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IASAS MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE

Singapore American School: 18-20 November

The 21st annual IASAS Model United Nations Conference was held this year at the Singapore American School between 18-20 November. As usual, there was a lot of preparation prior to the day for advisors and delegates alike, but, as before, we all have to thank Mr. Wood for taking by far the biggest burden of the organisation. The conference comprised four committees: the economic and social, the environmental, the humanitarian, and the political. There was also a Security Council. Present at the convention besides BPS were NIST, ISB, The American School of New Delhi, The American International School in Dhaka, The American School in Japan, Brunei International School, Harrow International School, Hong Kong International School, The International School of Kuala Lumpur, The International School of Manila, Jakarta International School, The Lycee Francais de Singapour, Nagoya International School, Taipei American School, The United World College Of S.E.Asia and Yokohama International School. 

The opening keynote address was given by Janne Ritshes, Tabitha of Cambodia, who spoke generally of her experiences of life in Cambodia, including the adoption of a daughter there. She cited the proverb, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and said, most controversially, that this could be said to apply to the MUN, and, by extension, to the UN. If the experience of these organisations merely "smoothes our sensibilities", but, if nothing happens as a result of our deliberations, we must face the fact that nothing of a practical nature has been achieved. She argued further that one of the "paving stones" of the proverb was the concept of "rights". Leaders of Sudan, Iraq, the Congo, and Cambodia, for example, have or had, until relatively recently, she maintained, exercised their "right" to do exactly as they wished. She went on to discuss the problem of AIDS in Cambodia, saying that, in some cases, only 30% of families consisted of two parents. She contended that the "right to life" was a meaningless concept; life should more accurately be seen as a gift. Unless we improve the quality of lives less fortunate than our own we are deceiving ourselves if we think we are helping. Finally, she urged delegates to change the metaphorical paving stones of this world with all haste. My wife, Mrs. Jean Ford, who was present at the conference, summarised the reaction of many to this inspiring speech by saying that Ms. Ritshes was an excellent speaker with a powerful message for all.

The Principal of the Secondary Division, Mr. Paul Chmelik, had previously said that delegates should be here because they have "a genuine interest in world affairs." In addition to this, in his letter to delegates published in the conference booklet, he had reminded delegates that he had “high hopes this endeavour will prove to be challenging, enlightening and fun for participants and spectators alike.”

As on previous occasions, space prevents me from mentioning all the other excellent and thought provoking addresses presented during the opening ceremony and the conference itself, but some comments stick in my memory as I write. The Welcome, given by Vrutika Mody, Co-Chair of the IASAS Security Council, included comments to the effect that our job was to learn to compromise, and thus provide less fodder for the BBC and CNN; the Co-Secretaries General, Tiffany Lin and Paul Leopando said, respectively, that we should "enhance co-operation" and exploit our "potential for change." 

As on all previous occasions, Bangkok Patana fielded a superbly well organised and admirably energetic team. I was, as on many occasions before, genuinely impressed as I observed delegates during the days of the conference, and I am confident, from speaking to them, that colleagues from other schools were similarly impressed by the performance of the Patana  delegates.

Committee One focused on economic and social questions. On this committee Nivedita Raghaven spoke impressively for Kenya, and Sou Miyake spoke with aplomb for Uganda. Wendy Yang spoke fluently on behalf of Norway in Committee Two, on environmental questions. I witnessed lively exchanges on these committees on several occasions involving our delegates. Mr. Wood brought one other most interesting speech made by Wendy to Committee Two to my attention. On one of his visits to the committee room, he witnessed Wendy making a most concise and relevant point concerning reindeer! On Thursday afternoon I was privileged to witness Sou raise another interesting point on the question of flexibility in sex education in relation to the AIDS debate. Hesam Kazemini was a most inspiring chair on the latter committee, and I was present twice during the first day as he managed a discussion on the damaging effects of climate change with great skill.

Lillian Suwanrumpha represented Pakistan, and Maria Dela Pena represented Turkey. Both were most incisive participants in the discussion of Committee Three, dealing with human rights questions, which I was privileged to attend early on in the debate. Both also took very full and active parts with great versatility shown throughout. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of the question of how international law could be used as a means to curb human trafficking.  Mature and balanced debate was very much the order of the day here as well as elsewhere in the conference.

Finally, Committee Four dealt with political questions, with Daniel Kastner as a very capable representative of Norway. Mr.Wood pointed out to me a particularly pertinent point that Daniel made on Africa in relation to human trafficking while he was visiting the committee. He also spoke effectively during the Caucusing and Resolution Writing activity. Norrapat Shih, as usual, spoke spiritedly for Turkey, and Meet Shroff represented Uganda well. All spoke to great effect. I visited this committee at the point on the afternoon of the first day of the conference where a vote had been taken and was passed on the question of the reconstruction and development of Iraq, to the evident joy of most members!

Kevin Chen was one of the members of the Security Council representing Patana where he showed his skills to advantage in his representation of Pakistan. I remember particularly a most inspiring speech that he gave in the early part of the discussion on the first day on the cultural and religious history of Pakistan. Most impressive, too, were early attempts by the Chair to define terrorism, especially in relation to the history of Sri Lanka, which involved an analysis of the conflict there. Delegates were urged to discover ways of trying effectively to suggest a peaceful solution to the problems of this country.

Norrapat and Kevin also spoke to great effect on The General Assembly, the former on Iraq, and the latter on nuclear weapons in relation to Pakistan, in particular.

The culmination of the conference came with the Closing Ceremony at the end of the conference but, by that time, we had already held the General Assembly that had added to the already considerable tension and excitement of the event.

As I have observed on previous occasions in these reviews, new friendships were formed and old acquaintances renewed, and this conference, of course, was no exception. Newer delegates developed a better sense of the debating process and the skills required to argue a case persuasively.

Thanks go to the Headmaster and Principal of SAS as our hosts, and to our fellow guests: the staff, visitors, and delegates from all the participating schools who did their best to make this conference the great success that it was. Mimi Molchan (SAS MUN Events Director) and Brian Combes (SAS MUN Convention Director) should be singled out for particular thanks in this regard. Thanks, too, to the delegates from Patana who displayed their hugely various skills at every stage of the conference as I have outlined in the body of this review.

 As always, none of this would have been possible without Mr. Wood’s constant hard work and encouragement at every step of the way. Mr. Wood’s help at our weekly meetings of the MUN, in particular, allowed all the delegates to reach their full potential during the course of the conference. Thanks, then, to Mr. Wood,  for this, but we should also not forget the fact that he organised the whole of the practical part of the trip to Singapore as far as the Patana delegates were concerned, from the exchange of spending money to the ordering of air tickets. Both parts of this equation take time, effort and patience, all of which Mr. Wood always shows himself willing to dedicate to his MUN delegates. Thanks, again, Mr. Wood!                                                                    

Dr. P.K. Ford

English Faculty and MUN Advisor.
 

H. Berghuis