SEASAC MUN: The final day

As always the final day is frenetically putting the final touches to resolutions, exploring the finer points of debate, preparing for the Emergency topic and most importantly superlatives!
Find out what our delegates had to say in summation :)

Idura:
Today was a very productive day. The committee of peace and security managed to pass 2 of the 3 resolutions submitted , including the one for which I, Mongolia, co-submitted. The terrible stage fright that had somewhat prevented me from really giving it my all yesterday had lessened and I was ready to get debating. I also believe that the speeches I made today is better than those of yesterday as I do feel more comfortable. After the debates in the committees finished, all the delegates was asked to go the theater for a General Assembly.

I was shocked to find out that I was the only representative of Mongolia for the conference this time. Going back to the GA, the emergency topic given in my opinion is a retelling of the assassination of Archduke Frank Ferdinand by changing it to the assassination of the Iranian president and serves as a catalyst of WWIII. I, as Mongolia, co submitted a resolution with China and a few other countries, unfortunately our resolutions weren't discussed due to time constraints. Despite that, attending the conference was a really good experience and has brought about many beautiful memories. I've grown attached to the state of Mongolia and is quite saddened by the fact that I'm no longer its "delegate". Ms Suzy serves as a big help for all of us, without her none of this would have happened. That being said I would like to say thank you to Ms Suzy for bringing us here and teaching us all we need to know regarding MUN.

Lisa:
The last day of the conference was very productive and we passed 2 of the 6 solutions that we wrote. One of which I co-submitted. As we debated the resolutions, the delegate of the USA wanted to take the delegate of Chile's speaking and voting rights away, as well as declare war on DPRK (North Korea) Spain and Syria. Lucky for them, the motion did not pass and as a result, Spain wanted to take away USA's speaking and voting rights. Unfortunately this motion did also not pass. Put together the debate was at times serious, but also filled with humour at certain times. The delegates, including myself, were in high spirits even though we didn't have enough time to sleep the night before due to arriving late to the hotel. It was an amazing experience and I hope to go to the next conference in Bangkok as well!

After we finished our own committee's debates, we had an emergency topic. Hypothetically the leader of Iran had been assassinated and Iran accused Israel. Israel denied all the accusations and the two countries were readying their nuclear weapons and were almost starting a war. The EU were behind their Israeli friends, claiming that they were innocent and were prepared to take military action if Iran fired the first shot on Israel. Of course, DPRK seeing that countries were readying their nuclear weapons, readied theirs too which caused South Korea to also ready theirs. So, it was quite hectic, even for a hypothetical global issue. Not to mention the fact that World War III could start anytime. So, Timor Leste gathered as many neutral countries that they could, especially the countries from the ASEAN bloc, and together with Argentina created a resolution to resolve the issue in peace and preventing war. However, our resolution did not get read out aloud and no-one in the Assembly knew about it but us. We went through 2 crappy (according to us anyway) resolutions which one passed due to a 'heartfelt' speech from the UK.

After the resolution was passed and the Assembly was finished and closed, Danny realised that thanks to that resolution, we hypothetically started a Nuclear War and World War III just after Danny got his committee to agree that Timor Leste gets the whole Island making Timor Leste a potential target for attack. After realising this, we further realised that Timor Leste's military forces are incredibly weak and very small. Basically meaning that we couldn't even defend ourself if we were to be attacked.  We were quite sad when we recognised that fact, after all the hard debating that we did to improve the situations in Timor Leste. Overall this was an incredible day and I had loads of fun (despite the fact that my feet were totally killed by my heels in the second hour of the debate).

Jo Yee:

No words could describe how the last day of my first MUN felt. Meeting exuberant individuals from all over South East Asia and debating about global issues is definitely an experience to be cherished. From being totally clueless on the first day, I ended my trip with a new range of vocab consisting of P.O.I.’s, P.O.C.’s, abstain, for/against speeches, clauses and so much more, it definitely amazed me how much these two days could change me. It makes me believe that us students DO have the power to make a positive change in the world someday where young minds will fuel the generation of tomorrow. Hence, I look forward to the next MUN conference that will further nurture my inclination towards global issues.

SEASAC MUN: The first day

 Danny Shariat Timor-Leste Political Committee:
The first day of the SEASAC Jakarta Mun was a great experience. There were many, very, memorable experiences in it and it is also the first meeting where I submitted a resolution. The delegate of North Korea created one of the most unusual amendments. So far my committee has only passed one out of the three resolutions put through. I really enjoyed the first day and I look forward to what tomorrow has to bring.

Loh Joh Yee Timor Leste Human Rights Committee:
Today in MUN, I represented the delegation of Timor Leste in the committee of Human Rights. I chose Human Rights as my preferred committee as I'm inclined towards the welfare of human beings. This being my first day and experience in MUN was a whirlwind as I'm surrounded by people my age who know lots bout lots. Its fascinating to see a variety of students coming from different backgrounds coming together in the pursuit of knowledge. I personally felt very lost in the first half of the day as I was not familiar with some terms and its procedures but by the end of the day, I felt more comfortable as it is no longer a foreign subject to me anymore. My target for tomorrow is to go up to the podium at least one last time to debate as to keep the discussion within the committee fruitful. My top tip is simply to have the confidence to mix around with other delegates as we could combine great ideas that can be used in creating the resolution.

Lisa Thimister Timor Leste GA2:
In this SEASAC MUN Conference I represent Timor Leste in General Assembly 2, which focused on the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian aspect of the committee. I chose this assembly because the topics that were going to be discussed sounded very interesting and therefore I decided to choose that as my preferred committee. The first day we introduced our countries and started lobbying and forming groups to write resolutions. In our assembly we had to write two resolutions for each problem, so it took quite some discussing to get the resolutions right. I have done this before so this time I actually felt quite confident in myself and I really enjoyed it. I hope that I will be able to talk more and be even more engaged in the debate. My top tip would be to have confidence in yourself and really talk to other people and mingling with the other delegates.  

Idura Mongolia Peace & Security :
Today was the first day of SEASAC MUN. I'm currently representing Mongolia in the Peace and Security committee. I chose to join this committee as most of the issues being discuss are issues that are very relevant to the wellbeing of Mongolia. For example, one of the issues discussed was international organized crimes, and though unfortunate, the sad truth is that citizens of LEDC countries such as Mongolia itself are often engaged in such despicable activities. I believe that the only reason this is happening is due to the lack of funding to provide employments and good education, thus the citizens of LEDC countries such as Mongolia itself, has no choice but to commit such horrific crimes to earn a living. Not only that, the topic of Peace and Security in the South East China Sea was also being discuss, and though Mongolia is not directly affected, any possible restriction impose on China relating to hydrocarbons and access to the sea could cause prices to increase, and as Mongolia relies heavily on China for import and export, if this does happen then Mongolia would fall into a great depression. We did lobbying today after giving opening speeches, I was very impress at the delegate of Haiti for his short but very concise speech. That being said I decided to create a resolution with him addressing the issue of International Organized Crimes on the grounds that we are LEDC countries that are most vulnerable to these crimes. I hope that tomorrow would be a better day and I also hope that some resolutions would pass as all three resolutions put forward today was rejected. My tip for any delegates going for an MUN conference, before making a for or against speech, make sure you at least write down your main points on a piece of paper as this will allow you to be more concise, especially for a newcomer like myself, trying to do an impromptu is a terrible idea unless you have full confidence that you can present a speech without stopping every few seconds to think of the next think you're going to say.

SEASAC 2012: The beginning

After months of preparation the team were ready to demonstrate their debating prowess at The British International School Jakarta.  We flew with Malaysian Airlines on Thursday 9th February from KLIA and after negotiating visas and baggage claim were met by the BIS representative and transported to our accommodation, the Kristal Hotel.

The accommodation is rather impressive!  The girls are staying in a huge 3 bed-roomed suite, so their living room became our MUN headquarters :)  After ordering room service we prepared for the conference and managed to get to bed, despite the nerves!

Tomorrow read about each of the delegates experiences in the 4 different committees.

KLMUN 2011: Delegate Commentaries

You Zhen from Year8

MUN has been an awesome experience so far! Two days have passed extremely quickly! On the first day, I was overwhelmed by how many people there were in the General Assembly! There were about 112 delegates in there! So for the first two days, I was pretty much speechless. I was too nervous, to get up and look the 112 delegates in the eyes! But for the last day, I am well prepared! I am filled with confidence! I am ready to face the 112 delegates! *gulp* My advice for the first-timers is to be always well prepared! Make sure that you are never nervous! And practice, practice, practice!

   

Kai Song Year 10

Hi! This was my first MUN conference and I was the delegate for Thailand in the Human Rights Council.  The first day in our council was very much about opening speeches and lobbying.  Personally, I think my opening speech was OK as I prepared it well in advance.  However, it was somewhat awkward for me in the lobbying part as I didn't prepare a resolution beforehand unlike other delegates. Preparing a resolution in advance is something I would recommend doing. The second day was the most interesting part of our conference dominated by debates.  Many delegates had interesting and creative ideas to share and I learnt many things from other delegates. It's relaxing, fun and humorous and I really enjoyed. I think that for future MUNers, it's crucial that you prepare your speech beforehand and practice well to ensure that you present it with confidence. It's also important to research everything related to your country and know your facts well to prevent being bombarded or condemned by others. It can be quite embarrassing if you make a wrong statement about your country.  I really enjoyed the KLMUN conference and hope to participate again in the future.

Danny from Year 8

This year's conference was serious, interesting and the language was complex; just the way I like it. This MUN was the perfect place for me to talk, debate and enjoy myself. The only possible way to enhance the experience was if I had joined a smaller committee so I could debate more, because the chair wanted everyone of the 112 delegates to speak. So sometimes the amendments I sent or the POIs I requested weren't recognized, but that is what comes with joining a large committee like the General Assembly. My advice to first-timers is to go through the first day focusing mainly on understanding how the MUN conducts it's conferences; the roles and procedures, then the next day, if the nervousness leaves you (which it should) you can make POIs and send amendments all you want with extreme confidence.

 

Nicole Year 10

MUN is really interesting and it really opened my perspectives on different topics of the world. The first 2 days were fine but I thought that the 2nd day was much more interesting due to the fact that the debating began. The first day was all about opening speeches and discussing possible resolutions. I think that the first day is more about meeting new friends and getting to know each other; whilst the second day was more lively with aggressive debates. For future MUNers, this is definitely very interesting. As long as you have researched your topics and the country that you are representing thoroughly, you'll have a great time in the conferences. 

KLMUN 2011: The debating begins...

Day 1 & 2 consists of lobbying, resolution writing and debating.  These are the key skills of an MUN delegate and.The key focus of day 1 is to present your ideas in your opening speech and then try and persuade other delegates to support your ideas.  Your speech needs to be clear, succinct and no more than 1 minute in length. 

If your speech is persuasive enough you will join together as co-submitters and write a resolution.  A resolution is a document that describes the topic of discussion and explains how you and your group suggest the UN should solve it.  

As a delegate you need to  use all your research and skills to write an informed, accurate and supported resolution. This process involves a lot of discussion between each delegate. 

 

The resolution is then put forward to debate.  In each committee all delegates consider the evidence and through questioning and discussion the decide whether the resolution is worthwhile and effective.

Delegates present for and against speeches and question the resolution writers until the committee is ready to vote.  The chair ensures all delegates have the opportunity to question and clarify all points.

Voting consists of a closed room where delegates vote for the resolution, against or abstain (refrain from voting).

KLMUN 2011: Human Rights Council (HRC)

What is the role of the HRC?

Nicole, Wen Wen & Kai Song

The Human Rights Council HRC consists of 47 States responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe.  The Council was created on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. 

Who are the delegates?

What are they debating?

• The question of internet censorship on the rights to freedom of expression.
• Addressing the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Palestine and in the Middle East.
• Measures to effectively implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) and to eradicate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
• Situation of human rights in Myanmar following the general election.

Economic & Social Council ECOSOC

What is the role of ECOSOC?

The ECOSOC or Economic & Social Council coordinates the economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. It is the main area for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system. It is responsible for:

• promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress;
• identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems;
• facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and
• encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Who are the delegates?

Stephanie takes her turn at the podium

Hasmah nervously awaits her turn at the lectern

What will they be debating?

• Measures to strengthen disaster preparation and coordination of relief to international crises.
• The role of multinational corporations (MNC) in the globalised economy.
• The question of international cooperation in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of economic fraud.
• Tackling the loss of natural capital and its negative effects on the global economy.