THE THIMUNIAN € 1THURSDAY

January 26, 2012WWW.THIMUN.ORG | SEAS AND OCEANS

Exploring the depths of seas and oceans with THIMUN’s keynote speaker

FROM age three, when she first felt the ocean’s waves crashing at her feet, Sylvia Earle claims that pursu-ing oceanography was “ir-resistible and inevitable” for her. She claims never to have lost her childish sense of wonder that fuels her curiosity and drive for discovery. Living most of her life underwater, Earle dedicated her life to dis-covering the unexplored. When asked about her most memorable expedition, Dr Earle replied with ‘Always the next one.’ Even after retirement she continues to have a drive for discovery and exploration.

The speech Dr Earle gave during the opening ceremony of THIMUN XLIV on Monday inspired THIMUN delegates to take advantage and contribute to the beginning of the era of exploration. Less than 5% of the Earth’s oceans and seas have been seen; thus we, as the upcoming gener-ation, have a lot to find - let alone understand.

As the keynote speaker for THIMUN XLIV, Earle hoped to spread her love

for the ocean to the del-egates, and encourages us all to ‘get in the water and dive at some point,’ in our lives. She believes that ‘the highest priority today is to protect the natural systems of our world, and, although the environment is suffer-ing at the cost of growing businesses, it is urgent for

us to use our well-trained minds to be more sustain-able.’

According to Dr Earle, it is vital for people to rec-ognize early in their career the critical importance of diversity in achieving the sustainability of the natu-ral systems. Therefore, THIMUN becomes an or-

ganization that fosters the inspiration for respecting one another, regardless of culture or religion, and un-derstanding the concept of dignity and international-ity.

Many THIMUN par-ticipants who listened to Dr Earle’s speech expressed a sudden interest and desire

to experience diving and life underwater, in order to better understand the world around us. Overall, delegates, directors, admin staff, and guests all found her speech exciting and wondrous, as we all learned more about the myriad of life unexplored and waiting to be discovered.

LEILA ELABBADYIS BRUSSELS

Ms Kamaruddin believes that this position is not any more demanding for a woman versus a man, but sometimes, she says, “it is difficult to regain the re-spect of the male delegate, but I feel like I’ve done a good job.” Ms Dubock says selecting Kamarud-din as President was a “big deal – she was so perfect, so cool and so calm.”

Any and all positions of the THIMUN confer-ence are open to both men and women with the suffi-cient qualifications. How-

THERE are a total of 2,944 students participating in THIMUN this year, and 1,563 of these students are female. In selecting student officers, the Board tries to maintain a balance of “male and female, junior and se-nior, and multiracial [offi-cers],” explains Ms Linda Dubock, the Chair of the THIMUN Board. Model United Nations has always continued to be an activ-ity in which women are involved more than their

male counterparts, espe-cially in The Hague where there have been more fe-male Secretary Generals than male. Ms Dubock does not believe that there is any real reason to ac-count for this.

The position of Secre-tary General is not the only position this year that is held by a woman – Leonie Reese -- but also the po-sition of President of the General Assembly, which is held by Nina Kamarud-din of Mont’ Kiara Interna-tional School in Malaysia.

ever, some schools do not always offer the same op-portunities for their female students. These female stu-dents cannot come to the conference because of a variety of social and reli-gious limitations, which is why THIMUN has brought the conference to them. One example of this is the conference THIMUN Qa-tar held in Doha, where the women are not only eager to speak about the issues but also “eloquent and el-egant in their speeches,” says Ms. Dubock.

continued on page 5

She’s the Man: Women in THIMUNHANNAH HEMPERLYMONT´ KIARA IS

Don’t be baffled by the raffle!HANNAH HEMPERLY and SEKHEENA DESLORIEUXMONT´ KIARA IS

MAKE sure to buy a raffle ticket for the chance to win THIMUN’s mascot teddy bear Muney III or his new friends Delphina the Dolphin and Squirtle the Turtle! You can find the raffle tickets for €0.50 on the second floor where all THIMUN merchandise is sold. In accordance with this year’s theme – Seas and Oceans, all proceeds go to Greenpeace, an orga-nization dedicated to main-taining the fragile place we call home. Remco van der Zwaag, the Treasurer on the Board of THIMUN, notes this as “a chance to show your care and con-cern for the rest of the world.”Dr Sylvia Earle’s message at Opening Ceremony has remained with the delegates throughout the week MB

Funny notes around the conference

Conference Chairs Battle With Being Friend or Foe Page 4

Afternoon Off for THIMUN offers Cultural Opportunities Page 2

Editors in ChiefCaroline LudemanIsabelle Stillman

Text EditorsSeoHyun BaeHannah HemperlyYasemin ParlarLily Rivkin

ReportersLaura AntunaAnna Bradley-WebbSekheena Des-lorieuxMariana DominguesLeila ElabbadyMaximilian En-thovenDina FaragSophia HengelbrokVicky LiuIsla McDougallAlexandra MillerAury NaranjoAllison ShapiroCharlotte Smith

LayoutRebecca McDonaldNicole NoveyTyler PayneJames Roh

PhotographersTamara BastakiMaggie BlissTomas ClarksonLeah CummingAnna Soer

A day in the life of the IT coordinator

WHo do you have to thank for making sure all the technical as-pects of THIMUN run smooth-ly? Meet Jochen Vermeulen, the man in charge of the IT infra-structure. In a normal day, Mr Vermeulen runs around all parts of the World Forum making sure that everything is in its right place and everything is working the way that it is supposed to.

Mr Vermeulen works mostly in the Approval Panel, helping with word processor problems or fixing the system when it doesn’t work. The entire system for re-cording, managing, and saving resolutions was created by Mr Vermeulen, much before the conference started.

Mr Vermeulen was intro-duced to THIMUN by a friend who previously worked as IT management and has loved it ever since. “To be here, to meet all these people and help them have a good conference is some-thing that I enjoy.”As a full time

CoNFERENCE NEWS 2 THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

SEkHEENA DESLoRIEUxMont’ Kiara iS

Commisions get culturedAURY NARANJoIS PANAMA

employee of THIMUN, Mr Ver-meulen has been at six THIMUN conferences in The Hague and three THIMUN conferences in Singapore. Having a job that re-quires him to travel around the world is something that he re-ally takes pleasure in. When Mr Vermeulen is not at THIMUN Hague, he spends his time mak-ing the THIMUN database more efficient and modern so that the registration process improves. As part of his job, Mr Vermeulen travels to Singapore for the an-nual THIMUN Singapore con-ference and for the first time, Qatar for THIMUN Qatar.

Mr Vermeulen, who spends most of his time at the THIMUN conference fixing minor techni-cal problems, says, “it’s a lot of fun to be able to help high school students have such an experi-ence.” Even the smallest thing that he does that helps the del-egates continue with the debate and enhances the THIMUN ex-perience makes him enjoy his job even more.

When Mr Vermeulen is not working, you can find him some-

where playing the piano or trav-elling. “I play the piano, I play music whenever I can,” says Mr Vermeulen. Even though he didn’t have his heart set on any-thing particular when he was

younger, a job as a computer en-gineer appealed to him because it gives him a lot of freedom to do what he wants, work where he wants, and in his current job, the possibility to travel.

Jochen Vermeulen TB

EVERY year during the confer-ence, THIMUNers are given Wednesday afternoon where meetings end at two instead of five. With this time, delegates and MUN Directors are free to go and do whatever they please. These three extra hours can be used to explore the city they have been staying at for the last couple of days. Some go even further as to travel outside the city in Amsterdam. others, how-ever, prefer to stay in and use the day instead to relax and prepare for the debate-filled day ahead.

As predicted, the most popu-lar locations include Amsterdam and The Hague. Amsterdam seems to be quite the hotspot for any Holland newcomer. A delegate of kyrgyzstan com-ing all the way from Brazil, as a first-timer, did not know any-thing about Amsterdam before arriving. He hoped to learn more about Holland’s culture, feeling that The Hague was not as tra-ditional. After hearing so much about the city, he hopes to see all that he has been missing out on.

Delft is another popular lo-cation. MUN Director of St.

andrew’s Junior College from Singapore, Charis Lo, Singapore described her delegation as being

very excited, considering the fact that Wednesday is not like any other day. They would have time

now. Lo sees it as a chance for the delegates to get out and ex-plore the city on their own. “it’s also an opportunity for learning,” Mr Lo said. “The delegates are most looking forward to enjoy-ing this rest of the city and see-ing something new. Meanwhile, i’ll be taking a breathe of fresh air with them.”

There are other locations, however, that are not as popular but equally enjoyable. As MUN Director, from the British School of Paris, Joanne Craig, explained how their delegates are given choices every day, often discuss-ing and negotiating the activities that will take place during the afternoon. For yesterday’s case, they chose to stay in The Hague and relax. They enjoyed a walk around the city, taking in muse-ums and later on a movie. As Ms Craig put it, “i think there’s a lot of build up to the conference and work that goes into it. it’s quite competitive to come, so students work very hard. They are all tired and want a bit of rest and relaxation for the day of debating that lies ahead.”

It seems that MUN Direc-tors, as much as delegates, took full advantage of their day off.

Mauritshuis AS

Mid-week, delegates adapt to THIMUN struggles and successes

THIMUN delegates making a difference

WE have all felt it before: the stress, the anxiety, the self-con-sciousness of being in a new place. For many of the delegates, it is their first THIMUN- for some even their first conference. Now that the first few over-whelming days have come to a close, I asked delegates about their adjustment to THIMUN. Some of the hardest parts, delegates said, are the workload, lobbying, and stick-

ing to one’s country’s opinions. Coming up with a thorough, well-researched resolution is one thing, but persuading others that it can accurately solve the issue is another. Even experienced dele-gates have a hard time construct-ing convincing speeches on the spot. Others were shocked that the resolutions they spent count-less hours on got completely reworded, torn apart, or merged with various others, making them barely recognizable. Ever had your leading clause become a clause of a clause? Ever been unsure about how to handle par-

ticularly aggressive delegates? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Lobbying can be a scary time.

When it comes to debat-ing, some countries are easier to represent than others. Countries with strong political positions, or those who are very involved in an issue of debate, are generally seen more often on the floor. But most of the countries represented are not those countries. What are their views? Many new delegates find it hard to truly represent their countries, and instead find themselves partially representing their own views.

Model United Nations, although not the real deal, makes a real dif-ference in the community. One of the most popular questions asked about the THIMUN participants is whether or not the delegates work at home also affects the world around them. After interview-ing several THIMUN delegates and a few admins and directors, there is no doubt that they do. From building schools to visiting or-phanages, it is remarkable to realize that although THIMUN meets in The Hague, the participants effect the entire world.

VICKY LIU and HANNAH HEMPERLYJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL and MONT’ KIARA IS

ALLIE MILLERAS PARIS

Delegates discuss their community service at home.

CONFERENCE NEWS 3THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

The dating gameALLI SHAPIROHEIDELBERG AHS What was the most sur-

prising part of the conference? The immense number of del-egates was certainly a shock to most newcomers. While this was initially intimidating, it was comforting for delegates to know they were not alone. By now, most of the new delegates have adjusted and are starting to en-joy themselves. The atmosphere, spirited debate, and new friends will all be greatly missed when the conference is over. Wish I could say the same thing about the lunches!

YOU saw them at the Opening Ceremony. You saw them at the sales tables. Now, here they are. Welcome, Ladies and Gentle-men, to the dating game.

Candidate One: Squirtle the Turtle

Candidate one is a very nurtur-ing guy, having helped his ex-wife bury over 200 of their eggs. He would like the ladies to know that he may walk slowly, but he moves fast.

Candidate Two: Muney III

Candidate two enjoys fishing, swimming and looking sad in documentaries about global warming. His favourite pick-up line is: “Do you know how much a polar bear weighs, baby? Enough to break the ice.”

Candidate Three: Delphi-na the Dolphin

Candidate three enjoys deep sea diving and rescuing drowning sailors. She is a crowd pleaser, and often stars in shows. Do not worry, this girl isn’t just beauty – she’s got brains!

Well, delegate, which of these mystery dates is your pick? Make sure to purchase a raffle ticket for €0,50. After all, you might get lucky.

Ian FitzpatricACS Cobham Interna-tional School

After participating in the Disaster Relief Fund for over 4 years, Fitzpatric has helped the Fund raise over 35,000 pounds for various charities. He also travelled to Namibia over the summer to help build schools, bringing new school supplies, pur-chased with the 50,000 pounds raised for the trip. As he is currently with the Human Rights Commit-tee in THIMUN, he states that these past experienc-es have definitely inspired him to be more involved and he really wants to make a difference.

Milena Zychlinsky ScharffJohn F. Kennedy School

A judge on the ICJ, Zychlinsky has volunteered not only at homes for the elderly, but also at the Ronald McDonald House. At the Ronald McDonald House, she cooks for families of sick chil-dren staying at the hospital. Many of these families are too poor to stay in a hotel during their children’s operations, and the Ronald McDonald House allows them to support their children during this time. She states that these first-hand experiences make cases dealing with poverty much more genuine.

Catherine Braun Park Tudor SchoolAs the president of the Honor Council, Braun has worked with Save the Elephants and travelled to both Kenya and China in the effort to conserve the elephant population. Braun also works with scientists and researchers to study conservation methods and is a member of the Global Scholarship Program for the conservation effort.

Angel FigueroaColegio Internacional de Caracas

Figueroa explains that his high school in Venezuela requires all students to partici-pate in some sort of service, in his case, at the Santa Maria Orphanage. He explains that the students bring food and play with the kids. Figueroa notes most prominently how sad the kids are, and how happy they become when the students visit.

Although this is only a small snapshot of how the participants of THIMUN serve their communities, the conclusion is clear—although delegates spend a week simulating United Nations, their effect on the world is continued when they go home, and remain very strong.

MUN Director talks about service AS

AS

CONFERENCE NEWS 4 THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

Order on the floor

IN order to create an envi-ronment where construc-tive debate can thrive, chairs must decide how to define the relationship be-tween themselves and their committee. Hsiao explains that she doesn’t tolerate “analogies, singing, accents (imitated of course), and extremist views complete with violent gestures.” She advises being quite strict to start with but gradually growing less strict and adds that “being [informal]/al-lowing informal behavior shows that we [the chair] have a life too.”

Phillips draws the line between the appropriate and inappropriate by as-sessing whether the contro-versial matter is relevant. He claims that “metaphors and non-offensive jokes are normally okay, as long as they relate to the resolution at hand,” but affirms that “trying to be outrageous/funny just for the sake of it is not accepted.” He also describes how being in a position of authority makes him realize his responsibili-ties as a role model and how this forces him to maintain concentration throughout

the day.There is a consistent

view among the chairs that although it can be good to allow some informality, this gives rise to the risk of things getting out of hand, therefore they generally try react strongly to stamp out informality and rowdiness before things go too far.

It is clear when speak-ing to delegates that they believe that the chair usu-ally gets the balance right, allowing them to have fun, while maintaining an environment that encour-ages good debate. Christina Schofield from Interna-tional School of Zug & Lu-zern, representing Ecuador on the Special Conference Sub-Commission 2, was enthusiastic about her com-mittee, saying, “it’s very interesting, you realize that there are so many more is-sues than what you first thought,” and added that the chair had allowed her to enjoy debate as fully as possible.

The delegate of Ger-many from ‘General As-sembly, 3rd Committee’ also gushed about her chairs, and like so many others, attributes her enjoyment of the conference to the chairs, saying, “[it] has been very fun so far, which is greatly due to the chairs.”

The chairs all seem to be reveling in their new-found authority, but are all aware that on Friday af-ternoon, when THIMUN XLIV is declared closed by the President of General Assembly, that they will re-turn back to normal life and once again become equals with the rest of participants at THIMUN.

LCTHIMUN chairs make the world go ‘round

Gradual GrowthIN the last forty-four years, THIMUN has not only grown in size with a capac-ity of 3,500 students, yet has also established two other conferences in Sin-gapore and Qatar. As it is the conference’s objective to seek solutions to numer-ous global issues through discussion, negotiation and debate, it is necessary to give studious youth in continents such as Asia, Af-rica, and South America an equal opportunity.

The Board of THIMUN decided to enhance its in-fluence and carry its origi-nal name throughout the

world, thus the Treasurer of the Board of THIMUN Mr. Remco van der Zwaag com-mented in an interview that the “conference has grown to its maximum size, that is the reason why, six or sev-en years ago, we started the conference in Singapore to facilitate in particular the Asian and Australian part of the world.”

Driven by global equal-ity, the THIMUN Board established a conference in Qatar recently, as “many students from the Islamic part of the world were often not allowed to come to The Hague or Singapore,” Van der Zwaag stated. “So we thought, if that is the case, we should come to them.” The Qatar foundation spon-

sored the conference, wid-ening the Board’s ability to achieve their objectives.

Plans of expanding THIMUN to Uruguay are under investigation, India and South Africa are still “very, very vague”, but it might be a plan to incorpo-rate as many students pos-sible into the network of MUN.

As Van der Zwaag con-tended, “We are not there yet, but we are careful not to grow too quickly”. THI-MUN, the largest confer-ence worldwide, seeks to maintain this position and inspire young people all around the globe to practice their political and econom-ic interest.

THIMUN expansion in Qatar and worldwide TB

HOW DO CHAIRS BALANCE AN ENTERTAINING DEBATE WITH A CONTROLLED COMMITTEE?

ISLA MCDOUGALLBENENDEN SCHOOL

MAX ENTHOVENJFK BERLIN

WHO is Alain Meidinger? Mr Meidinger was born in France, but has lived in The Hague for 17 years, working at the Lycee Vincent Van Gogh in The Hague as a geography and history teacher. He was very enthusiatic about his job concerning MUN as he said, “MUN changes one’s prespective.“

In few words, Mr Mei-dinger is a member of the Board of Directos, but his

title only explains a small part of what he does for THIMUN in The Hague, Qatar, and Singapore. As a member of the THI-

MUN Board, Mr. Mei-dinger is in charge of the information desk, and or-ganizing the cinema night, and is responisble for the flag parade held during the Opening Ceremony. In ad-dition to this, Mr Meiding-er is the man who proposes the themes of the three ma-jor conferences around the world. This year, he chose the theme Seas and Oceans because of the documen-

tary (which was shown on Tuesday), and has already has started brainstorming an idea for the theme of the Conference for 2013.

Every year, Mr Mei-dinger is excited to see what MUN can give a student who is beginning to think about world prob-lems. He is enthusiastic about giving the students the tools and understand-ing they need to acomplish their goals.

Mr. Meidinger work is a vital component in the organization of THIMUN and all the ones to come.

The number of women involved in Model United Nations had always been high, and that was because it was a Western based ac-

tivity. But the confidence level is continuing to in-crease, which Ms. Dubock believes is a “generation issue, the girls are going out and getting more con-fident.” Although the ori-gins of MUN are from the West, the largest amount of

female delegates hail from Asia, specifically South Korea and Japan.

Regardless of gender, all participants in THI-MUN should hold their position to the best of their abilities.

She’s the man: women in THIMUNContinued from page 1

VIP: Alain MeidingerLAURA ANTUNAZurich IS

MR Walter F. Peterson is now at his 28th and, sadly, last THIMUN conference. He spent his first years at THIMUN solely as the MUN coordinator of the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin. Later, he also became a member of the THIMUN Advisory Board and the head of Human Rights Commission.

Ever since Mr Pe-terson came across the words ‘Model United Na-

tions,’ he was “convinced that students should be able to and can create a learning environment that combines fun and intel-lectual challenge. The em-powering atmosphere of the conference challenges students on many levels: intellectual, social, and affective. It gives them opportunity to make deci-sions, affecting their own learning process.”

As the head of Human Rights Commission, Mr Peterson considers him-self and the forum “meant

to be. I don’t know how I was given the position but its core value lies in what I believe for all people.”

21 years ago, on their way back to Berlin from The Hague, one of Mr Peterson’s students sug-gested creating a MUN conference for their own community. A year later, Berlin MUN, a THIMUN affiliated conference, was founded and it recently celebrated its 20th anni-versary. He is extremely proud of the students for “taking something from THIMUN and creating their own tradition,” not only within their commu-nity but also around the world.

Mr Peterson describes MUN as a spider web, a wonderful network that stretches out and connects students all around the world.

With a melancholic tone, Mr Peterson ex-pressed his hope of visiting THIMUN again. “I can-not imagine not meeting my friends and the young people. I certainly want to keep experiencing the overwhelming atmosphere of THIMUN or MUN one way or another.”

VIP: Walter PetersonSEOHYUN BAEIS BEIJING

Nina Kamaruddin, PGA battles it out with male participant

THE FACES OF THIMUN 5THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

MBMr Meidinger (middle) poses with ARAMCO representatives

VIP: Markus ShicketanzDINA FARAGJFK BERLIN

NOT too many individu-als are acquainted with the mastermind behind the MUNITY -online editions uploaded to the internet only a day after the issue is published. This THIMUN conference being his sec-ond, Markus Schicketanz can mostly be found at the back of the MUNITY press room, sitting behind a com-puter.

Originally from Ger-many, Mr Schicketanz now teaches at the Deutsche Internationale Schule Den Haag, in addition to being the MUN director for the delegation of Canada. Lov-ing his job at THIMUN, Mr Schicketanz explains how he enjoys working with his three helpers in the press room, making videos and

ensuring MUNITY-online runs smoothly.

Together with his team, Mr Schicketanz in-cludes photo slide shows with music, various inter-views and many entertain-ing videos from the open-ing speeches or lobbying, for instance. A recent video called “Shots of short shorts at THIMUN 2012” humor-ously captures the inap-propriate short skirts of the

TC, MB

many young ladies roam-ing the halls of the world forum. These videos are available on YouTube as well, with helpful links on the website of MUNITY-online.

Thanks to Markus Schicketanz, the MUNI-TY press team can display its editions online, allow-ing even more people to read and enjoy them all over the globe.

Markus Shicketanz TB

Walter Peterson JR

THIMUN FASHION 6 THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

Tamara BastakiMaggie Bliss

Tomas ClarksonLeah Cumming

Anna Soer

THIMUN FASHION 7THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

YesterdaY in eCOsOC, the del-egates were busy discussing a resolution with a topic very close to the theme of the conference--“toxic dumping and the effects on Food source.” the resolution heavily emphasized the need to distin-guish between legal disposal and illegal dumping, encouraging the United Nations environment Program (UNeP) to sub-sidize green disposal programs in order to encourage not only legal disposal, but also environmentally healthy practices such as recycling. this theme of encour-aging green ways of disposal continued with the creation of a waste management committee, as well as an interest in the development and research of new tech-nologies for waste disposal. Interestingly, the resolution took an approach favoring positive enforcement, such as encourag-ing more education and media awareness, and asking countries to ratify the Basel Convention, rather than attempting to in-spire legal waste disposal with threats of heavy punishments. the delegates spent some time discussing whether or not to pass an amendment presented by the del-egate of Japan, which struck Clause 6 of the resolution. the delegate argued that this clause, which suggested the testing of the quality of food everywhere, especially in locations near toxic dumping sites, was asking the physically impossible. Much of the delegation seemed to support this amendment, with countries such as Hun-gary defending it from critique. With ad-mins running around passing notes be-tween delegates, delegates arguing over both the resolution and the amendment, and chairs settling in for what is sure to be an interesting discussion, tHIMUN will soon see whether eCOsOC considers this approach to waste dumping efficient.

VICKY LIUJOHN BUrrOUGHs sCHOOL

IN order to make a positive difference in the world, people need a voice and, most im-portantly, someone to listen. When humans are deprived of basic rights, society is de-prived of improvement. this lack of development then leads to stagnation and torpidity within a nation.

the primary goal of this year’s Human rights Commis-sion is to ensure that a greater variety of people have a say in their community, thus promot-ing better standards of living for the impoverished. None-theless, the delegate of North

Korea believes that this Com-missions’s ultimate mission is “to promote the rights of chil-dren living and working in the streets.” according to several delegates, the issue of impov-erished street children is clear-ly present in numerous nations around the world. Having an enormous population of un-educated street children nega-tively affects a nation since it may ultimately result in less innovation and fewer available and productive workers within a country.

One main submitter, eva Chorna, is representing Mexi-co in the Human rights sub-Commission 2. On tuesday,

Chorna mentioned that the del-egates were successfully coop-erating with one another in or-der to facilitate different ways of raising the GdP. By raising the GdP, the resolution’s spon-sors hope to make further child labor unnecessary, since the parents will be earning suffi-cient income to support their families. Chorna also stated that, “although Mexico is more of a developing country, we are actually affected by this issue and can bring good con-tributions to solving the issue through our resolution.”

On Wednesday, debates in both the Commission rooms were heating up, and the in-

tensity level continued to rise throughout the day, with the issues of torture and genocide being particularly prominent. In the words of Miguel so-bral, a delegate representing the Kingdom of saudi arabia in sub-commission 1, “the highlight of the past two days was undoubtedly the debate on street children; seeing as that, although the intents of all na-tions were similar, the method advocated by various del-egations differed significantly, sparking endlessly riveting debates.” Ultimately, represen-tatives are looking forward to continue contributing stimulat-ing ideas throughout the week.

MarIaNa dOMINGUesCaIsL

tHe security Council continues their journey to solve the Questions of syria, afghanistan, somalia, and al-Qaeda. the deputy Presidents, abhinav Menon and George evgenidis feel that the con-ference is going very well so far. the de-bate has been productive and the council has passed issues in a quick and efficient manner. the deputy Presidents note that the delegates are really getting into the debate and paying close attention to their countries policies.

the delegates in the security Coun-cil are very impressed with the way that the conference is going. Jeremie Lan-glois, one of the delegates of Colombia from the Cairo american College, says,

“I’ve actually been very pleased at how productive the security Council has been.” after a day of debating, almost half of the clauses were passed.

the Permanent Five (UK, France, russian Federation, China, Usa) who have veto power in the security Coun-cil have really been using their power. the P5 members have given numerous veto threats, though always with good reasoning.

the security Council, keeping with its serious nature, does not entertain any inappropriate behavior. Menon, one of the deputy Presidents sums it up with, “this is the security Council, nothing funny happens.”

Human Rights: a voice for the unfortunate

Advisory Panel cuts, criticizes, and collab-orates

No funny business in the Secu-rity Council

ECOSOC consid-ers the resolution “Toxic Dumping and the Effects on Food Source”

Special Conference debate unfolds

CONFereNCe aCtION 8 tHe tHIMUNIaN, tHUrsdaY, JaNUarY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

WedNesdaY the focus of the advisory Panel on the Question of the Mediterranean region (aPQMr) was sustainable tour-ism and coordination between the United Nations environmental Program (UNeP) and nations in the Mediterranean region. “Well, this year’s [advisory Panel] con-centrates on the Mediterranean region; the topics debated so far are peace and stabil-ity in the region, sustainable tourism, and water access and management,” said the expert from Iran. The first topic up for in-tense debate was an amendment to strike a clause that requested nations to “incorpo-rate migrants and refugees in sustainable tourism programs.” Harsh criticism of the clause—some experts said it created op-portunities for press-ganging—as well as passionate defense highlighted the drive of the experts to settle on only the best clauses for Friday, when everything is submitted to the security Council. “It’s going very well. Very busy, and exciting. the debate is strong and experts are interested and en-gaged,” concluded the deputy President.

aLLI sHaPIrOHeIdeLBerG aHs

seKHeeNa desLOrIeUXMONt’ KIara Is

sPeCIaL Conference s-ub-commission 1 (sPC1) spent their morning dis-cussing aquaculture by highlighting the need for education and defining the international fishing li-censes. delegates debated the gap between LedCs and MedCs regarding the need for financial aid in supporting a more sus-tainable fishing industry. the delegate of south af-rica expressed his cynical opinion on MedC fund-ing towards sustainable fishing internationally. With a busy week ahead of them, sPC1 delegates will be debating fair and

equal access to the natural resources of the oceans, combating the ‘ghost fish-ing fleets’ and the role of the UN in protecting ar-eas of outstanding natural beauty.

In special Confer-ence sub-Commission 2 (sPC2), delegates strived to reduce the gap between countries caused by water disputes. they aimed to re-invoke the United Na-tions Convention on the Law of the sea in order to increase the sustainabil-ity of people’s water con-sumption. Whether they are dealing with oil spills, redefining water bound-aries, or natural disaster preparation, this Com-mission will be in concen-

trated debate throughout the week as they work on the seven respective reso-lutions. On tuesday, they discussed the measures to reduce the environmen-tal impact of deep sea extraction of minerals; the delegate of the Inter-national Whaling Com-mission took the lead in promoting her resolution and pushing it towards success. Media awareness and post natural disaster guidelines were just two of the topics mentioned regarding the respective issue. after rejecting their first resolution, the del-egates in sPC2 were able to pass the resolutions that followed.

LeILa eLaBBadYIs BrUsseLs

as

A delegate of ECOSOC is previewing her resolution before the debate

as

Delegates present arguments with com-posure

VL

“I’m not giving up my passports!”

Vegging out? A measure of the dedication of delegates

COMMENTARY 9THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

ON the 23-hour trip to Australia this December, it struck me that the land ‘Down Under’ wasn’t my only home anymore. Ordering dumplings in Chinese and complaining about the weather are just as comforting as vegemite toast on a cold morning. I go to English football games on the weekends - but in class I have an Asian outlook. People know me for my Cantonese excla-mations and, on top of that, my ever-changing accents depending on whom I talk

to. I’m versatile. I’ve been in 3 different education systems and, when tell-ing adults my year, grade and class I’m in at school, the conversation grows complex. I can switch the grammar I use in my sen-tences at the drop of a hat, depending on the teacher who assigned the work. This week it’s Australia Day AND Chinese New Year, and I am as excited for the dragons as for the lamingtons. I don’t look Chinese, I don’t have the British accent, and there is no way you would ever catch me saying “G’day” to someone – but all of

those aspects patchwork together to create the quilt I call myself.

I left Sydney, Aus-tralia when I was 12 and moved to Hong Kong. I lived there for almost three years, before I moved to London, England, at 15 years of age. My dad lived in England until he was 9, so half of my rela-tives are English. Person-ally, it doesn’t feel right to leave out any of these details. There isn’t a dic-tionary definition for how I feel, but I doubt I’m the only person who has had to have the confusing con-versation explaining where

they are from this week. I’m slowly getting

over that not everyone is going to understand ev-

erything I say (this week - if anything should have

taught you that “English” has many forms), but I’m getting slightly worried about supporting teams in the Olympics this year. As leaving school is com-ing closer, I am starting to have to make some deci-sions about where I want to spend the rest of my life. I’m not ready - and don’t think I ever will be - to let go of the confusion which is my nationality. I can’t pinpoint on a map where home is, but I’ve learned over time that it’s

not important – I’m not giving up my passports!

A few years ago vegetar-ians were an obvious mi-nority, yet everyday more and more people are con-verting to vegetarianism. In the MUNITY 2012 press room alone we have six vegetarians. With the cur-rent lack of environmental sustainability in the food system, many believe that vegetarianism is a health-ier and more environmen-tally friendly lifestyle to adopt. The demand of the fishing industry alone has led to the depletion of our oceans and seas. These special diets link directly with the theme of Seas and Oceans, so the MUNITY team examined what THI-MUN participants have to say on the subject.

There are endless rea-sons why people choose to eat a vegetarian diet,

however the most promi-nent ones revolved around culture and environment. Some THIMUN partici-pants are greatly dedicated to helping the environ-ment and thus do not want to deplete resources or disturb the ecosystem by killing animals for food. Sekheena Deslorieux, a MUNITY reporter stat-ed that “we eat to live, not live to eat.” To her it seems selfish for humans to kill an animal for their own satisfaction when we do not need them for sur-vival.

Culture also plays a role as some delegates’ and participants’ reli-gious beliefs prohibit them from eating meat. Furthermore, with docu-mentaries like ‘Food Inc.’ (directed by Robert Ken-ner) and ‘If Slaughter House Had Glass Walls Everyone Would Be Veg-etarian’ (directed by Paul McCartney), modern day slaughter houses and their methods of slaughter turn

many people away from eating meat.

On the other hand, the majority of the world still eats meat. This is exempli-

fied by the high consump-tion rates leading to the use of genetically modi-fied foods in cattle farms in order to increase the

rate of meat production. Others acknowledge the fact that our back molars are made to rip meat thus we are biologically meant

to eat it. Of course many people like the taste of red meat, chicken, or fish - a major drive in the demand for meat. Just as vegetar-ians believe that abstaining from meat is a healthier lifestyle and more envi-ronmentally friendly, their fellow meat-eaters believe that eating meat is a part of nature and helps balance the energy pyramid/sup-ply and the demands of our ecosystem as a whole.

Although you can only choose one of these eating habits, it all depends on your own experiences, cul-ture, and beliefs. The di-versity of opinions on this subject further highlights the different methods in combating the natural de-pletion we face today.

Finally, we asked THI-MUN delegates whether they would change their eating habits in order to save our seas; here are your results!

Building bridges: is ‘Austren-glese’ a nationality?

SH

44 out of 60 participants said that they would not become a vegetariansfor our seas

LEILA ELABBADY,SOHPIA HENGELBROKIS BRUSSELS, JKF BERLIN

CHARLOTTE SMITHACS HILLINGDON

TB

Health care around the worldChinaIs enough of China’s new wealth going toward health care?

In China, the economy has grown expo-nentially over the past few decades but the quality of health care has not. Despite its new wealth, it is only ranked 112th out of 191 nations in the World Health Orga-nization’s ranking for quality of care. China does not require its citi-zens to have health care, and its govern-ment plan covers mainly serious illness that may require a hospital stay. Some worry that this is ‘sick care’ rather than health care, in that it does not cover pre-ventative care. Concerns also arise be-

cause although the government is com-munist, it does not spend much money on public health, and thus citizens must pay for most of their own care. This can be a great burden for some: a hospital visit or surgery often costs nearly the average an-nual income. Despite these obstacles, how-ever, China has made significant progress since the beginning of the century, when basic care was virtually unavailable and there was no public health plan.

Rwanda

AlTHOugH Rwanda is among the poor-est countries in the world, an astounding 92% of its citizens have health insurance. Its resources are limited by its insufficient funding, and many surgeries and proce-dures are unavailable. However, the gov-ernment is able to provide basic health care to its citizens for the equivalent of two u.S. dollars per year. Much of this coverage is made available by non-governmental organi-zations such as the global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as the

Rwandan government cannot collect suf-ficient taxes to subsidize the two dollar payment. Part of the theory behind re-quiring this co-pay is Rwandan President Kagame’s desire for his country to be self-sufficient. Despite the growth of this plan and the rapid improvement of the care it provides, Rwanda has a long way to go. The World Health Organization rates it 177th out of 191 nations for the quality of care, and nearly 1 in 5 children die before the age of five.

Stretching international aid as far as possible

FranceBest in the world! But a large burden for the government

In 2000, the World Health Organization named French health care as the best in the world. Health care is almost complete-ly reimbursed for 96% of the population, and the government is heavily involved in the regulation of health services. Howev-er, this exceptional coverage is not with-out cost, and 60% of it is financed by fed-eral income taxes on every French worker. The rest of its funding comes from taxes on alcohol and tobacco, a prac-tice designed to charge more to those who voluntarily put their health at risk. There are public, private, and non-profit hospi-

tals, and French citizens are reimbursed for care at all of them. While all French citizens are eligible for basic governmen-tal coverage, many choose to purchase private plans. A distinguishing feature of this system is that the healthy pay for the care of the sick, and those who suf-fer from severe health problems are com-pletely covered by government care. This health care is clearly effective—France ranks 214th out of 222 countries for high-est infant mortality rates, and has the 13th highest life expectancy in the world.

Cuba

CuBAn health care has many advantag-es. Infant mortality rates on this island are lower than those of the united States and the average of the European union countries, and Cuba has consistently had among the highest life expectancies in South America. There are many reasons for these successes. All doctors of Cuba are trained in primary care, so the focus is placed on preventing disease rather than curing it. Health care costs are kept low because doctors’ wages are low; doctors do not need to earn as much as those in other na-

tions because there is free medical train-ing for those who qualify and they have no need to repay education debts. All health care is government-run and fund-ed, and is thus free and available to all. There are, of course, downsides to this system: because funding comes from taxes, those who earn more must contrib-ute more, and those who are healthy pay for the care of others. The World Health Organization ranks Cuba 39th out of 191 countries for most efficient public health systems.

A system that focuses on preventing disease before it arrives

From complete coverage to simply “sick”care, healthcare alters from culture to culture.

WORlD ACTIOn 10 THE THIMunIAn, THuRSDAY, JAnuARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

AnnA BRADlEY-WEBBAS PARIS

Most important issue?

SURVEY 11THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

JRDelegate making a point of information

Why THIMUN?

Most excited about this week?

SEOHYUN BAE, HANNAH HEMpERlY, YASEMIN pARlAR, AND lIlY RIVkINIS BEIJINg, MONT´kIARA IS, BlIS, AND AS pARIS

Discrimination on religion, and the occupation of the Syrian golan Heights

Cooperation between North African countries

Trade of illicit assets and sustainable development

Chemical weapons

Measures to protect rights of unaccompanied migrant children which if not put in motion would lead to problems such as human-trafficking

Nuclear energy

All issues are of equal importance. You can’t judge what’s more important, you can only have an opinion

Marine animals and toxic dumping

Coral reefs because their destruction leads to the death of marine animals

Science and technology in warfare, as it is the most dangerous thing that can happen in warfare

Financing the Stabilization Mission of Haiti

The elimination of religious discrimination because it affects most people

Child laborI want to do law in the future and this would be a great addition to the experience

To understand current global issues and coun-tries’ perspectives

Because it allows me to get a better understand-ing of the world and its people

It’s the biggest and most exciting MUN

Reputation in Europe, the whole MUN Experi-ence, and to meet new people and find old ones

Because it’s THIMUN! And there was this French person…

I didn’t choose, I was picked

I was selected to represent the country, and knew it would be a great experience

I wanted to change the world

To get experience in debating, and be in a more exposed international environment

I’m interested to change the world as much as possible

Most interesting MUN because it is held in a city where there are so many important build-ings and UN facilities

Debating resolutions and finding holes in resolutions

Getting to know all kinds of new people, and sharpen my debating skills

Debating, meeting new people, and catching up with old MUN friends

Wearing a suit all week

passing the resolution and meeting new delegates

My first ambassador speech

THIMUN

Crushing others’ resolutions

Intellectual debate

Finding a solution for the question of coral reefs

Fruitful debates

THIMUN survey results

Ocean and Sea themed discussions flickr

LIGHTER SIDE 12 THE THIMUNIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012www.thimun.org

MIND GAMES

Capitals of the World Cross Word

Across 1. Tunis 4. Astana 7. Amman 10. Taipei 11. Nairobi 12. Lome 16. N'Djamena 17. Kabul 18. Santiago 19. Ankara Down 2. Kampala 3. Tokyo 5. Ashgabat 6. Beijing 8. Dhaka 9. Minsk 13. Kyiv 14. Brussels 15. Paris

Across: 1. Tunis4. Astana7. Amman10. Taipei

11. Nairobi12. Lome16. N’Djamena17. Kabul18. Santiago19. Ankara

Down: 2. Kampala3. Tokyo5. Ashgabat6. Beijing8. Dhaka

9. Minsk13. Kyiv14. Brussels15. Paris

Crossword: Capitals of the world

Instructions, Tips, Answers, Reprints & More Sudoku Puzzles Online!

PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.comPuzzle Set #C5708 Level: Challenging

5 8 8 9 4 6 4 1 7 4 3 9 1

9 1 2 2 6 4 6 8

1 3 5 4 5 1 2

A

4 6 8 9 3 2 2 7

3 2 6 8 1 4

9 1 2 8 6 3 1 4 5 6 6 9

2 9 7 4 B

Instructions, Tips, Answers, Reprints & More Sudoku Puzzles Online!

PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.comPuzzle Set #D7558 Level: Difficult

5 6 3 9 11 3 2

9 1 7

8 4 9 6 7 4 2 5 6 7 8 6 1 8 3

A

5 9 6 4 7 3 8 1 4 3

2 9 81 8 5 2 5

6 7 3 4 8 3 6

B

Instructions, Tips, Answers, Reprints & More Sudoku Puzzles Online!

PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.comPuzzle Set #C5708 Level: Challenging

5 8 8 9 4 6 4 1 7 4 3 9 1

9 1 2 2 6 4 6 8

1 3 5 4 5 1 2

A

4 6 8 9 3 2 2 7

3 2 6 8 1 4

9 1 2 8 6 3 1 4 5 6 6 9

2 9 7 4 B

Instructions, Tips, Answers, Reprints & More Sudoku Puzzles Online!

PrintFreeSudokuPuzzles.comPuzzle Set #D7558 Level: Difficult

5 6 3 9 11 3 2

9 1 7

8 4 9 6 7 4 2 5 6 7 8 6 1 8 3

A

5 9 6 4 7 3 8 1 4 3

2 9 81 8 5 2 5

6 7 3 4 8 3 6

B

LOST AND FOUND Ege Dindor has lost his bag within which was his laptop, iPod touch and iPod shuffle. It is a black leather messenger bag with a white stripe around it. If someone finds the bag, please return it to the Lost and Found desk in the entrance.