/April 2011 Michal has entered University after three and half years in the Israeli Army serving as an Human Rights Council officer and after one year of travelling in Anna Alberts will be chairing the HRC. She is south-east Asia. student of International Relations and Philosophy at the University of Groningen. She has been As an advocate will be serving Fadi Antoun. an MUNer since 2008, and this TEIMUN will be Fadi is an Egyptian, living in Cairo. He is a Senior Law School student in Ain Shams Uniher fourth. She has won several awards and has versity. Apart, he is a heavy analyzer, a good been a chair at TEIMUN 2010 and MUNTR singer and poet, as well as a tennis addict. 2010. Stefanie Zauner will be vice chair of this council. Stefanie is 23 years old and currently Historical Council in the last year of her studies of “International The Historical Council will be chaired by Development” at the University of Vienna, her hometown university. At the moment, she is also Cees Heere. Cees is 20 years old and is currently enrolled at the London School of doing an internship at the “Ludwig Boltzmann Economics, where he is studying for a MasInstitute for Human Rights” in Vienna. ter’s degree in History of International Relations. His academic interests encompass the Economic and Social Council This year’s ECOSOC will be chaired by Christi- history of diplomacy, contemporary African ana Carson. Being half Swiss and half American, politics, the rise and fall of empires, and pretty much anything else he once read a good book Christiana grew up in close touch with various on. The vice chairing will be done by Laure cultures and languages, whilst living in different Lusteau. Laure is 22 years old, French and countries. Currently, she studies International Relations in Geneva, specializing in History and Ethiopian. She started MUN in High school Political Sciences. She will be assisted in chairing as a delegate and served as Secretary General after 9 MUN conferences. Slightly less acby Svend Talma, ECOSOC’s vice chair. Svend has obtained a Bachelor degree in International tive in MUN at University level, she attended OxiMUN and TEIMUN as a delegate and Relations with a minor in Peace and Security at the University of Groningen, and currently is en- Chaired at LIMUN. rolled in the Masters programme ‘Conflict Resolution and Governance’. He was the Participants Crisis Staff Manuel Peix Castiella will be a member of the Coordinator for participants from Africa, Asia and Latin-America on the TEIMUN 2010 Board Crisis Staff. Manuel is currently in his second of Directors, and he will be the vice-chair of the year of industrial engineering in Comillas University in Madrid. He started MUNs in ECOSOC at this year’s conference. his last year of high school, with MUNUSAL, where he got an Honorable Mention in HRC, International Court of Justice The ICJ will be represented by Registrar Michal and could (very sadly) not make it to another Luft. She is currently in her third year of B.A in MUN until TEIMUN 2010, where he won Best Speaker in HRC. Law and International Relations in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Your TEIMUN Journalists: Karsten Kip, Judith Knotters and Sam Trompert