2019 FINAL REPORT New York UN Headquarters Training & YMUN Korean Delegation
Hope to the Future Association supports Sustatinable Development Goals.
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E1 3th 45 UN th H YA EAD LE QU UN AR IVE TER RS S T I KO T R Y RE AIN AN M DE OD ING LEG EL AT & ION U FIN N 제 13기 유엔 전문가 교육 및 A
Hope to the Future Association (HFA) is a non-profit organization registered under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. HFA has acquired the status of an associated NGO with UNDPI in June 2014. HFA is deeply committed to supporting youth around the world. Our core value is sustainable support, voluntary participation, international partnerships, and empowering youth. www.hopetofuture.org
13 Jan - 22 Jan 2019
제 45회 예일대학교 국제 모의 유엔 한국대표단 결과보고서
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EPO
RT STAFFS Jin-Hoan Chung / President Eun Chung Lee / Team Leader Jung A Pyun / Production Director Minjoo Choi / Program Assistant Minhun Bang / Program Assistant Cover Photo Reference : www.un.org
Special Thanks to. Group Programmes Unit, United Nations Department of Global Communications AND Permanent Mission of Republic of Korea to the United Nations New York Office, USA
HOPE TO THE FUTURE ASSOCIATION NGO Representative at the United Nations Department of Public Information Official Member of United Nations Academic Impact Korea Web: www.hopetofuture.org I Address: 4F, Bongeunsa-ro 176, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea Tel: +82-2-6952-1616 I Email: webmaster@hopetofuture.org
Team Manager Eun Chung LEE I unjena@hopetofuture.org Writer and Editor in-Chief Jung A Chelsea PYUN I chelsea@hopetofuture.org Assistant Editor and Writer Minjoo CHOI I KyungHee University Jieun OH I KyungHee University Yoonjee CHOI I Seoul Women’s University Minhun BANG I Kangnam University
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Table of Contents
THE 13TH UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS TRAINING & YALE UNIVERSITY MODEL UNITED NATIONS XLV KOREAN DELEGATION Program Introduction 13th United Nations Headquarters Training in New York .......................................................................... 3 Yale University Model United Nations XLV ................................................................................................ 4
2019 HFA Representatives YMUN Delegation Information ..................................................................................................................... 6
Main Program (1) UN Headquarters Training UN Speakers List .......................................................................................................................................... 12 UN Report ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Korea to the United Nations ............................................... 13 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ............................................................................................... 24 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) ............................................ 34 Climate Change 1st ........................................................................................................................... 34 Climate Change 2nd ........................................................................................................................... 43 Gender Equality ................................................................................................................................ 56 United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) ................................................................. 69 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) ........................................................................................... 80
Main Program (2) XLV Yale University Model United Nations Curriculum.................................................................................................................................................... 90 Position Paper ............................................................................................................................................... 91
Reflections Participant Program Reflections ............................................................................................................... 126 Staff Reflections .......................................................................................................................................... 181
Organization Overview Hope to the Future Association (HFA) ..................................................................................................... 184 United Nations Department of Global Communications (UNDGC) ...................................................... 185 Yale International Relations Associations (YIRA) .................................................................................. 186
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The 13th United Nations Headquarters Training & Yale University Model United Nations XLV Korean Delegation Representatives
13 Jan – 22 Jan 2019 United Nations Headquarters in New York Permanent Mission of Republic of Korea to the United Nations Yale University, New Haven
Program Introduction
“On August 8th, 2017, Hope to the Future Association and the Yale MUN Secretariat signed an official MoU and agreed to a collaborative partnership that
13th UN Headquarters Training in New York UN Headquarters Training is a professional pedagogical training program customized and developed for the youth to provide an intensive training at the UN Headquarters in New York.
allowed the establishment of a
Hosted by Hope to the Future Association (HFA), UNDPI associated NGO in Korea the program mainly focuses on the UN’s agenda, Sustainable Development Goals, and global matters dealt by the UN and the member states.
team of representatives from South Korea. Based on this agreement, the association provides students with the opportunities to participate in an international MUN conference and to receive training at the UN Headquarters in New York. Through such experiences, we aim to contribute to the enhancement of each respective student’s potential.
Having UN high officers and experts with direct experience in the international organization as the main speakers, the program aims to deepen the understanding on the global issues and develop multiperspectives and critical ideas on the UN. The training also provides direct networking opportunities with the UN officials, NGO representatives, and the UN diplomats. The trainees are able to acquire a deeper understanding of UN institutions, grasp a framework to understand key global issues and foster their public speaking abilities and critical thinking. The ‘13th UN Headquarters Training’ was organized from the 13th of Jan. to the 22th, 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN with 32 youth representatives selected from across the country.
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The 45th Yale University Model UN Korean Delegation Yale Model United Nations (YMUN) is a four-day international relations simulation for high school students held annually at Yale University. Delegates from all over the world interact with one another through debate and diplomacy to solve complex challenges facing the world today. At YMUN, each delegate will take part in a simulation of the United Nations or another international body and gain better insight into the subtleties of international affairs. Students take on the roles of UN representatives and members of other international bodies and national cabinets and learn about the workings of international politics and problem-solving. By engaging in topics concerning security, economic development, and social progress, delegates learn to navigate the complexities of international negotiation and teamwork, adopt new perspectives and develop comprehensive resolutions to pressing global issues. Building upon forty-four years of experience, YMUN XLV strives to provide every delegate with a dynamic and enriching opportunity. This year’s YMUN had an organ dedicated to NGO Programme, crisis committees and the traditional YMUN committee organs to embrace the diverse skill sets and interests that delegates bring to the conference.
13th UN Training
XLV Yale Model UN
Korea Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
YMUN brings together more than 1,800 delegates from over 40 countries, connecting the youth from around the world with Yale.
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN Careers at the United Nations
Hope to the Future Association selects Korean Delegation Representatives through a rigorous process of interviews and essay screening.
United Nations Population Fund Sustainable Development Goals
Venue
Yale University, New Haven
United Nations
Target
Grade 9 – Grade 12
Participant
Age 15 – Age 18
Gender Equality
Youth Participants from
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
the 6 Continents of the World History
Since 1975
Climate Change Participants
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Size Non-profit
Disarmament
Partner
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs UN Headquarters in New York Private Guided Tour to the UN
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1,800 People from 40 Countries
Save the Children
Committees
39 Committees
Procedure
UNA-USA Procedure
Website
www.ymun.yira.org
Jin-Hoan CHOUNG President of Hope to the Future Association Greetings! I am Jin-Hoan CHOUNG, the President of Hope to the Future Association.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you as participants of ‘13th UN Headquarters Training & 45th Yale University Model UN Korean Delegation’. The program is specifically designed to foster global capability and to build up the firm ground of global competitiveness of the Korean youth. In today’s world, the status of our country is rising in the international society with the lead of former UNSecretary-General ‘Ban Ki-Moon’. I am delighted to have our youth participating in the UN-related training program with interests of world human rights, world peace and security, and 2030 agendas. The program which is being held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, will establish the right point of view and widen the perspectives of the youth who hold the key to the future. In this 2019 winter program, participants had a meaningful discussion with the UN Ambassador Park Chull-joo regarding the relationship between Republic of Korea and the UN, Korean diplomacy, and foreign policy at Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN. The participants also attended briefings from International organization experts and had meetings with the UN high officials, which enabled them to obtain multi-faceted perspectives and establish direct experiences with the professionals. Participants were able to develop a profound degree of understanding of the global pending issues and the UN agendas at the 45th Yale University Model UN, an international competition having 1,800 youths from around the world. We hope the MUN experience functioned as a cornerstone for broadening the perspectives and established the critical point of view through discussions and presentations with other students from diverse backgrounds. In this regard, the program has provided a solid foundation for the participants to gain academic knowledge and has facilitated opportunities to communicate with participants from around the world with an ultimate goal to construct a cooperative horizon among the youth. “On November 2018, Hope to the Future Association organized ‘2018 Yale Model UN Korea’ as a partner of Yale University in Seoul, Korea. Along with this event, HFA will actively organize various education programs: academic forums, UN Headquarters Training programs, global citizenship education, and volunteer programs.”
We hope this 10 days of a program to be the meaningful experience to all of the 32 participants and to be the great opportunity to step forward towards their own dreams. Thank you.
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2019 HFA Representatives Yale MUN XLV Delegation Information Yale Model United Nations XLV had 39 committees, 20 hours of debate, and 150 Yale students engaged in the 4 days of event. At YMUN XLV, delegates will interact and engage in previously successful core committee organs (General Assembly (GA), Economic and Social Councils (ECOSOCs), Regional Bodies (RBs), Specialized committee, Crisis committee organ as well as brand new NGO Programme. At YMUN XLV, the NGO Programme will function in tandem with the committee experience, as those selected to represent NGOs will be placed in one of the Economic and Social Councils. The three committees that will have NGOs are World Health Organization, UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and Commission on Sustainable Development.
Committee
Position
Name and School Hyeonjik GO, Pusan Foreign Language High School President Carter's War Room (Crisis Committees), Hamilton Jordan (Chief of Staff) Chan Yang KIM, Haneul Academy CSW, Philippines Minseok KIM, Pusan Foreign Language High School UNHCR, Belgium Seunghyun KIM, KIS Philippines UNESCO, Caritas Internationalis Joosung KIM, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul G20 (Specialized Committee), Michel Temer (Brazil) Taeeun KIM, Gimpo Foreign Language High School Historical GA, Upper Volta Hyunho KIM, Bugil Academy IAEA, Denmark Seungyeon NAM, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul UNESCO, Room to Read Bee DAN, Daejeon Foreign Language High School Bush Cabinet (Specialized Committee), Dirk Kempthorne (Secretary of the Interior)
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Joonsung BANG, Incheon Kwangseong High School UNHCR, Colombia Hannah SONG, Seocho Middle School UNEP, Denmark Junghyeok YANG, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul DISEC, Bulgaria Ian EOM, High School Attached to College of Education, Chung-Ang University IAEA, Bulgaria Minjung OH, Daeil Foreign Language High School CPD, Haiti Chaehyun YOO, Southville International School ECOFIN, China Sanghyun LEE, Global Prodigy Academy UNISDR, Denmark
Seung Jae LEE, Sehwa High School WHO, Denmark Youha LEE, Suwon Academy of World Languages WHO, CARE International Yoonsung LEE, Cheoncheon Middle School UNESCO, Denmark Hyunjun LEE, Munsu Middle School CSW, Denmark Jungwoo LIM, Dongsung High School CSD, Haiti
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Jane CHUN, Chung Nam Samsung Academy UNESCO, Amnesty International Yujeong JUNG, Dongsan Christian High School ECOFIN, Denmark Jiwu CHUNG, Yeouido Middle School SPECPOL, Denmark Chang Hyun CHI, Daejeon Foreign Language High School UNSC , USA Brian Hyunwoo CHI, Daewon Foreign Language High School Ad-hoc (Specialized Committee), Turkey Geonwoo CHOI, Anyang Foreign Language High School DISEC, Denmark Myoung Jun CHOI, Akita Minami High school CSD, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Eunseo CHOE, Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies UNHCR, Democratic Republic of the Congo Jihoon HAN, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul SOCHUM, Denmark Eunji HWANG, Jeonbuk Foreign Language High School WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) Ingun HWANG, Haneul Academy ASEAN, China
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17 GOALS TO TRANSFORM OUR WORLD
“On September 25th 2015, the UN Member States adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.�
Reference: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment
The SDGs, build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to go further to end all forms of poverty. The new Goals are unique in that they call for action by all countries, poor, rich and middleincome to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection.
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Reference: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/be-the-change/
The adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with its core set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are the UN’s blueprint for achieving a happier and healthier world by 2030. But how do we all manifest these goals in our own lives? The UN’s official SDGs website encourages all people to take action through a guidebook “The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World.” According to this guide, there are three levels, which you can accomplish in order to participate in achieving SDGs. The guide suggests some easy things people can adopt into our routines: Things that people can do from their couch, home, community and work. There are easy points that, if we all do it, will make a big difference to change our planet. The ‘Be the Change’ initiative provides an opportunity for all of us to better “walk the talk” when it comes to the SDGs. This initiative guides and encourages us to live more sustainable in work and at home by changing our consumption patterns, using active transport such as cycling, and buying local foods. Everyone is welcome to participate. Every little step helps – inform your family, your friends and your community about simple actions they can take in their daily lives.
“End extreme poverty. Fight inequality and injustice. Fix climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals are important, world-changing objectives that will require cooperation among governments, international organizations and world leaders. It seems impossible that the average person can make an impact. Should you just give up? No! Change starts with you! Every human on earth-even the most indifferent, laziest person among us- is part of the solution and make a great impact”
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UNITED NATIONS BRIEFINGS SPEAKERS LIST Organizations
List of the UN Speakers
Korea and the United Nations Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations PARK CHULL-JOO Deputy Permanent Representative
un.mofat.go.kr
Careers at the United Nations Humanitarian at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) ARASU J. careers,un.org
Program Specialist
Sustainable Development Goals United Nations DONALD LEE www.un.org
Gender Equality United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) HAMID RASHID www.un.org/development/desa
Economic Affairs Division
Climate Change United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) ARIEL ALEXOVICH
www.un.org/development/desa
Disarmament United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) HIDEKI MATSUNO https://www.un.org/disarmament/
Political Affairs Officer
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Discussion with the Permanent Representative of Korea to the UN, Ambassador Chull-Joo PARK
1.
Current position of the Korean Ambassador in the UN A. What is an ambassador? B. History of Korean ambassadors in the UN C. Position of the Korean Ambassador in the UN
3. Korean diplomats A. Ambassador Park 1. Who is he? 2. Previous positions and history B. Past Secretary General Ki-Moon Ban 1. Who is he? 2. Previous positions and history
2. The international relationship between Korea and the UN A. When did Korea start relationship with UN? 1. Reason of form relationship
4. Most important current issue A. Education 1. Education in Korea 2. Education in developing countries 3. Why is education so important? B. Educational issues around the world C. Global citizenship education
2. Now their relation B. Korea so with UN
5. Q&A session ď Ž
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References
I.
Current position of the Korean ambassador in the UN A. What is an Ambassador?
An ambassador is an official diplomat who is assigned to an embassy or diplomatic mission as a figurehead for their country of origin. They work in a foreign country while retaining citizenship in their home country to conduct diplomatic negotiations in their embassy. They also strive to smooth the relationship between one’s nation and their host nation by dealing with the areas of politics and trade, for instance. B. History of Korean Ambassadors in the UN Currently, there are many Korean ambassadors who are working in the UN. In detail, there are 60 ambassadors in the UN Secretariat and 35 ambassadors in the UN Subdivision, mostly in UNICEF. There are 146 Koreans working in United Nations Organization for Independence which is under ECOSOC. For instance, the most well-known organizations are WHO, IMF and IAEA. Last but not least, there are 63 ambassadors who are engaged in UN government agency. In the past, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has held the office for 10 years from 2007-2016. He had left lots of achievements during his incumbency and has successfully ended his role. Some of the notable achievements are raising Korea’s prestige by becoming the 8th Secretary General and coming up with an international agreement on the universal problem of Climate Change. C. Current position of the Korean Ambassadors in the UN There are six main organs under the United Nations: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Secretariat, International Court of Justice and Trusteeship Council. General Assembly is the main body of the United Nations. They are made up of 193 nations who are the members of UN and they gather up annually to attend a regular meeting. Security Council is an organization that is responsible for the peace and security of its member countries. A distinctive characteristic that differs from other organs is that its decision must be followed by other countries. Economic and Social Council, also known as ECOSOC, aids the General Assembly to promote international economic and social cooperation and development. They work to encourage higher levels of living, better health, cultural and educational cooperation and the observance of human rights between countries. Trusteeship Council only exists for nominal reasons. International court of Justice is a permanent international court located in Hague, Netherlands. Their duty is to bring disputes to justice according to international law. Last but not least, Secretariat is a member of the U.N. General Assembly with international officials working as staff. Korean Ambassadors work in all of the main UN organs mentioned above and are actively participating in the conferences dealing with Korea’s interest. All of the Korean ambassadors work to let their home country to be notified about political and diplomatic developments in the host countries. They also aid the development of foreign policy to protect their home country’s interest and monitor the public within the host nation. In addition, they represent their home country by offering up their position on many platforms within UN.
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II. The international relationship between Korea and the UN A. When did Korea start the relationship with UN? 1. Why was the relationship made? In 1947, the United Nations Korean Interim Commission (UNTCOK) was established to support the establishment of the Korean government. When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the United Nations dispatched the United Nations Command (UNC) for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. It was the only military force that sent UN troops to the United Nations. For the restoration of the post-war Korean peninsula, the UN Resolution on the Establishment of the United Nations (UNCURK) was adopted and the United Nations Korean Support Group (UNKRA) continued to support Korea's economic development. Until its dissolution in 1958, the Support Group carried out 260 major projects worth $ 127 million (currently $ 924 million) related to industry, mining, agriculture, education, housing, and health. 2.
The relationship now
In 1991, joining the United Nations became the beginning of a friendly partnership between the United Nations and the Republic of Korea. Since joining, South Korea's diplomacy has played a major role in the UN. He was elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the term of office in 1997-99, and was elected as the chairman of the 56th General Assembly. In addition, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, has been dispatched. B. What did Korea do with UN? The United Nation established a UNESCO office Korea in 1957 to support the provision of primary school textbooks and provided ongoing assistance, including the establishment of the UNICEF office in 1962 to provide infant food, medicine, and clothing for children. In particular, the UNDP, Seoul Office (the United Nations Technical Assistance Council) played a key role in socio-economic development from 1963 to 2009.South Korea has not received aid from the UNDP since the early 1980s due to rapid growth, but the dismantling of the office has proved that Korea has transformed a donor country to a donor country. Also, according to Chapter 7 of the UNESCO Charter, the Korean government has set up a Korean UNESCO Commission under the supervision of the Minister of Education as a body dedicated to proposing, planning, investigating, communicating and disseminating activities. In the past few years, Korea has supported countries that need development experience and assistance, and has been working closely with UN agencies. As of 2016, Korea has the 16th highest UNC share among 193 member nations and the 12th highest percentage of peacekeeping activities (PKOs). As of November 2017, a total of 625 troops has been deployed in the UN Lebanon Interim Force (UNIFIL), including 267oldiers and 268 soldiers in the United Nations Mission to UNMISS (UNMISS) Rank 38 in the overall ranking. III. The History of Representatives A. Ambassador Park 1.
Who is he?
Ambassador Park is the deputy permanent representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations. 2.
Previous positions and history
He worked as a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Citation in 2002. As Director General for International Legal Affairs and Deputy Director General for International Legal Affairs in Seoul from 2014 to 2017, MinisterCounsellor and Consul General at the Korean Embassy in the Netherlands from 2012 to 2014, Counsellor at the
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Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN from 2009 to 2012, Director for International Legal Affairs in 2008, and Director for Personnel Management in 2007. Moreover, during this time, he held important multilateral roles, including as Vice-Chair for the Sixth Committee of the 65th UN General Assembly and ViceChair for the 51st Session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination in 2011. Ambassador Park Chuljoo assumed his current position as Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations on November 16, 2017.
B. Secretary General Ki-Moon Ban 1.
Who is he?
Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was the United Nations Secretary General from 2007 to 2016. 2.
Previous positions and history
Mr. Ban was Republic of Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His 37 years of service with the Ministry included postings in New Delhi, Washington D.C. and Vienna, and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including Foreign Policy Adviser to the President, Chief National Security Adviser to the President, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Director-General of American Affairs. One of the Secretary-General’s first major initiative was the 2007 Climate Change Summit, he have helped put the issue at the forefront of the global agenda. Subsequent efforts to focus on the world’s main anti-poverty targets, the Millennium Development Goals, have generated more than $60 billion in pledges, with a special emphasis on Africa and the new Global Strategy on Women’s and Children’s Health. In 2008, the Secretary-General successfully appealed to the G20 for a $1 trillion financing package for developing countries to guide the international response and protect the vulnerable and poor. The Secretary-General pressed successfully for the creation of UN Women, a major new agency that consolidates the UN’s work in this area. His advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality has also included the "Unite to End Violence against Women" campaign, the "Stop Rape Now" initiative, the creation of a
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"Network of Men Leaders" and the establishment of a new Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Within the UN itself, the Secretary-General has increased the number of women in senior management positions by more than 40 per cent, reached the highest level in the Organization’s history.
Ban Ki-moon has sought to strengthen UN peace efforts, including through the New Horizons peacekeeping initiative, the Global Field Support Strategy and the Civilian Capacity Review, a package of steps to improve the impact of the 120,000 United Nations "blue helmets" operating in the world’s conflict zones. A mediation support unit, along with new capacity to carry out the Secretary-General’s good offices, have been set up to help prevent, manage and resolve tensions, conflicts and crises. Accountability for violations of human rights has received high-level attention through inquiries related to Gaza, Guinea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, legal processes in Lebanon and Cambodia, and advocacy for the "responsibility to protect," the new United Nations norm aimed at prevent and halt genocide and other grave crimes. He has also sought to strengthen humanitarian response in the aftermath of mega-disasters in Myanmar (2008), Haiti (2010) and Pakistan (2010), and mobilized UN support for the democratic transitions in North Africa and the Middle East. IV. Most important current issue There are thousands of important issues that needs to be discussed about in the UN, which include poverty problems, gender equality problems, sanitation problems, climate changes, etc. But, above all, something that is the root and basis of every problem, education. Out of the 193 nations of the UN, the Republic of Korea is the only nation that rapidly became an advanced country from a developing country. People from the UN asked Ambassador Park about the rapid progress and Ambassador Park believed that it was because of ‘The Education’. 1.
Education in Korea
There are no other country in the world that has the most private education culture than Korea. Since Ambassador Park was little, education was really something in Korea. At that time, however busy or poor a person was, everybody had job training and went to night school for more basic education. Korea is a tiny country compared to China and the States, so it takes more time and effort for Korea itself to develop and for the world to pay attention. Therefore, the cognition of teachers in Korea are usually high because education takes such an important part of the Korean culture and helps the development of Korea.
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2.
Education in developing countries
On the other hand, in places like Latin America and South Africa teachers don’t earn enough for themselves with one job as a teacher, so they end up working for two jobs. Not only do they not have enough spaces for the education, for example schools, the students in developing countries lack enough money and time to get educated. It is always hard to do just right enough and it is the same with education. Countries like Korea where we have brilliant people who have the smart brain through all the education, should think of ways to solve the education problem in the developing countries. Also, we should keep in mind that help should be given not as an obligation duty but with real sincerity. 3.
Why is education so important?
In cases like Korea, there are too much people in limited land where we have limited schools and places for the education. We prepare students for the future not the past, which makes the competition harder and harsher as times passes and as the world develops towards the future. To be the best in a specific area, you need to learn and know the basics to be at the top. Solving problems like poverty, hunger, and gender equality, education takes a major part of everything. To make sure people are aware of the seriousness of these problems, educating them is the most definite way. Through education we learn new things that we have never even heard of and get a much larger view of the world.
A. Educational issues around the world 1.
Having no teacher, or having untrained teacher
What’s the number one things that any child or student needs to be able to learn? Of course, somebody to get educated from. A teacher. However, in developing countries they face multiple challenges when it comes to teachers and schools. Not only are there not enough teachers globally to achieve universal primary education, but many of the teachers that are currently working are also untrained, leading to children failing to learn the basics, such as math and language skills. In 2016 alone, the Global Partnership for Education helped to train 238,000 teachers worldwide. Also, Korea is one of the countries that has built the most schools in developing countries for the education of children.
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2.
Being the ‘wrong’ gender
Gender is one of the biggest reasons why children are denied an education. We can see from the sustainable development goal number 5 which is ‘gender equality’ that this is a serious issue that needs to be solved rapidly. It needs to be solved rapidly because it is starting to affect the education telling us who can get educated and who can’t. Despite recent advances in girls’ education, a generation of young women has left behind. Over 130 million young women around the world are not currently enrolled in school. Girls often miss out due to belief that there’s less value in educating a girl than a boy in some developing countries. Instead, they are sent to work or made to stay at home to look after siblings and work on household chores. In Korea, every student is precious and we are all given an equal chance to equally learn the same new thing. More countries should really acknowledge the fact that gender shouldn’t be something that is blocking the chance to learn. B. Global citizenship education 1. Definition While the world may be increasingly interconnected, problems such as human rights violations, inequality and poverty still threaten peace and the sustainability of the world. Global Citizenship Education is UNESCO’s response to these challenges. It works by empowering learners of all ages to understand that these are global, not local issues and to become active promoters of more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and sustainable societies. To make it simple, it is a form of civic learning that involves students’ active participation in projects that address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature. 2.
Key learner attributes
a. Informed and critically literate Learners develop their understanding of the world, including politics, history and economics; understand the right of individuals; and, understand the structures and processes of every work. b. Socially connected and respectful of diversity Learners learn about their identities and how they are situated within multiple relationships, as a basis for understanding the global class of citizenship. c. Ethically responsible and engaged Learners explore their own beliefs and values and those of others. Also, they get a chance to understand how beliefs and values inform social and political decision makings. V. Q & A session Q. What was your personal motive and procedure to become an ambassador? A. I actually graduated the Department of English Language & Literature at Seoul National University in 1991. My goal was to be an author and write novels, but it didn’t give me enough income. The rapid industrial revolution of Korea led to the increase in employment, and as I was interested in global issues and foreign language at that time, I started to get interested about diplomacy. After I fulfilled military duties, I found one of my seniors studying to have some kind of jobs like ambassadors. By the advice of seniors, I decided to take that route and be a ambassador to represent my own country. So I am here in this position right now giving you guys this lecture! Q. What are the hardships of your career and how did you overcome it? A. As it handles the permanent mission work with international organizations, selecting which goal or issue to focus on is the hardest mission that I am responsible of. I should compromise with the government, but what’s more difficult is to earn agreements of not only the national government but also the international
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organizations. After discussing about problems and coming up with a resolution, we need to take action. However hard we talked about the issue, it is no use if no action is. However, the ‘taking action’ part is the most important and difficult part because not much people in Korea are interested in international problems. For example, the Syrian immigrant problem, and not only international issues, but also problems with North Korea and the reunification matter, etc. It is hard to make these problems an issue domestically. So the fundamental hardship is the low interest inside the country. To overcome it, obviously there is a lot of things we can do, such as going out on campaigns and publicize it by making videos and spreading it on the internet. But, it will be much better if every one of you, all the individuals take more interest in these issues. Q. What are the pros and cons of being a ambassador that represents Korea? A. The inefficiency of international organizations and the lag time to adopt the resolution is the cons of my career. However, I am proud about the fact that I can give help to the ones who need them. Also, I get to know things that I have never heard of before and see the world in a different new perspective.
Team Photo at the United Nations Headquarters in New York
References
https://www.un.org/sg/en/formersg/ban.shtml http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/un-en/wpge/m_4962/contents.do http://www.un.org/en/ga/about/ http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/un-en/index.do https://www.sokanu.com/careers/ambassador/ https://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?nNewsNumb=200812100045 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_citizenship_education https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/q0056
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Participant Reflection Bee Dan, Daejeon Foreign Language High School I had such a great and amazing experience getting to meet the people who work for the UN. But especially I really liked the ambassador of the Republic of Korea Permanent Mission to the United States. Ambassador Park was really nice and he answered all our questions with deep consideration. Representing a country is something that is really important for not only the country itself, but also the UN too, since the decision making and discussions are done by Ambassador Park. After I listened to his lecture and talked through the Q & A session with him I really wanted to be a ambassador myself and get a chance to represent my own country. Or maybe at least someone who honestly works for my country, because these days there are too many people abusing their authorities. I also felt that however hard we discuss about a specific topic and how much we know about it, doesn’t matter at all if we don’t take action in changing the dark side of our society. I really thank Ambassador Park for giving this wonderful lecture and giving me a chance to rethink about my life and our world. Hyunjun Lee, Munsu Middle School It was great experience and will forever be etched in my mind. One of the great things I experience there was the fact that I was able to be in a place where normal people couldn’t easily enter and have a talk with the deputy ambassador of Republic of Korea. I remember the way ambassador Park had explained his journey to becoming a diplomat. The fact that his journey was not as smooth as I thought had really surprised me and made me think that it is never easy to be in a high position like him. After listening to his lecture, I momentarily dreamed of myself being a diplomat as well, but I figured out that I’m not really interested in that part. However, I reckoned that I still would like to contribute to any activities to make this world and my country to become a better place. I look forward to the next session of meeting more people of the UN.
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Jungwoo Lim, Dongsung High School It was an honorable experience visiting the Republic of Korea Permanent Mission to the United States and meeting the Deputy Ambassador Park in person. His speech on introducing the United Nations have let me to understand the system much better than just reading a book. What has inspired me the most was definitely the Q&A Session? Ever since my dream has been set as a diplomat, I have always wanted to ask a real working diplomat about the direction of Korea in the future for it to become a better nation. I had a chance to ask him about it and his reply on this matter was Education. He had explained to me in detail on how education has played a part to Korea in the past and how it will impact the nation in the future. Also, a quick chat with him after the Q&A session on receiving some advices on becoming a diplomat has really motivated me to become a great and respected diplomat like him. I wished I could be like him one day and give advices to the future generations just like how I had on that day. Jane Chun, Chung Nam Samsung Academy Before understanding the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), I believe that it is important and essential to know about national diplomacy. By this lecture, learning the structure and history of our nation’s diplomacy could not only lead the diplomats to focus on the urgent issues but also earn other nations’ agreement to take action. His personal thoughts, “discussing about problems and coming up with a resolution, we need to take action. However hard we talked about the issue, it is no use if no action is. However, the ‘taking action’ part is the most important and difficult part because not much people in Korea are interested in international problems.” Emphasized the importance of the attention in Korean diplomacy. The lack of the interest in Korean diplomacy is a serious problem. I hope more young generations have a chance to search information or take this sort of lecture (be educated about the Korean diplomacy).
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A Group Photo with Donald Lee from the United Nations, after taking lecture on the SDGs
3. Solutions
1. Background
A. Ways to exterminate the obstacles and
A. Definition of SDGs
increase the feasibility of SDGs
B. Summary of the session
1. Constructive communication system 2. Monitoring framework
2. Problems
3. Financial Support
A. Major obstacles that are harassing the global society from achieving SDGs 1. Population Growth
4. Q&A Session
2. Extinction of animals and insects
5. Conclusion ď Ž
3. Increase of global consumption 4. Deforestation 5. Drinkable water
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References
I.
Background A. Definition of SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 Global Goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The each goals are broad and interdependent, each has a separate and specific list of goals to achieve. Achieving all 169 goals would execute all 17 goals. The SDGs cover social and economic development issues.
These are the 17 goals. 1. First, poverty. Extreme poverty has been cut by more than half since 1990. Still, more than 1 in 5 people are still suffering because of poverty. It shows that there are lots of things to solve out. 2. Second, zero hunger. The goal is to state the hunger problem. UN is giving efforts on solving this problem. 3. Third, good health and well-being. It is making sure that the people lives a healthy life. 4. Fourth, quality education. There are many efforts that are trying to increase the percentage of children going to school. But still at least 22 million children in 43 countries is missing the education. 5. Fifth, gender equality. According to the UN, “gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.� Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health, care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes. 6. Sixth, clean water and sanitation. It is making sure that the people drink clean water. 7. Seventh, clean energy. The goal of this includes access to right reliable energy while increasing the pollutable energy. 8. Eighth, decent work and economic growth. The goal of this is to establish policies for sustainable tourism that will create jobs. 9. Ninth, Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. Producing is a major source of engagement. The producing of products contributes 80 percent of total producing turnout in industrialized economies but narrowly 10 percent in the less developed countries. 10. Tenth, reducing inequalities. The goal is to reduce the cost of exporting goods from less developed countries. 11. Eleventh, sustainable cities and communities. The target is to ensure access to safe and affordable housing.
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12. Twelvth, responsible consumption and production. The goal number 12 includes using eco-friendly production methods and reducing the amount of waste. 13. Thirteenth, climate action. Climate change gives the biggest threat to the development. Urgent action to solve climate change and minimize its disruptions is essential to the successful implementation of the sustainable development goals. 14. Fourteenth, the world’s ocean drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for mankind. The SDGs aim to sustainably manage and protect the ocean and coastal ecosystems from pollution. 15. Fifthteenth, life on land. This goal clearly targets for protecting biodiversity of forest, desert, mountain ecosystems and a percentage of total land mass. 16. Sixteenth, peace, justice and strong institutions. Exterminating all kinds of wrongdoing is the ultimate purpose of this goal. Thus, reducing illegal trafficking, child abuse, and sexual exploitation could be the goal of this. 17. Seventeenth, partnerships for the goals. International cooperation, as it is in many aspects of the United Nations, is deemed as the most important factor in achieving these 16 goals. Goal 17 is expected to be implemented so as to encourage the nations to cooperate with each other to accomplish these goals not to compete. Developing multistakeholder partnerships to share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial support is seen as critical to overall success of the SDGs.
B. Summary of the Session The former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said, “We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.� All people have distinctive features that separate them from one another. However, we should never forget the purpose of our existence and the grand objective that we must achieve: A sustainable society with peace and security. The United Nations has devoted itself toward this objective ever since its formation and recently, it has proposed seventeen sustainable development goals as to fulfill the objective. In the second UN education session, Donald Lee presented his thought about the SDGs. What he emphasized most was the planetary imperative. He mentioned that among experts regarding this field, it is commonly said
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that there are nine planetary boundaries that we are facing and that we have already went past four of them. The climate is changing too quickly, species are going extinct too fast, too many nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous being added to our ecosystems, and cutting down too many forests and destroying other natural lands. Moreover, unfortunately, he mentioned that we are heading toward the fifth boundary, which is ocean acidification, scarcity of fresh water, increase in atmospheric aerosols, increased chemical pollution, and ozone depletion. The reasons why we are reaching these boundaries and the causes that are making it harder for us to achieve SDGs could be classified into many factors. As to mention just a few factors, Donald Lee focused on climate change. As the world population grew in a rapid speed, the rate of carbon dioxide emission, along with many other factors contributing to global warming, increased dramatically. Following the population growth, human consumption on meats and other daily products increased rapidly, causing the extinction of numerous animal and plant species, leaving the world on the brink of chaos. In no short time, even drinkable water will be hard to access, which would influence the rate of people in absolute poverty, which is the very first and fundamental sustainable development goal. Encountered with this major problem, Donald Lee proposed some possible solutions toward the problems. He emphasized that creating a road map for solutions is the critical thing. In other words, as the SDGs purpose is to create a sustainable society for the future generation, it is critical for us to prepare a clear road map for the future. In September 2015, GA adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, containing 17 SDG goals. This provided a roadmap for building a sustainable and equitable world. However, is should not stop there. The goals need to launch a transformative change in the way we address social and economic development, climate change, and the natural development. Government policies must change so that they could promote and support the integrated and universal approach to SDGs. Corporations and businesses must change so that their resource use, product design, production methods, marketing and distribution activities are sustainable. Civil society and NGO must change so that they promote and support the SDGs. Last but not least, individuals must also change so that the world could step forward toward a sustainable society.
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Moving further on, as he wrapped up his speech, Donald encouraged that even we could be a critical part in forming a sustainable society for the future. First, we should learn to care about people and the environment we are living in, trying to perform actions that could allow the world to achieve the SDGs and form a better world. Second, we should donate what we can and volunteer our time and talents to support the SDGs. Third, and we believe that this is the most critical part, we should spread awareness of the SDGs and warn the people of the cost of inaction. Lastly, we should encourage our government to strongly support the SDGs to eliminate poverty, tackle climate change, protect the environment, and end conflicts. Donald said, “It is not only the governments and organizations that carry heavy responsibility regarding the achievement of SDGs. All people, even individuals should promise their full support toward making a sustainable society with peace and security. II. Problems There are numerous problems of SDGs at the moment which the UN has to put an effort on. First is the massive increase of human population. In recent years, the population of the whole world has increased dramatically. In 1800, the human population was about 0.9 billion, and in 1900, it was about 1.6 billion. However, in 2015, the human population increased massively to 7.5 billion. This massive population increase is called population explosion. If population explosion keeps occurring, it will lead to not enough food supplies, increasing population of the poor, and many other more. In this very moment, the amount of food supply in the world isn't enough for the whole population. Moreover, Mr. Donald Lee told us that because of the population explosion, we use more CO2 which causes global warming. Second is the extinction of animals and insects. Mr. Donald told us that the extinction of mammals are 1000 times faster than that of humans. Also, the extinction of amphibians are 45000 times faster. This is mainly because of global warming, and the environment we humans made for ourselves such as buildings and road construction. It is hard to change the environment we currently live in, and to decrease the emission amount of CO2 which is the main reason of global warming.
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Third is the increase of global consumption and the impact of growth in livestock numbers. Not just the emissions of CO2, the amount of livestock numbers increased. Mr. Donald showed us an interesting graph. The livestock of chickens, pigs, cows and sheep has increased more than 4 times at this moment as it was 30 years ago. Unfortunately, this leads to climate change. An estimated 8-18% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock. And as the climate shifts and average temperatures continue to rise, animals will suffer from heat stress, more parasites and diseases, and reduced quality and availability of feed. Fourth is deforestation. The definition of deforestation could be described in one sentence: the permanent destruction of an area of forest land in the purpose of using it as other uses, mainly for farming crops. Deforestation is damaging the green land extensively, downgrading the quality of land, thus resulting in the destruction of ecosystem. An estimated 18 million acres of forest are lost every year according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. From this it is said that the world's rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation. Last one is the amount of drinkable water. Given that 70% of the Earth's surface is water, and that volume remains constant, 97.5% is sea water unfit for human consumption. And both populations and temperatures are ever-rising, meaning that the freshwater we do have is under severe pressure. Water demand globally is projected to increase by 55% between 2000 and 2050. Much of the demand is driven by agriculture, which accounts for 70% of global freshwater use, and food production will need to grow by 69% by 2035 to feed the growing population. In other words, the near future presents one big freshwater drain after the next. III. Solutions The SDGs, hereinafter referred to as the Sustainable Development Goals, have been the major objective of the United Nations ever since its formation. SDGs are desperately needed to ensure a proper balance between the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development. Sustainable development requires looking the world as a system, a system that connects space and time. Moreover, Sustainable Development Goals also looks to the future generation, making the accomplishment of the goals an ever more important matter to the global society.
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However, ever since the Sustainable Development Goals were officially ratified in 2015 UN resolution, there had been numerous obstacles blocking the international society from fulfilling the SDGs. In order to counter these obstacles, the international society, mainly the United Nations, had been providing numerous efforts to exterminate the obstacles and successfully implement the SDGs to the international society. Nevertheless, the situation is not seeming to get better. Even worse, due to the continued population growth, extinction of species, and climate change, the situation is getting worse than ever. Encountered with this severe problem, we, as the Korean representatives of Yale MUN, would like to bring up a final solution to the table. The solution is what follows: A. Making a constructive communication system between the SDGs It is true that each sustainable development goals contain precise and clear goals that the international society should fulfill in order to make the world a better place to live not just for us but also for the future generation. These clear and precise goals maps out the right agenda to the United Nations to debate on, increasing the possibility to meet all seventeen goals in the near future. However, the communication between these goals is another thing to care of in the current stance. As an example, the major reason why MDGs were successful was because the eight goals it contained were tightly interwoven with each other, making effective communication between the goals possible, resulting in the successful implementation of the goals to the international society. Therefore, enhancing the communication between the seventeen goals would be the most crucial factor in fulfilling the SDGs. As to construct an effective communication system within the SDGs, rearranging the goals and grouping the goals would be an ideal way. However, in doing so, nothing of substance should be added or deleted from the goals and the main objectives of the goals should also not be transformed. In the past report by the Secretary General of the United Nations, it is mentioned that there are six elements that could help group the goals and construct an effective communications system: dignity, prosperity, justice, partnership, planet, and people. For other ways to group the goals, organizing similar goals into groups and proposing common objectives for the goals may also be a constructive solution to the matter. In fact, with all these efforts, the international society have succeeded in grouping these goals into separate groups: economy, society, and environment. However, grouping the goals into three groups is still not enough. The global society should provide their full support to consolidate and clarify all the goals, making the SDGs easy to communicate, therefore successfully implying the goals to the international society. B. Developing an Effective Monitoring Framework The implementation of effective monitoring framework is another important challenge to the SDG process. In other words, the progress made from achieving the seventeen goals should be monitored and reviewed in a national level, where accountability and transparency could be guaranteed. As a single country achieving all the goals within the SDGs is impossible, proper and effective reporting and monitoring in a global and regional level should be done simultaneously, as to promote the implementation of SDGs into the global society. Moreover, not only the distinctive nations but also the relevant organizations should proceed with effective reporting and monitoring regarding the process of SDGs. As such, developing proper monitoring framework for the SDGs in a multilateral level is one of the crucial factors to solidify each goals and increase the feasibility of the goals within the global society. C. Financial Support Financing the SDGs may seem simple, but in another aspect, it could be considered as the most important and basic factor for fulfilling the SDGs. According to the official United Nations website, all financial funds are
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distributed to the UN branches every year, through the General Assembly. In other words, this means that all financial support provided for the United Nations is already divided and distributed to distinctive organizations within the UN. Therefore, requiring the nations to provide more funds for the SDGs could be seen as unrealistic. Instead, promoting cooperation with the IMF, World Bank, ACABQ (Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions) and the Grameen Bank could be a more constructive solution to this matter. These sources have the capacity to receive donations just for the SDGs, thus making it more effective and realistic compared to urging other member states to make donations to a specific global matter. Along with the help and support of the United Nations itself, stimulating the monetary organizations to actively participate in providing distinctive nations in achieving the SDGs could be a both realistic and constructive solution. IV. Q&A Session Q. You mentioned that the extinction of the species is the huge problem in this very moment. But as a solution of ending poverty, GMOs are used in many countries, and because GMOs are herbicide and pest-resistant, they also lead to extinction of beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies. So what is your opinion on this problem? A. Of course you have to realize that GMOs are being monopolized. The number one company is Monsanto. Monsanto use GMOs, because with the GMOs, for example, I’m a farmer. If I grow something, I take the seeds next I can grow it. If I use GMOs, I have to buy the seeds from Monsanto. So in terms of reducing poverty is not a good idea. It just cost extra cost to farmers. Also, we do not know the true impact of that GMO has on environment. If you battle with the major, you always come on the wrong side. You fix one problem; the other problem appears. Q. Because that government policies should be changed to bring up all ideas, but aren’t there problems regarding poverty for each and every nation so that UN cannot infringe another nation? A. We never do Q. How are you able to deal these consequences to achieve the goal? A. We try to show people the benefits of SDGs. And that’s why we have the UN working with the people. So we are not talking to the heads only. We also talk with the down level people. We talk to farmers, we talk to people helping farmers, and we talk to people in ministries. And a lot of time, if you are a poor country, you require assistance. That assistance is a good way to give advice. And of course you have to give a good advice. You cannot just say because of SDGs. You have to do something beneficial. The way we encourage heads of governments, we do promotion using example. Once a year we have countries coming into UN and we talk about experiences of SDGs. So each country volunteers. We are not forcing any country. But they line up. They all want to do it. To show what the act done in terms of SDGs. V. Conclusion The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said, “There is no peace without development, there is no development without peace, and there is no lasting peace or sustainable development without respect of human rights and the rule of law.” The UN was formed based on liberalism, pertaining the objective of guaranteeing the rights of every individuals and maintaining peace and security within the international society. As to do so, forming a sustainable society is a critical matter to be dealt with. Therefore, the priority of the global society should be achieving SDGs, promoting a sustainable world where peace and security is met.
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References “Three Challenges to Address to Make the SDGs Work.” UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments, 30 Jan. 2015, www.uclg.org/en/media/news/three-challenges-address-make-sdgs-work. Hinchberger, Bill. “4 Biggest Challenges to Achieving the SDGs.” Safety & Security Manager | Devex, 5 Apr. 2016, www.devex.com/news/4-biggest-challenges-to-achieving-the-sdgs-87979. Ford, Liz. “Sustainable Development Goals: All You Need to Know.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 19 Jan. 2015, www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/19/sustainable-developmentgoals-united-nations. Ilea, Ramona Cristina. “Intensive Livestock Farming: Global Trends, Increased Environmental Concerns, and Ethical Solutions.” SpringerLink, Springer, 11 Dec. 2008, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-008-9136-3. “国際農研.” Climate Change Effects on Supply and Demand of Rice in India | Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, 26 June 2017, www.jircas.go.jp/ja/program/program_d/blog/20170626. “Evaluate Your Vehicle Architecture to Reach the Best Trade-off between Performance, Range and Comfort.” Femap: Siemens PLM Software, www.plm.automation.siemens.com/global/en/webinar/simulation-for-electric-vehicle-energymanagement/26250. “GMOs Are Killing the Bees, Butterflies, Birds and . . . ?” Organic Consumers Association | Campaigning for Health, Justice, Sustainability, Peace, and Democracy, 14 Feb. 2014, www.organicconsumers.org/essays/gmos-are-killing-bees-butterflies-birds-and.
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Group Photo with Ariel Alexovich from UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
1. Introduction (Kim, Min Seok) a. Brief history b. What climate change brings to the world 2. Cause and Effect (Han, Ji Hoon) a. Introduction of climate change b. Causes of climate change c. Effects of climate change 3. Current Situation (Yoo, Chae Hyun) a. What is currently happening with regard to climate change? b. What are affected by climate change? c. Is the problem getting worse, or going better? d. How is climate change affecting the current people? 4. Solutions (Bang, Joon Sung) a. General solutions on climate change b. What UN has been doing to help solve the issue c. What countries have been doing to help fix the problem d. Why the world needs a solution on climate change 5. Q&A (Kim, Seung Hyun) a. Questions and answers that were raised and discussed during the lecture
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I. Introduction It is said that more than 500 million people worldwide rely on coral reefs to survive. However, a recent study by UNESCO showed how coral reefs will cease to exist by the end of the century due to greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, the entire planet’s ecosystem is being negatively affected by pollution and man-made CO2 emissions. It is crucial for people to be aware of such problems and combat climate change related issues. To understand this crisis and educate people, it’s necessary to put an emphasis learning the history and causes of climate change. After the start of human civilization, the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere increased drastically. The Industrial Revolution especially had negative effects on the Earth’s atmosphere. In the 1800’s, physicist John Tyndall recognized Earth’s greenhouse gas effect and predicted drastic environmental changes for the future. As Tyndall predicted, as the use of factories and automobiles increased, enormous amounts of greenhouse emissions leaked into the atmosphere. An IPCC graph showed drastic spikes in the amount of carbon dioxide and nitrous dioxide in the air after the 1800’s. As a result of this continuous augmentation, natural disasters have been occurring more regularly and sea levels have been on the rise. For example, the Nature Journal analyzed how hurricanes have been increasing in density and frequency in the past few decades. Also, a 2012 study conducted by Climate Central showed how more than 17.5 million people in Shanghai will be displaced if sea levels in the near future and atmospheric temperatures continue to rise. Like this, climate change has tremendous effects on the lives of human beings and Earth’s ecosystem.
II. Cause and Effect Many scholars, researchers, celebrities, and people are emphasizing the importance of dealing with climate changes in this contemporary society. The reason for augmentation of these kinds of activities and voices would be the ‘urgency’ of this issue. Meaning that, the effects and outcomes of climate change is worsening more and more the quality of our life in this society as time goes by. Politically, economically, socially, and
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environmentally, climate change is affecting so many fields of our society. We! Have to be dominate verses climate change; but the reality is that the climate change is dominating us. We! Have to control the climate change by various policies and activities beforehand the climate changes occur; but the reality is that the climate change is ruling over us by making mankind to move after suffering from devastating climate changes. It is hard to define the cause of climate changes on earth specifically by only one reason. There is not only one reason, but the combination of various factors is incurring and accelerating the climate changes. While only o.6 billion population had increased from 1800 to 1900, almost 75 billion populations has increased from 1900 to nowadays. Along with this extremely rapid growth of population, so did industry and therefore, concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases in the atmosphere has increased. Activities like burning coal and oil, cutting down forests and trees, and livestock farming are contributing to these augmenting concentration. Letting people know about the catastrophic and devastating effects of climate change would be efficient for emphasizing the urgency of this issue. By knowing the effects of climate change, people would be more cautious and prudent in making decisions regarding to environment. Since the occurrence of climate change affects various aspects like political aspects and economic aspects, we must not neglect the fact that this is a closely related issue to our life. Because of the climate change, floods will make more countries sink under the water. Moreover, there would be much more serious and widespread forest fires and drought because of the dry climate. If there is more drought and heavier precipitation, it would deter and disrupt the healthy food production. Increasing sea surface temperature will also cause the death and destruction of coral reefs. For individual, disease and allergy caused by the factors of climate change will increase economic burden of health care and also, mortality rate can also increase. However, a much more serious problem is that climate change also affects the political and economic aspects that mainly composes our life. Political tensions between nations according to the immigration and refugee issues due to the climate change will be intense. Moreover, nations will spend more percentage of their budget to cope with the climate change issues rather than supporting for citizens’ well-being, health care, and so on. There would be more effects and consequences caused by the extraordinary climate change in nowadays. The things that the people, nations, and international institutions to bear in mind is that this climate change related issue is very urgent and pressing. The fact that there would be more loss in the
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future if we just keep postponing reactions and resolutions for this issue by education, advertisement, and government policies. III. Current Situation During the lecture by Ms. Ariel Alexovich of DESA, she mentioned that the current major threats to the environment are climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, and ocean degradation. It was mentioned that the carbon dioxide emissions increased by 38% from 1990 to 2009. By this statistic, we can already have an idea that the world has been affected by different human activities that causes carbon dioxide into the atmosphere such as from the cars, and factors, just to name a few. Moreover, desertification and deforestation are some events that can be seen commonly in our environment nowadays. In some parts of Africa, there is too much drought that people have to walk for hours just to get water for a living. On the other hand, speaking of the plants and animals, through severe deforestation of the people with the intention to set up factories and buildings for more production, their homes are lost. Not only the species on land, but also underwater. Coral bleaching is an example mentioned from the lecture. The organisms in the coral reefs cannot survive if the temperature of the water is too high, or if the pH level is unbalanced. Due to climate change, everyone—every single country, person, animal, plant, and basically all organisms are affected. Climate change brings strong storms that affect the people living in the area. For example, in the Philippines, last November 2013, a super-typhoon named Yolanda struck the country even if it was not a rainy season. The typhoon affected numerous people in different places of the Philippines. It caused a massive number of death, and a lot of people lost their homes and families. Climate change also affects animals and plants. It leads to animals losing their homes, and drying of crops and plants due to drought. Climate change definitely brings more of a negative effect than positive ones. If we talk specifically about how climate change is affecting the people, those living in the island countries will eventually run out of land. As the sea levels rise as time pass by, the ones living on the coast would have to move inwards.
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However, they cannot just keep on migrating within the island. Rise in the sea level leads to lesser homes. Climate change brings drought which makes agriculture impossible to push through in countries that depend on vegetation for a living. Climate change would not provide sufficient water to the people as well. If we ask the question, are the problems regarding climate change getting worse or better? I believe that the problems are getting worse and worse however, we can make it better if we start to change. Ms. Alexovich mentioned that there is still time to take action on climate change, but it is critical. If more government officials and businesses around the world take part to raise awareness of climate change, then definitely that will be a great campaign to the citizens to take part in action in saving the environment. IV. Solutions Some of the infrared radiation on the Earth's surface heated by solar radiation passes through the atmosphere and some are absorbed by greenhouse gases, releasing heat in all directions. Although air and global warming are called greenhouse effects, climate change is a natural disaster that no one can stop. So the international community has long discussed the seriousness of climate change. And WMO and UNEP looked at how it affected people around the world. As a result, the LCC was established. Other examples include the Kyoto Protocol, the Bali Road Map, and the most recent use of renewable energy. Nevertheless, the amount of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide has not decreased yet. One of the reasons is that they only try to internationalize and ordinary people see and aggravate these problems. So I thought about solutions that ordinary people can solve in their daily lives. The first is the solution to the increase in waste. First of all, it is a way to alert people to campaign activities or public service advertisements that require separate collection or trash to be thrown in the trash can. The second is excessive logging. Planting trees and plants is a way to engage in volunteer work to inform and correct the current situation. These solutions will allow us to gradually reduce. And we will live in a cleaner world than now.
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V. Q&A Question #1: Is UN open to support any companies or other business types? (Money, Technology‌) Answer #1: Frankly speaking, UN does not have enough money to support all companies and businesses. However, UN started an activity called the UN global compact. This is a global network of private sector companies who are committed to adopt some sustainable practices. For some companies, it could be just for show. So, global compact has certain measures that companies have to meet before they are adopted in to this network and then once that is done, they can partner with UN for a project or they can do something at the UN headquarters where we have a lot of things like the SDG business forum that brings countries together. However, when it comes to big challenge of climate change, we are the UN. We are working at the national level, right? But sometimes certain countries are difficult when it comes to climate change. I’m from the US, and my government is not on board with a lot of climate issues right now. However, we hope that the US decides to, you know, they are still in the Paris agreement, and we’ll see how that goes. Question #2: I think we can prevent individuals from accelerating climate change with two actions, which are advertising the catastrophic results of climate change and enforcing them by law. Among these two, which would be more efficient to prevent climate change in your perspective? Answer #2: It is important to share the ideas to people that actions to prevent climate change actually saves money. Also, it should be well-told to all people that implementing solar panels for use is pretty easy. However, the fact that this idea is widely spread among all people will not be good news for people who work on fossil fuel industries. Therefore, I believe it is most important to change their mindset in order to lead them to supporting the attitude of protecting the environment which will gradually help the climate change to slower down.
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Question #3: Could you compare the climate change problems from the past and present? How did UN (DESA) react to each one of them? Answer #3: Before 1990s, climate change was not a concern after all. Some scientists might have predicted that climate change would be a big problem in the future. I think the way people dealt with climate change in the past was less serious compared to the present. However, recently, the effect of climate change on people started to increase and began to cause more serious harm on their health. Also, more professionals started to put their focus on this issue which even made ordinary people to acknowledge its problem. Through the direct result of actions to stop climate change was shown clearly to all people, that could have been a motivation for them to take actions that are beneficial to the environment on their own to make a change. Question #4: I could see that the UN community has been working to make the whole world participate on global campaigns. I would like to ask you if there are any campaigns for global warming or moves for sustainable goals that are happening inside the UN community. Answer #4: We actually launched something called ‘Be the Change’ campaign two years ago. This is to actually get more UN stuff aware of SDGs and living sustainably. For instance, I walk into the employees’ entrance here every day and see my colleagues bringing plastic bags along with them. Solution is not to give them shame on choosing an easier choice, but it is to make these behavioral changes more common and gradually. So ‘Be the Change’ campaign was a five-day program here at the UN which gave a difference at home challenge and at work challenge for each day. Also, we are trying our best to replace plastic utensils in our cafeteria with biodegradable ones. I believe this surely can be a good way for us, workers, to be much more sustainable when it comes to dealing with environmentally friendly behaviors.
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Question #5: You have mentioned that it is better to use renewable energy like wind power. However, this energy requires acres of lands. Since you also have mentioned that deforestation is also becoming one of the most serious problems nowadays, how are people going to construct wind turbines without causing deforestation? Isn’t this a contradiction? I would like to know how UN thinks about this. Answer #5: If there is no blanket solution that is the best. So, it is this combination of wind and solar and gradual fading out of fossil fuel which is the answer. Though, we don’t want to say to everybody, “Definitely build wind turbines! Deforestation? Who cares!” However, there would be some places where it is naturally windy, and these places will be the best to locate wind turbines. Not only for wind energy, will the energy that would be appropriately used vary in each different environment. Question #6: What are the methods that are used by the UN to compel other countries to participate the SDG issue or at least fully understand the issue? Answer #6: That is something we are very conscious about; we want the SDGs really to be achieved. It is not a total marketing exercise and we don’t want countries to sign on to something as a show--we want real action. The UN itself is not a government. So, we honestly don’t have much to enforce these actions, but we want to build the global community around climate action and SDG invitation to make it unfavorable for countries to not participate whether that’s with climate we are trying to make a case that green business is good business. If you are purely economic, there are still economic opportunities when it comes to renewable energy. By this we are highlighting that they might lose this opportunity which is to do something good while earning something good at the same time, rather than using soft powers to negotiate with agencies to bring countries all together and pressure each other to take action. Question #7: If you could suggest one way to stop or deter the rate of climate change to young generations like us, what would it be? Answer #7: One thing we are working on right now is June 8th which is the World’s Oceans Day. This is a day for action of saving the ocean by reducing ocean pollution. So, you guys all together on June 8 th, maybe could visit an ocean nearby and just pick up trash for two hours and post those photos on social media and spread this idea. So, the way I suggest is to participate in these actions and tell your friends about it to make it cool and live sustainably.
References European Commission. (2017, June 28). Causes of climate change. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes_en Global Climate Change: Effects. (2018, November 28). Retrieved from https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ Global Warming Impacts. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/globalwarming/science-and-impacts/global-warming-impacts Kanlic, D. (n.d.). The Impacts of Climate Change on the World's Economic, Political, and Demographic Structures. Retrieved from https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/14/ Union of Concerned Scientists. (2017, June 28). Causes of climate change. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes_en
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I.
II.
III.
Introduction A. What is Climate Change B. Specific SDGs goal targeted to ecosystems and climate changes 1. What is SDG 2. Relationships between SDGs and climate change 3. Specific SDGs goal targeted to ecosystems and climate changes a) Goal six: ‘Clean water and Sanitation’. b) Goal thirteen : ‘Climate Action’ c) Goal fourteen : ‘Life below water’ d) Goal fifteen : ‘Life on land’ Boundaries set to Change: Different climate changes related (6 boundaries) 1. Ozone Depletion 2. Chemical Pollution 3. Ocean Acidification 4. Freshwater Consumption 5. Nitrogen Phosphorus Flows 6. Climate Change Sustainable Energy & Solutions A. Solar Heat Energy B. Wind Energy C. Geothermal Energy
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IV.
International responsibility regarding climate change A. CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) 1. Definition of Key Terms 2. Ways to Practice CSR a) Environmental Efforts b) Philanthropy c) Ethical Labor Practices d) Volunteering B. Paris Agreement 1. Definition of Key Terms 2. Significance of Paris Agreement 3. Past Actions
V.
Climate Change in South Korea A. Climate and Temperature Changes in South Korea 1. Changes in Precipitation 2. Increase of Temperature 3. Changes in Agriculture 4. Changes in Fisheries B. South Korea’s Response Towards Climate Change 1. Response of the Korean Government - Carbon Tax 2. Response of Companies -ㅡ Green IT
VI.
I.
Conclusion: Thoughts about the lecture
Introduction (By Hannah Song) A. What is Climate Change 1. Climate change is when the temperature of a certain area rises or falls for a permanent amount of time. 2. Climate change didn’t occur from just one ground. We can list many possible reasons that lead to such incident. For instance when human population started to shoot up and reached over 5 billion human activities started to influence the nature. Before our activities were in small quantities, but after the rapid growth adding up the whole affects started doing great damages to the nature. 3. All around us climate change exists. People overthink it because they don’t recognize the changes around them. However, ever since we humans started off with industrialization to much more great founding and developments climate change has always been there and its consequences are showing. B. What is SDGs? (By Seungyeon Nam) 1.
‘SDGs’ is the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ set by the United Nations and the international society to work on from the year of 2016 to 2030. This is a global goal that continues on with the flow of the former agenda that had been implemented over the world from 2000 to 2015, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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While the Millennium Development Goals focus mainly on world poverty and world hunger, this newly updated agenda focuses on a greater variety of fields. Such fields include the health and well beings of humans, maintenance of society, and the sustainability of the biosphere. The SDGs are composed of seventeen goals and those that can be divided into three main sectors. The goals of number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 16 focus on the area of society and people living. Such goals fall into this categorization because they strive to fix the major human health issues, satisfying basic human desires, and improving the quality of their lifestyle. The goals of number 8,9,10, and 12 focuses on the economic concerns around the world. Such goals fall into this categorization because they aim to consist healthy transactions and economy infrastructures of the countries. The goals of number 6, 13, 14, and 15 mainly focuses on the goals of keeping the planet green and protecting the biosphere. The preceding goals belong to such categorization, since it seeks to conserve natural resources, protect both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and combat rapid ecosystem destructions. Lastly, goal number seventeen focuses on the partnerships and the spirit of commitment to the provided sixteen sustainable development goals. 2.
Relationships between SDGs and climate change: The main goal of the SDGs is ending poverty and protecting the planet, peace, and the prosperity of the humanity. In order to protect the planet and stand against the rapidly occurring climate changes, the SDGs constructed the goals of 6, 13, 14, and 15.
3.
Specific SDGs goal targeted to ecosystems and climate changes (1) Goal six is ‘Clean water and Sanitation’. This goal’s main intention is to make every person to be assured with access to clean water and proper sanitation. Consisting the clean water conditions and aiming for water sanitation is crucial to basically entire ecosystem: the animals, humans, and the botanical surroundings. Water must be protected and filtered properly so that organisms around the world can exploit the element necessary for their survivals. Improper management of water systems may only lead to humanity destruction and confusion. Clean water is one of the sources to secure health issues, since polluted water systems act as the major source of transferring bacterias and viruses, the cause of major illnesses such as cholera, cryptosporidium, and other diarrheal diseases. This applies not only to the humans, but also the animals and botanical livings. Therefore, in order to keep the water qualities to be reliable and safe enough to be in usage, technology involvement, advanced STEM studies related to water purification systems, and active human participation are necessary requirements. Technology involvement includes such devices useful for improvising water routes, water purification system, and access to water sources. (2) Goal thirteen is ‘Climate Action’ Climate Action recalls for an activity that enforces combat against the rapid climate changes over the world. Climate change is a problem that compels all the countries to be vulnerable under of. Even in the Rio+20 Conference, the countries have expressed concerns and advocacies for any type of projects to struggle with the matter of climate changes. There has been significant events, such as the rise in the global temperature of 1.1 degrees celsius. Although NGO committees and the United Nations are focused mainly on solving these kinds of issues, there has not yet been a specific protocol that covers the entire process. This is due to many possible causes lying behind the climate change situation. Due to numerous causes, there are numerous possible solutions. As a result, the United Nations and the society as a whole are taking step-by-step procedures to eliminate each of the causes. So far, there has been successful human efforts made, however, they were just so undeniably slow to follow up the rapid climate changes occurring each year. It is recommended that either a possible new solution to keep up with the speed or greater participants for the current solutions are in immediate needs.
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(3) Goal fourteen is ‘Life below water’ This goal’s main focus is upon the marine life and the bodies of water. This can be intimately related to the matter of nature and climate change, since water is the major element in every life cycle and the living organisms around the world. Water has been the major element in ecosystems; for example, water constructs the system of lakes, oceans, seas, estuaries and such. In particular, water is extremely influential upon the marine life. As mentioned down below, ocean acidification issues are a serious threat to the maintenance of a healthy marine ecosystem. Adding on to the factor of harmed marine life, rise in sea levels is some of the significant evidence of climate change. Many acknowledge that the melting glaciers are one of supporting factors. The water from the melting glaciers is the key source to most of the bodies of water. Even the Mt.Everest, has its notably high height of elevation de-escalate in a quick manner every year. Surprisingly enough, the major cause of the rise in the sea level is not the melting of the glaciers: it actually composes rather a small portion of the causes. The main cause lies beyond the situation of ozone depletion. As the aperture laid upon the ozone layer is being enlarged every day and every second, the UV rays ejected from the sun penetrates the ocean surface. The UV rays through the ocean allows the water molecules to expand and therefore, the accumulation of all the expanding water molecules ends up in the enlargement of the entire sea’s volume. (4) Goal fifteen is ‘Life on land’ “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”- this is the main goal of goal fifteen. Although this goal seems like there’s only few relationships upon the ecosystem, there’s also intimate relationships between the sustainment of terrestrial environments and climate changes. For such examples, the risen sea levels is resulting in sinking islands and the deletion of terrestrial regions due to larger water coverage on the shore. As the matter moves on to extreme cases, soon the sea regions can overtake more and more regions of forests and botanical regions. This will threaten the survival of a great portion of the ecosystem, which means the danger of the whole
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organisms’ community. In order to prevent such situations, protect the terrestrial environment, and keep the biodiversity, goal thirteen must be insisted and solutions for climate change must be implemented. II. Boundaries set to Change (By Hyeonjik Go) A. Different climate changes related (6 boundaries) 1. Ozone Depletion : Earth has many layers for different reasons. The most important is stratospheric ozone layer which works to filter and block out harmful radiation from the sun. As us humans keep on changing the climate through our actions the layer where its supposed to be gets thinner as we continue on. Due to the decrease of the thickness and holes that starts to gape it makes it harder for the layers to do its work. Since it keeps off harmful streams of rays that affects both humans and animals, the nature itself it doesn’t work its fullest anymore. Especially the effects take on humans as skin cancer to blindness, for animals it leads to terrestrial and marine animals from the rays. To explain if you were to fire a gun before human activities took effect and weakened the ozone layers it would be compared to a steel wall in the way of the bullet. However after us, humans took action and didn’t care enough for the nature now it's just a few tissues that's in the way of the bullet. To solve or to rally up the situation we’ve came to an agreement named Montreal Protocol. This protocol did come to show positive output which will let us stay in the boundaries of ozone depletion. 2. Chemical Pollution : As technology has developed from the 18th century rapidly, the use of chemicals has also increased in a fast pace. They give a permanent effect to the Earth, and that’s why we should protect it from being contaminated. Already there has been many irreversal changes to our planet such as the decrease of bird population and marine population because of the persistent organic compounds. At the current status quo there isn’t an exact limit to the usage of chemical pollution boundaries although people acknowledge that there is an urgent need to make an instant change. 3. Ocean Acidification : As humans use fossil fuels to many other sources to make energy the most common gas they in total emits is CO2(Carbon Dioxide). In the recent researches done by scientists revealed that around a quarter of the CO2 human activities emits into the nature ends up dissolving into oceans. These procedures forms carbonic acids which varies the chemistries of the ocean and ends up decreasing the pH of the surface water. Carbonate ions which are essential ‘building block’ used by many species in order to form skeleton or its shells. Beyond such limited concentration, the uprise of the acidity makes it difficult for corals and plankton species to grow and even survive. Such losses would lead to tremendous effect to the marine ecosystem dismantling food chains. Unlike other boundaries this particular boundary is not limited to locals but the whole world. Such acidification will show no improvements if each country do not show change of their attitude toward climate change. They are ought to change the amount they produce and amount they let out to the nature. 4. Freshwater Consumption : There is a high scarcity of water especially as people in the 21st century use water and resources constantly. As water is sufficient to humans in order to sustain life, having low quality of water will also damage the quality of life for many humans especially in the developing countries or places with low supply of resources. Earth is composed of 75% water but the fresh water that we can actually use is 0.2% out of the total amount of water including salt water. Recent research regarding the scarcity of freshwater revealed that if such existing circumstances continue, by 2050 more than a half billion people will likely to be under water-stress. Like I mentioned such incidents will be too harmful to developing countries and the developed countries since water is the source of life that is essential.
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5. Nitrogen Phosphorus Flows : There are two types of key elements that assists the growth of plants. Which means fertilizer production and the distribution is the main problem we need to focus on. Nitrogen is a substance which doesn't just disappear or be gone. It stays around cycling through different cycles. The nitrogens that were contained in the atmosphere were converted to reactive forms to be used for growing crops to agricultural means. However this puts a great pressure for the nature to switch the over exchanged nitrogens into any cycles. To add onto such impacts when these manmade fertilizers enter aquatic systems it forces bacteria to be in a state of oxygen-deprivation which will end up bringing down the whole aquatic system. 6. Climate Change : Many evidences that were found and introduced revealed that Earth now is passing 390 ppmv CO2 in the atmosphere we are pushing Earth's limit to its finals. Polar ices are going to melt, glaciers high up in the mountains will melt causing the sudden uprise of the sea level. Not one cause makes one consequence numerous causes leads to numerous consequences that us human won’t be able to handle. The biggest concerns that should be dealt is Earth’s warming since it is causing other climate changes worse from its doings. This boundary limits other boundaries to be actually taken place and be noticed by others who are willing to change. If these boundaries are to be come across there will be harsher payments that us humans would have to pay in return of our actions. III. Sustainable Energy & Solutions - Hyunho Kim A. Solar Heat Energy : Solar heat energy is the energy that is generated with the heat from the Sun. Solar energy is often used as it can obtain energy directly without any high level of engineering skills. In addition, it is one of the most important sources of energy because it can be directly utilized without conversion to other forms of energy. It generates its power specifically by reflecting the sun’s heat into a mirror and concentrating it in one place, and there will be high density of heat energy collected. With this high density of heat energy, it will turn the turbine with steam and generate electricity. This method of generation is good as its semi-permanent, easy to maintain, and easy to repair.
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B. Wind Energy : Wind energy generates its energy by using wind power. By using the principle of windmill, it turns the turbine and generates electricity. Like we have heard wind energy many times, it has a lot of advantages. First of all, it takes a short period of time for the installation, and there’s no restriction of constructing wind turbine as long as there’s wind throughout the year. Moreover, since there’s natural convection current of the Earth that creates wind, there’s no need for any extra fuel or sources to generate energy and there’s no waste. Due to these reasons, wind energy is one of the best solutions to replace other energy. C. Geothermal Energy : Geothermal energy is the energy that is generated with the Earth’s internal heat. Geothermal is founded by the phenomenon of radioactive element’s collapse, volcanic activities, sun energy that is absorbed in the ground, and etc. Its method of generating energy is by using heat from the Earth to produce steam and turn the turbine. Geothermal energy is the only energy that is able to generate electricity with the Earth’s inner nuclear fission, and it is good that this generation method is not affected by the weather condition.
IV. International responsibility regarding climate change A. CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) 1. Definition of Key Terms: The term CSR also known as corporate social responsibility is having companies to take responsibility of the climate changes and damages that they have been the cause for. CSR is acknowledged to be a private firm policy. As a policy, organizations have the right to either follow or flout the policy. But most times, companies will go with the law due to ethical perspectives. For example, there can be one about reducing carbon footprints to reduce climate change. Even though by reducing carbon footprints, in the companies perspective, there can be a disadvantage or loss to the company’s profit or such; but several companies work on reducing carbon footprints in order to save the environment. Adding on, there isn’t such disadvantages to CSRs. It has rather a neutral effect to companies and a benefit to the society. In some cases when companies work towards
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the charity, most consumers give positive view towards the companies by earning trust. However cases when there are companies who work toward environmental benefit, there are more negative views which give a direct affect to the companies doing these work. 2. Ways to Practice CSR: a. Environmental Efforts : The most important aspect in practicing CSR could be defined in one key word: environment. In current society, regardless of the size of companies, carbon dioxide emission is an inevitable factor. Any actions that could be taken to reduce carbon dioxide emission and protect the environment will be assumed as both productive to the global society and the company. b. Philanthropy : Financial support could also be a mean of achieving corporate social responsibility. Donating not only money but also products and technology could impact the environment in a good way. Donated money could be used in non-governmental organizations and charities which would then benefit the global society by countering climate change. c.
Ethical Labor Practices : By treating the laborers with ethical attitude and guaranteeing the human rights of the workers, companies can also achieve corporate social responsibility. Particularly, international companies should take this into account as they perform companies in different area with different labor laws.
d.
Volunteering : Carrying out voluntary actions could also meet the expectation of CSR. It is most important for the companies to focus on activities for people in need without any return, thus gaining trust from the people, which would benefit both the corporations and the global society.
B. Paris Agreement 1. Definition of Key Terms : The Paris Agreement, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is the first international treaty that calls upon all nations in the world to join in the process of protecting the world from global warming and to effectively counter climate change and its detrimental effects to the global society, along with the objective to increase the support towards developing nations to do so. The main objective of the Paris Agreement is to maintain the rise of the global temperature this century below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, and to further limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In order to fulfill these goals, appropriate financial distribution, new technology, and capacity building framework should be implemented, especially in developing countries and the most vulnerable states, in cooperation with their national solution towards climate change. In short, the Paris Agreement is an international cooperation between all nations that set a new course in the global climate efforts. Climate Change is the change in the weather patterns that lasts for a certain period of time. Climate change could be referred to as the change in average weather conditions, or it could also be referred to as the time variation of the weather. Climate change could be caused by many factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Among the many factors, the current high emission of greenhouse gases, also referred to as global warming, is being thought the primary causes for the ongoing climate change. 2. Significance of Paris Agreement : International controversy concerning climate change have caused severe problems for many decades. Escalating industrialization ever since the industrial revolution, along with the destruction of green forests for the purpose of achieving farmlands, have led to the extreme increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In other words, due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and creation of farmlands, the carbon dioxide emission has increased dramatically and this is the major factor that directly interferes with the average temperature of Earth. Based on the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the study and research of many different organizations, the knowledge, and understanding about climate change,
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the causes of it and how it affects the international society, has been constantly growing in breadth and depth over the last decades. The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), along with its three Working Group (WG) reports and a synthesis report in 2014 released by the IPCC provided necessary information concerning the sea level rise and temperature change to the global society, letting them acknowledge the seriousness of climate change and its impact to our world. According to the report, from 1880 to 2012, the average global temperature increased by 0.85 °C and from 1901 to 2010, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm due to global warming and ice melting. Looking at the current greenhouse gas concentration, it is predicted that by end of this century, the average temperature will increase by 2 degrees Celsius and the sea level by 40 to 63 cm. As to respond to this matter, the Working Group has provided a CO2 budget for future emissions to limit warming to less than 2 °C, along with its assessment towards the current situation. Moreover, the Paris Agreement is a pact within the UNFCCC, between 197 countries that mainly focuses on the reducement of greenhouse gas emissions, working towards the adaptation and mitigation of the impacts of current climate change. That is, the Paris Agreement is a crucial factor in addressing the current climate change since this is an international agreement that binds all countries with different perspectives and characteristics to work together for the same objective, countering climate change. Also, the agreement enabled each member states to create their own nationally determined contributions, NDCs, which has its special meaning in that every country came up with different solutions towards climate change in regards to the situation in their homeland. Therefore, establishing constructive measures in regard to the Paris Agreement seems necessary to effectively combat the climate change and its detrimental effects on the global society. 3. Past Actions : As to successfully implement and compliance with the Paris Agreement, all member states are contributing to the current problems regarding climate change. Among those efforts, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the main core of the Paris Agreement, enabling the achievements of both short-term and long-term goals of the agreement. NDCs contain the efforts conducted by each member states to lower the greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the climate change, further complaining with Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement requires all respective governments to submit their NDCs, as to effectively implement the agreement. As such, the main objective of the NDC is to let all nations pursue domestic mitigation and adaptation efforts and capacity building in a way that is suitable to each governments, hoping that this leads to the harmony with Paris Agreement. Under these actions, it will be determined if the world achieves the goals of Paris Agreement and effectively counter climate change. It is expected that under NDCs, the emission rate of greenhouse gases would rapidly drop, to a degree where there is balance between the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and efforts to remove them. However, these climate actions also take into account that it would take a longer time for developing countries to reach the balance as it is inevitable for them to emit greenhouse gases for the development of the nation. These reasonable actions are evidently alleviating the greenhouse gas emissions and many problems caused by climate change, effectively implementing the Paris Agreement, and is still on the way to go. V. South Korea’s Situation ( Sang Hyun Lee) A. Climate and Temperature Change in South Korea 1.
Changes in Precipitation: Created in the Bay of Bengal and the Western North Pacific, the tropical rain belt ‘Changma front usually takes about 4 to 5 weeks to traverse the Korean Peninsula. However nowadays, the ‘Changma front’ takes only about 3 weeks to go through the Korean Peninsula, causing heavier weather.
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Increase of Temperature: According to South Korea’s Terrestrial Environment Information Center, the South Korean Peninsula has been experiencing a drastic temperature change during the past decade; the temperature increase rate has become 1.5 times higher than the 1950s. Also, the duration of summer has become longer, as much as 20 days, while the duration of winter has become a month shorter. Changes in Korean Agriculture: According to South Korea’s Department of Environmental Cooperation Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, South Korea’s cultivation areas for temperate fruits such as grapes, apples, and peaches will decrease, while cultivation areas for warm season fruits such as tangerines, kiwi fruits, and bananas will increase. Moreover, the reported frost damage has decreased, while damage from harmful insects has increased, due to a rise in average temperature. Changes in Korean Fisheries: Due to rise in water temperature, the catch of cold water fishes such as codfish and walleye pollack has decreased sharply, while there was an increase of the catch of warm water fishes such as mackerel and anchovies.
B. South Korea’s Response Towards Climate Change 1.
Response of the Korean Government - Carbon Tax: The Korean Government adopted a carbon reduction policy to reduce carbon production by 30% until 2020. However, a carbon tax will increase the burden and the cost of production on Korean companies that rely heavily on manufacturing that emits a great deal of carbon dioxide. Therefore, Korean companies are now working in the development of new technologies that will reduce carbon dioxide emission while also retaining profit.
2.
Response of Korean Companies - Green IT: Green IT has different meanings for information technology, and governments and private organizations work to change the global environment in each country. The OECD supports Green IT and is trying to solve environmental problems through Green IT.
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Participant Reflection Hyeonjik Go, Pusan Foreign Language High School In life sometimes you come across these moments where you realize and look back upon your actions and regret to change. These lectures that I was lucky enough to attend made me feel in such a way that I promised myself for a change in behaviors. Economy the only field that I’m interested in had so much connection to the nature and its preservation for our sake. Also I got to know how the UN is actually formed and how it works on orders of procedure. Which helped a lot since I am willing to work as an UN employee. It was a great honor meeting the lecturers to hear their opinion and ask questions to end my curiosity. Their personal experiences that they shared were the ones we could actually relate to which helped us further understand their lecture. It was an honor to be the one participating the lecture and hearing from such lecturers.
Seungyeon Nam, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul Overall, the whole lecture was well-structured and organized enough for us to fully understand the urge and demand for our participation in saving the world’s given resources. The sustainability goals enlightened us with new perspectives to view the environment and our actions, yet our whole society are not aware of such. The lecturers stressed on the impact our own hands can bring to the society. We live in the pre-structured society from the history and ourselves are also constructing and customizing the earth for our next generation, even possibly for ourselves in the older ages. What we choose to eat, how we choose to dispose of things, and the colored glasses we wear to view the world is what changes it. It cannot be underscored enough of the importance of how one individual’s action can affect the entire community, especially when dealing with nature the whole ecosystem. Just like the butterfly effect, every one of us holds the responsibility to cooperate in protecting our own planet earth and disregarding it will bring great sense of consequences. Therefore, through this opportunity, I realized once again the importance of my own will to be dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals and encouraging other to also be inspired by it.
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Hyunho Kim, Bugil Academy We are living in a society where everything is in a symbiosis relation. Yet, we all know that we are the one who has the right to dominate everything. We look only on one side of the shield. What we are doing now including industrialization is actually hurting us if we see it as a long run race. Due to our human’s activities, our world and the Earth is changing. Everything has its inertia and changing it can cause serious disasters to our human beings. We are not only living today, so we must try to make better tomorrow. We have to keep in mind that today’s greed will cause tomorrow’s regret. These things are the things that I have learned from the priceless lecture. As I want to work under the UN, it was a very meaningful time for me and it was an honor for me to have a discussion and Q&A session with those lecturers.
Hannah Song, Seocho Middle School I thought that the lecture was very helpful for my future dreams. First, because listening to a lecture in the UN, was a significant opportunity for me. Since I have been interested in the environment and global warming (climate change), they gave us a lot of information that I can’t get from anywhere else. Especially, I got to know exactly what the UN does to restore the environment and make a more sustainable environment globally. By knowing this, I thought that it was interesting that if I also work in a non-profitable organization especially the UN itself, I could also work to make further solutions and attend conferences all around the world. It gave me a chance to be more confident for my dream and stimulation to work harder to achieve that goal. Sanghyun Lee, Global Prodigy Academy The lectures of the United Nations educational program made me think about how important environmental issues are, especially global warming since it affects our lives and the ecosystem greatly. I learned that it is important to change our lifestyles, such as reducing meat consumption and plastic use to slow down the deleterious effects of global warming. I was shocked that people could actually lose their lives from global warming due to problems such as rising sea levels, air, and water pollution. It was also interesting to learn what the United Nations is doing to slow down global warming, accomplishing SDGs, one by one.
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A Group photo with Mr.Hamid Rashid from UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- AN EVERLASTING EXPERIENCE REGARDING PEACE AND EQUALITY 1. Gender Equality I) What is ‘Gender Equality’? – History of Gender Equality Youha Lee, Suwon Academy of World Languages We think the belief that we all should be free, such as freedom of religion, have rights, for instance, rights to get education is human rights. However, it was only after the World War Ⅱ, human rights approached the global stage. Human rights are rights given to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the freedom of expressing opinions, the freedom of religion, right to liberty, right to get education and earn their living, and many more. These are all given to every human being around the world no matter who they are. Originally, people had rights only because of their membership in a group, such as family. Then, in 539 BC, surprisingly, Cyrus the Great, released all of the slaves to their homes after conquering the city of Babylon. Moreover, he declared that people should have the freedom of religion. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay tablet containing his statements, is the first declaration of human rights in history. Some of the other main declaration made were 1215: The Magna Carta—a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England gave people new rights, 1628: The Petition of Right—setting out specific freedoms, 1776: The United
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States Declaration of Independence—declaring the right to life, freedom, and independence, 1789: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen—a document of France, stating that all humans are equal under the law, and there it is, 1948: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—the first document noting the 30 rights to which everyone is granted. The idea of human rights emerged stronger after World War Ⅱ. Officers from the defeated countries were penalized for committing war crimes, ‘crimes against peace,’ and ‘crimes against humanity.’ The Hitler crisis during World War Ⅱ shocked many people and horrified them. The concentration camp, killing people just because of their religion, in this case, Jewish, assassination of Sinti and Romani (gypsies), homosexuals, and persons with disabilities surely had a big impact on people around the globe. Governments then committed themselves to establishing the United Nations, with the ultimate goal, maintaining world peace that is, preventing another world war from happening again. People needed the insurance that crisis like Hitler’s will never happen again and that their life, freedom, food, and shelter will be protected. The elements of these emerging human rights principles were noticed in President Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Address when he spoke of the four freedom: freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear. People all around the globe cried out for human rights standards to protect them from abuses. These voices played a critical role in the San-Francisco meeting that drafted the United Nations Charter in 1945. General Assembly in Paris officially proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. Since its adoption by 56 members of the UN, in 1948, the UDHR has been translated into more than 500 languages. This Declaration increased the awareness of the need to ensure human rights around the world. Emphasizing how a government treats its own citizens is now an international concern. It suggests that all rights are interdependent and indivisible. In article one written in the UDHR, it says ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’ No gender should be the excluded from this article, it should all be equally granted to all human being regardless of gender.
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Human rights are an interrelated theme in all UN policies and programmes in the key areas of peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance, and economic and social affairs. As a result, every UN organizations and specialized agencies are involved in the protection of human rights. Moreover, all human development and human rights issues have gender dimensions. Thus, we should pay more attention to gender issues and address them when concerning human rights. Chan Yang Kim, Haneul Academy “If women have the right to come to the death penalty, of course they have the right to rise above the podium.” said Olympe de Gouges. It was just after the France revolution, the start of human’s rights, which the thoughts about women’s rights appeared. The first women who mentioned about women’s rights is Olympe de Gouges. She thought that the France revolution gave a change for men, but didn’t give a change for women. She mentioned the women suffrage as the evidence. Even though men and women both participated the France revolution, women did not have suffrage. She thought that this was unfair, and she was the only person who brought this issue up. However, everyone ignored her voice. As a result, nothing about women’s rights changed and it led her to the death penalty. Before she died, she said a popular phrase, “If women have the right to come to the death penalty, of course they have the right to rise above the podium.” For 100 years, there was no mention about women’s rights. The first movement of women’s rights was suffragette. In case of England, Mary Wollstonecraft was the actual first movement. He was elected for the commitment, women suffrage demand. However it was refused and because of this incident, at 1865, women suffrage committee was established in London. At 1869, the rationale for the women's suffrage movement was presented and the women's taxpayers were granted the right to vote for the first time in the parliamentary elections that year. Another example would be USA. In 1829, a campaign to abolish slavery by the power of women led to the abolition of slavery among women. Before this movement unfolded, the perception that white women and black women all becoming sexual slaves was spreaded, and thus the campaign made it possible for the demand for liberation of women came into being. In 1969, S.B. Anthony and others formed the National Woman's Suffrage Association and L. Stone formed the American Woman's Suffrage Association. During the movement, women's suffrage was recognized in the Wyoming Territories in 1869, the Judah Territory in 1970, Idaho in Colorado in 1993, and Washington, California and Illinois in 1910 and 11, respectively. Since then, the US women's suffrage movement has been developed with the aim of amending the law of the federal government, and in 1920, after the First World War, women's suffrage was fully recognized. Not only England and USA recognized women’s suffrage. Japan by 1945, France by 1946, Swiss by 1971, Kuwait by 2005 recognized women’s suffrage.
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After the UN (United Nation) foundation, UN put gender equality as a contents in SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). And these are the roles that UN selected.
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere 5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation 5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life 5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences 5.A Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws 5.B Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women 5.C Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
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II. Issues on Gender Equality A. Past Key Issues on Gender Equality Minjung Oh, Daeil Foreign Language High School Many wonder since when the gender inequality started did and when was the spark of protests to insure their rights. Why is it so hard to break the old tradition and stereotypes of gender? Interestingly, gender inequality goes back a long way to the past, where it is rooted in three factors; history, tradition and culture. According to a recent study from Queens College in NYC, the tradition of sex-selective abortion in the past—especially in China and India—which boys were preferred compared to girls, most countries being male-dominant societies, differentiating roles and tasks by gender—women doing the laundry and men doing works that need strength— are the critical causes of gender inequality. As the result of conventions passing throughout the generation, it was almost impossible for an individual to break the custom and shout out for equality. However, there were brave activists and legislations of laws done by governments helped to reach gender equality today. The spark of the fight against inequality started in 1792. Mary Wollstonecraft, who was an author and an activist, published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, asserting men and women are both equal. When the industrial revolution spread in the 18th century, there were also the dark side of the revolution. Although industry developed and lives were better than the past, rights of workers were one of the issues. Poor payments and working conditions especially for women sparked them to go out in the streets and protest, demanding for equal treatment. In 1857, women marched to the streets demanding for better payment and furthermore, made Women’s Labor Union and demanded to have the right to vote. After that, in 1870, Married Women's Property Act abled women to keep their own properties, whether they were married, divorced, widowed or single. As the result of these efforts, women were able to speak out their voice and fight for their rights. Activists fought and achieved the right to vote and the right to be equally treated. Countries such as UK and France showed enormous progress.
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To honor women’s achievement on political, economic and social development, the UN officially designated March 8th as the International Women’s Day in 1975. Later, it spread to Feminism and other branches of campaigns. From the point, many nations started to work on gender equality in their own policies and creating unions. There was a Beijing Declaration at the World Conference on Women in 1995, people declared, "women's rights are human rights.” to all the women who suffered from limitations. In the early 2000s, protecting rights of diverse gender and sexualities appeared. The UK allowed lesbians to adopt children, and Australia allowed gay couples to get married. We have made great progress contributing for equality to everyone. B. Current Issues on Gender Equality Taeeun Kim, Gimpo Foreign Language High School Though women are fighting to gain their basic human rights, and the importance of gender equality has become an important issue, still there are parts in the world where women are calling out for help. The gender inequality in certain parts of the world such as the Middle East is still a problem for women, because of its cultural and religious atmosphere which are set in its nations. Since gender equality is a sensible issue to deal with, the United Nations have to make sure that the line between intervention and interference to maintain clear on this matter. As there are 193 countries out of 195 countries around the world, we must be aware of the fact that there are all kinds of different culture, religious beliefs, social backgrounds which may be hard to understand. However, even if there are different backgrounds, the most important fact and the understanding that is requires, is that everyone around the world deserves to have their basic human rights, and the rights to call out for help when they are violated. Currently, around the world, there are countries which have set great policies and social atmosphere for women to come out, work in a fair environment without any discrimination as women. However, globally, there are numbers of countries and places where women have fewer opportunities for economic participation than men, unfair payments, and access to quality education, and political representations. Starting from women’s march of Versailles, women started to stand up for their rights, and now there are organization and groups fighting for it. Few of the most known gender equality actions are 2006 ‘Me too’ movements which have started from an activist Tarana Burke who was in the ‘Girls for gender equity’ organization. Moreover, from October 2017, this movement became much active by different people including celebrities, Hollywood stars and any other women who were assaulted. In fact, for women’s rights, United Nations have initiated a solidarity campaign for the advancement of gender equality, raising awareness of the basic rights and making people get involved to it.
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Furthermore, laws and policies have changed. In year 2016, the 105th international Women’s Day (8th of March) was set to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and promote global gender equality. To help the other countries which are in need of help, current countries which ensures women’s human rights such as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway should be encouraged to help lead the neighboring countries and the others for women rights improvement. The environment, level of education, religion, cultural backgrounds, and social atmospheres are the important factors which affects gender equality. Since gender equality is a very delicate matter, instead of radical changes which could cause conflicts between different nations, a gradual approach to it is vital. Even if the situations are gradually being known to many people so far, there are still improvements that needs to be made, solving the conflicts in certain nations such as the countries in Middle East and Africa. C. Future Possible Issues on Gender Equality Brian Hyunwoo Chi, Daewon Foreign Language High School Although global society wants gender equality, it is extremely hard to achieve this goal due to many differences all around the world. I am an advocate for the current situation where there are many different movements to achieve fairness regardless of gender. I also believe that in order to achieve this goal, and make the world for everyone on Earth, intergovernmental cooperation is the most crucial thing. When governments are focusing to solve this issue, that is the moment when an everlasting check and balance can be established and this problem can be solved once and for all. After listening to the lecture and gaining many different thoughts, I was able to make a visual on what is happening right now when it comes to gender issues. Based on the things that I learned and heard, I would like to predict potential future issues that might happen during the process of achieving gender equality.
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The biggest issue that might happen in the future is regarding the basic rights of women. In the status quo, in some states as such but not limited to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, women are prohibited to do a lot of things that their counterparts can do without any difficulties. There are driving, traveling, being educated to list a few of the limitations for women in these areas. These rights are not being granted to women because it is their culture, passed down from their ancestors. We are not trying to criticize this precious culture of Arabian states, but I we do believe that there is a definite need for flexibility within their own culture. All cultures in history evolved by accepting changes within their own environment. This 'rule' also applies to gender equality as well. For instance, women voting rights were granted because the society accepted them as a member of the society and acknowledged that they are capable of making a big change. We strongly believe that the Arabian nations should now also accept this trend of the world and become a bit more flexible when it comes to restricting individual human rights. According to the Declaration of Human Rights, the freedom of movement and the freedom of life are one of the fundamental rights that all people have, regardless of race, color, and age. However, that is not the situation for women in the Arabian nation. Since human rights violation is happening on a daily basis in these nations, it is really urgent for mankind to solve this problem as fast as possible. Then, the problem becomes the matter of 'how'. The method of approach will be extremely important since many efforts in past have already failed to change the perspective in these Arab nations. The key to gradual change is providing an education program for them. It's now just a matter of how we are going to educate women in areas where women literacy rate and educational level is extremely limited. The mechanism that I thought of was providing support and asylum for domestic women right-activists. Because the United Nation must refrain from infringing other nations' sovereign rights. However, the United Nations have the justification to help people in that region since the fundamental reason for their existence is to pursue the well-being of all human beings. This can be proven by many examples, such as the United Nations advocating the people who are participating in the worldwide '#MeToo' movement, regardless of their background. If the United Nation is able to protect these people, people will be more encouraged to participate in the women rights movement in their region and the government will have to listen to their voices. Initiators will be more motivated to start a movement since the United Nations have their back and this will lead to a wave. A wave of voices from the region that was suppressed for so long. When the voices are heard, the state will have to compromise with their people. Changing the world in a democratic way. That is the kind of change that the United Nations want during the process of establishing equality. Democracy, thinking about the people, starts when people have the support and confidence in their security. Believing that proving the basic needs of this beginning of the momentum, this was the virtual form that we thought of. 2. Summary: UN’s Actions on Gender Equality in Present UN being an intergovernmental organization that was established to maintain world peace and security, develop affectionate relations between nations, and seek harmony around the globe. Thus, gender equality being not only a basic human right, but a necessary understructure for a peaceful world, it was crucial for the UN to take actions to gender issues. SDG #5: Gender Equality was made in order to prevent the discrimination by their gender. Before SDG #5, Gender Equality was made, there were many issues regarding gender inequality. In the past, instead of laws preventing women from violence, there were laws that made violence against women legal. That is, insulting human rights, which the UN took into consideration. The reason why this goal has its own symbolic meaning is because it is an meaningful act to cut off the gender inequality problem that was a major conflicting point for centuries. By having annual reports and debates, leaders and its people are become more aware of this problem and little by little, they seem to move in some ways.
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Gender equality is important because it is able to protect human rights. Protecting human rights is a key factor to creating a better world for everyone, therefore it is a major project that the United Nations is trying to accomplish. Gender equality will be able to establish the fundamentals of all human rights. If human rights of the two genders are different,, human rights could not be ‘equally’ guaranteed. And with the investment of equalizing the current differences, not only achievement of the SDGs#5, but also an fair world where people are not discriminated based on their sexuality can be ensured.
The first action that is famous for showing this perspective is the founding of UN Women. In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, dedicated for tackling gender inequality, ensuring women and girls around the world their human rights which they certainly deserve to have. UN Women supports the formulation of policies, global standards of the governments internationally. Furthermore, the UN is always ready to provide the right technical and financial support to those countries that request for it. The second action the UN progressed was a uniting movement to back gender equality, HeForShe. This campaign focus on inviting as many men and boys as possible and for them to take up the mantle of freedom of not defining people by what we are. To be a freer individual and be a complete version of themselves, not someone the others have said. Most importantly, to speak up, support the idea that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities will be crucial to support this campaign. 3. Conclusion: Lecturers ideas and thoughts on Gender Equality Through human rights council activities, efforts are made to raise awareness of gender equality and basic human rights for all. Although there are some regions that have hardships on achieving gender equality, as it is mentioned on the SDGs #5, United Nations is looking for a gradual yet sustainable change. Giving more job opportunities for women and allowing all people to have access to sufficient amount of education were some of the key solutions that Mr. Hamid Rashid thinks of.
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Nowadays, the perception of ‘work’ is gradually changing. Being in a building and doing office work is not the only form of ‘Work’. As technology develops, there are variety of ways people can interact to their tasks. For example, during a woman’s maternal leave, paper works are be done by email, and video conference is the solution for contact in emergency. If this kind of working method develops and gradually form a natural working environment. Through this process, gender inequality in the working place may reduce. The employment ratio between men and women does not necessarily have to be 50:50. When it comes to the access to job employment, opportunities must be equally provided for both genders. However, this does not mean that the employment ratio between men and women has to be 50:50 for fairness. It must be based on the person’s effort and ability for the job. It should not be based on a person’s gender, religions, nationality and race. The whole process from employment to payment must be done equally. For the whole process to be done efficiently and thoroughly, breaking the bias perception and prejudice are the tasks for our generation to complete for gender equality. It is our, and our future generations’ task to follow the effort that is being made and establish a world where all people can be accepted equally regardless of their color, gender, and social background 4. Questions Q1. What are the possible solutions to human right violations in the Middle East towards women, due to its religions and its social atmosphere? A1: UN do not have the authority to intervene to change or force other countries. However, UN expects gradual changes when it comes to gender equality. By meaning gradual changes may include raising awareness of the basic human rights that women are supposed to hold through accurate education, and the increase of job opportunities for women. Overall, all these supports may be led by the help of the human rights council.
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Q2. Quotas are one of the biggest solution yet a dilemma that might happen while combating gender inequality, since it can also be a reverse-discrimination towards the other gender. What are some ways that you can think of to solve this dilemma?
A2: Understanding that the capacity of women and men are equal and the flexibility of working, will be important. Nowadays, the environments that you can work is very diverse. You can even work in your house or participate in a conference online. And I think having fair system of recruitment and diversity in work is very important for gender equality. Yet, we must not forget that recruiting ‘best’ workers should always come into consideration. So it is a complicated issue and like you said, dilemma such as the reverse-discrimination situation can happen. So to address gender inequality regarding recruitment will be a long-term project. Q3. Are there any specific moments that you recall in terms of fighting against gender inequality in policywise? A3. The United Nations is an intergovernmental body for all nations, and it cannot infringe any other nation’s sovereign rights. That is why the United Nations cannot do anything direct in terms of dealing with domestic state’s policies. However, what the United Nations is capable of doing is advocating and supporting an act that is happening. For instance, if there is an uprise of people going for gender equality, the United Nations is able to support those organizations and give interest. By providing these supports in tangable and intangable ways, the United Nations is trying its best in order to fight against gender inequality. Q4. What is the concept of ‘gender equality’’ that you think of? A4. I personally think that there are mainly 3 ways in order to achieve gender equality; access wise, process wise, and outcome wise. By access wise, I mean having the same opportunity between the two genders. By starting at the same starting line, I believe that this is the moment when true meritocracy can be established. The second way is being equal in terms of the process. Blind-testing can be a great example when trying to establish equality in the process of being evaluated. The final step to establish gender equality is having equal outcomes. By equal outcomes, it means that not having the same results, but rather having the same consequences when
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going through it. This may involve trying to eliminate glass ceilings in the workplace, and helping women in policy-wise, maternity leave for example.
References “International Women’s Day” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Nov. 2018, ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/internaitonal_women’s_day. “Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/. Kamrany, Nake M., and Catherine Robinson. “The Global Problem of Gender Inequality.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 June 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/nake-mkamrany/gender-inequality_b_1417535.html. “Great Moments In The History Of Gender Equality .” Esquire, Esquire, 11 Dec. 2017, www.esquire.com/uk/culture/news/a9675/gender-equality-history-moments/. Jackson, Robert Max. “Seminar: What Causes Gender Inequality?” NYU, www.nyu.edu/classes/jackson/causes.of.gender.inequality/#II. “Background , History of Universal Declaration of Human Rights : Youth For Human Rights Video.” Black History Month Feature: Alvin Ailey - Genius Choreographer and Human Rights Activist, www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/background-of-human-rights.html. “Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/. United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 (Condemning the Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq), S.C. Res. 660, 45 U.N. SCOR at 19, U.N. Doc. S/RES/660 (1990)., World Health Organization, hrlibrary.umn.edu/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-1/short-history.htm. “Gender, Equality, Women, Girls, SDG 5, Sustainable Development, Human Rights, Empowerment, Violence, Harmful Practices, FGM, Human Trafficking.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/spotlight-initiative/. Poo, Ai-jen. “How Women Are Demanding Gender Equality in 2018.” Time, Time, 8 Mar. 2018, time.com/5191419/women-leading-fight-equality-sexual-harassment/. Iversen, Katja. “7 Charts That Show Gender Inequality around the World.” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/charts-gender-inequality-women-deliver. “Why Men Oppress Women.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201208/why-men-oppress-women. “SDG 5: Gender Equality.” United Nations, in.one.un.org/page/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-5/. “UN Women: The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/youthenvoy/2013/07/un-women-the-united-nations-entity-for-gender-equality-and-theempowerment-of-women/.
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Delivering Thank You Letter to Mr.Hideki Matsuno from UN Office for Disarmament Affairs
1. Introduction UNODA (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs) was established in 1998. And today, under the high representative of UNODA is Izumi Nakamitsu,this organization works for disarmament which is action of reducing or abolishing certain types of weapons. The main category that the UNODA is dealing with are weapon of mass destruction (WMD), Conventional arms, Regional disarmament, Transparency and confidence building, and other disarmament issues. They also deal with other issues. What means by other disarmament issues? They are the newly upcoming agendas the current international society is facing. For example, they deal with issues of missiles (mostly about missiles which doesn’t have WMD attached to it), killer robots, weaponization of outer space, and other issues like disarmament and development, disarmament education and Terrorism. 1-1. What is Disarmament and Why it is important? As you can see in the name of UNODA, disarmament is the thing that basically UNODA have to do. Disarmament is reducing, abolishing and limiting weapons. And it is regarded as a essential part to achieve sustainable development, quality of life and protect human rights. It is because the weapons of mass destruction or conventional arms they have possibility to use for genocide that infringe human rights, no matter how small the weapon is, they can hurt people. Importance of disarmament has been emphasized after many people was killed and damaged because of a lot of large scale war like world war. Aforementioned, UNODA wants to prevent abusing of weapons of mass destruction and Conventional arms. And if we make this goal come true, we can prevent millions of innocent lives taken away by the battle that have to use various weapons. 1-2. Goal of the UNODA UNODA is organized with 4 branches ,Weapons of Mass Destruction, Conventional Arms, Information and Outreach branch, and Regional disarmament branch which are located in Geneva, Vienna, Lima, Lome, and
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Kathmandu for help the regional disarmament effectively. They promote the global norms of disarmament, which can be divided into three, ‘First, Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Second, strengthening of the disarmament regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, lastly, disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, especially landmines and small arms, which are the weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts’. 2. Major Issues 2-1. Terrorism Terrorism is one of the most significant problems in the world. As mentioned in the WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction), terrorism can cause a great loss of life. In 2013, Kenya’s shopping mall had a terror. Al-Shabaab (the name of the terrorist group) terrorists said they committed the attacks in protest of the Christian country’s dispatch of troops to Somalia. As the result of this terrorism, 72 people were dead, and 200 people were hurt. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When we look at the news, nearly every day, we face the news of terror and the massive loss of human lives. It is a serious issue, but what makes this issue more complicated is the transparency of this case. We don’t know how much weapons they have out there, and how they received those weapons. Why is this a problem? Terrorism can be compared to fighting with invisible or unknown enemies. Knowing how much force they have is the key to prevent and prepare for their attacks. However, we can’t track all the movements of illegal weapons, and because of that it is hard to prevent it.
2-2. Killer Robots Killer robot is another aspect UNODA (United Nations of Office for Disarmament Affairs) handles. The term of killer robots means eliminating enemies on the battlefield by throwing grenades or firing guns, as humans have programmed, through mechanical judgment without emotion. Killer robots are very efficient in combat
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situation and secretly assassinating someone because there are no dangers for loss of human lives and there are much less variations for mistakes of human. Although the seriousness isn’t up to the surface, killer robots have various problems. They don’t have an authority taking responsibility for the risk. Also the safety of robots are very low, therefore is not possible to sure that the robot might misfunction and cause big damages to us, and by the cause of that, it could cause mass destruction. It has lots of risk but this is still a new and unfamiliar issue. Consequently, events about killer robots did not occur that much, and the resolution for the issue is still a workin-progress. There are currently many movements to prevent the future disaster. There are technical issues, however, constant meetings are held and many people with diverse majors, argues and gathers for a resolution. 3. Nuclear Disarmament When we hear the word disarmament, diverse keywords such as weapons, terrorism, and nuclear may come into your head. In 2018, the most famous and the most uprising issue of disarmament is ‘Nuclear Disarmament’. The withdrawal from the JCPA by president Trump, North Korea related historical agreements and meetings were some of the hottest subjects that the whole world was focusing on. And that is why this report focuses on mostly Nuclear Disarmament.
3-1. Severity of Nuclear Weapons Since the World War II, nuclear weapons has been a big issue and a huge concern for the international society. On August 6, 1945, The United States dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and wounded or killed 130,000 lives. After a day, US drops another bomb at Nagasaki killing about 74,000 people. The mass destruction that it can give is already proven. However, that tragedy happened 75 years ago. There has been more development in technology, and the current nuclear weapon can give way more damage than the WWII. The bomb itself has a massive impact but in addition to that, the impact of the left over radioactive materials are also harmful. It constantly damages the ecosystem and those damages comes right back to us. The recent and the Chernobyl
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nuclear power plant explosion explains it all. This potential risks still exists, which makes the international society in deep concerns and threatens the international peace. 3-2. Iran Nuclear issue From the 1950s, Iran was constantly interested to nuclear technology. By the support of US, Iran received technical help by Atoms for peace program. Since then, there has been constant changes of diplomatic progress, and in February 2006, Iran resumed its enrichment of fissile materials which led to sanctions. There has been many efforts after that, and by 2018, both the Joint Plan of Action (2013) and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015) had been signed by the P5+1, Iran, and the IAEA. This movement showed hope for denuclearizing and stopping the wants of Iran in developing nuclear weapons. A. Recent Situations On May, 8, 2018, Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from the JCPOA and added harsh sanctions to Iran. The tension suddenly became high, and there were more worries about outbreaks of wars. Most of the European countries who belongs to the EU tried to preserve the JCPOA. They believe that the JCPOA is the essential key for denuclearizing Iran and the continuing international peace. However, in return, the US came up with a harsher word, saying that they will isolate the opposing countries. The UN Secretary General Antรณnio Guterres expressed deep concerns about the issue, and said that he will be reinstating US sanctions. He added that the JCPOA represents one of the greatest achievement of denuclearization.
B. Resolution The US believes that harsh sanction is the most effective way for denuclearizing Iran and the EU is facing them to preserve the issue. As said before, many country believes that the JCPA plays an essential role for the denuclearization of Iran. Iran is open to implement the nuclear related regulations unless the left over countries implement their promise, and persuade US to enter JCPA again. Mainly the EU has plans for the withdrawal of
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the US. The EU is trying to preserve the JCPA by implementing a special vehicle to overcome US sanctions on Iranian oil. All remaining P5+1 release a joint statement to get JCPA ongoing. In addition, the remaining P5+1 countries and Iran managed to effectively overcome the harsh economic penalties of US. Although there has been an abrupt change there are all kinds of different efforts going on to preserve the agreement. One resolution Iran has to transport oil with ships which has a different flag, turning of their tracking devices, sailing different routes to throw away sanctioning nations of their scent. 3-3 North Korean Nuclear Issues One of the really hot issues currently and an issue that every South Koreans are aware of is the North Korean nuclear issue. This is also the most asked question that South Koreans get when they go out for a trip. This means that this is a global issue, and it should be, because the technology they have in their hands can attack mostly all the continent. North Korean nuclear issue is not just an East Asian issue. They can attack the entire continent except South America. A. Current Situation From the starting of 2018, there have been many movements in denuclearizing Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Under misbelieves and doubts of the international society, meetings were held and plans were made. Many movements such as Singapore Summits and Panmunjom Declaration, which were not imaginable from the past, were made; however, the reality of the denuclearization of DPRK is not as surprising as we think. The current process of denuclearization is very unclear, which means that there are not much concrete actions from DPRK. North Korea didn’t keep their promises of destroying the Punggye-ri nuclear site, disarming nuclear weapons or missiles and other regulations they promised to implement. B. Approaches for Solution The main countries that are actively interacting with the current issue are US, South Korea, Japan and China (+Russia). The European countries are mostly supporting the America’s idea for denuclearizing. Then what are the existing main Ideas for the denuclearization of DPRK? It can be largely divided into two: lifting of sanctions before or after the concrete actions of DPRK. The US and Japan with some agreement of some European countries, supports lifting the sanctions after concrete actions from NK. Japan is the only country that has been atomic bombed and they are very aware of the impact it can give. Japan is going hard to this issue to quickly abolish the potential threat. European countries also follow the view of Japan. Although they are not much into this issue, they basically want to achieve the international peace. China and Russia shares the same vision. China is one of the biggest supporter of North Korea, however, they also shows their wants of denuclearization of NK. The denuclearization of North Korea isn’t just about taking
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away nuclear weapons away from them. The cause of the denuclearization, indeed, includes the maintenance of international peace, but more than that it means that the US army can approach very closely to China. In addition, it causes taking away nuclear weapons which leads to no persuadable reasons for placing THAAD in South Korea, taking away the present key power of the leader of NK, the prevention of the conflict in the Korean Peninsula, and the removal of the potential risks of Eastern Asia. China has a task to both stay n a friendly position with Kim and support the denuclearization. China thinks that adjustments of sanctions are needed for the process of denuclearization and condemns independent sanctions. Russia normally throw votes and follows the idea of China. C. Possible Resolution Inside these diverse approaches, there are certainly various resolutions and regulations that are implemented by countries to solve the issue. Various meetings are held to have a negotiation and share thoughts, sanctions exist as North Korea isn’t a hundred percent trustworthy when seeing past actions, and inviting DPRK to come into a treaty so that countries can have the authority to force a certain regulation and keep monitoring for a verifiable denuclearization. 4. The Stance of the ROK regarding the issues (Joosung Kim) The following is an illustration and an abstract explanation of the stance of the Republic of Korea. 4.1 Small Arms Issues There are many issues regarding the UNODA’s interest towards the disarmament of biological, chemical, and light and small arms issues. These, however, are not eminent issues that are faced by the ROK, for there are no current civil wars, small arms issues of civilians, or biological and chemical assaults (this was why the latest document related to small arms was in 2006). Still, due to the ROK’s duty as a member country of the UN, its stance must be told, which is why it will be illustrated below. Consequently, the most urgent issue is that the Korean government must solve is the North Korean Nuclear Crisis. There are 600 million small and light arms around the world, and with the constant accumulation of armed supplies will spontaneously increase the casualties caused by these deadly weapons. The ROK supports past conclusions and policies made related to small arms. With a no weapon domestic policy unless for hunting games, the casualties of small arms are lower than the average of the UN member countries. With a no weapon domestic policy unless for hunting games, the casualties of small arms are lower than the average of the UN member countries. 4.2 Views of the ROK on Nuclear For the North Korean Nuclear Crisis between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, although the tensions have once again been lifted by the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit between Kim Jong-Un and Moon Jae-In, judging from the aftermath of the 2000 Inter-Korean Summit between Kim Jong-Il and Kim Dae-Jung, there is a slight possibility that the tensions will once again rise from the surface. Like all major issues and topics, there are two sides to this crisis in domestic measures: the left wing, who says that there is still time to negotiate and solve this nuclear crisis, and the right wing, who strongly believes that there’s no other way than forcing them to abandon all nuclear weapons, without any means of negotiation whatsoever. a.
Stance of the Left Wings
On the left side of this conflict, they believe that there’s still time to negotiate with the North Koreans: with a strong force unleashed upon the North Koreans, according to President Trump’s quote, “be met with fire and
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fury like the world has never seen,” the North Korean government may retaliate, not reconsider its nuclear plan. Sure, it will be great for the whole world if the North gives up its nuclear weapons. For a country whose main cornerstone of its existence is from the availability of the nuclear weapons, there will be almost no chance of the North Koreans to subside its radical nuclear agenda. The left wing’s plan of a peaceful neutralization of nuclear disarmament may be the best case scenario, but there must be a consideration in place of how likely the plan will be: if it fails, there will be dire consequences throughout the world.
b.
Stance of the Right Wings
On the other hand, while the right wing’s idea of a forceful mandate may be appraised as a charismatic and politically advantageous solution, for it is the chance that the ROK may demonstrate to the world their political power; their acts of North Korea’s denuclearization can be a significant pinpoint of world history. However, it is also highly unlikely: if this was applicable from the first place, there’s no reason to even deal with the situation in general. The reason why the issue is so complicated is because out of all efforts made by the UN and the ROK, the DPRK didn’t even budge to falter back its nuclear development. From a country without the technology to even create a nuclear weapon now has the equipment of aiming the missile towards U.S. mainland, a rapid progress of nuclear technology development. Putting these events into account, the right wing must not forcefully unleash the powers, threatening the DPRK government, since it failed throughout history. c.
Current ROK’s Political Stance
The current obligation of the Moon presidency is more likely left-winged, judging from his past career as a politician and the joint-Korean Olympics team, along with the joint-Korean summit in 2018. However, there are concerns about a possible failure of these policies, according to history, from the past presidency policies like the Sunshine Engagement Policy. These will be hardship that the Moon presidency will have to deal with.
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4.3 ROK’s Stance of the Nuclear Disarmament Issue This is an abstract of the stance of the ROK towards the Nuclear Disarmament Issue of the UN. The ROK is a strong advocate of nuclear disarmament, under the FMCT (Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty), the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) in 1995, and the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty) in 1996. The ROK also agrees on selectively planning a realistic treaty to commence the FMCT as soon as possible. Based on past decisions withheld by the FMCT, A regulation is required to compel countries to voluntarily cease the production of nuclear materials of weaponry. For the treaty to exercise its true potential, the ROK also support the use of GGE (Group of Governmental Experts) to enforce countries to follow the treaty. For stockpiles of fissile materials currently existing, the ROK believes that the issue must be considered after the formation of the treaty. The ROK, recognizing the existence of the FMCT, would also like to include further regulations, such as the prohibition of the production of nuclear weapons and the transfer and purchase of fissile items. This inclusion in the treaty will not only eradicate initially created nuclear weapons but also cease the ongoing production of these deadly materials. If this treaty is put in place, the world will be more secure and safe from nuclear threats. Due to the absence of the specific definition of a fissile material, it may be wise to declare the meaning so that future avoidance of the regulation is inevitable. Peaceful fissile materials like nuclear power plants are, due to its positive intentions of production. The production of these types of materials must not be hindered by the FMCT in general.
It is also important for the five Nuclear Weapon States (the U.S., the Russian Federation, the U,K, France, and China) to participate in the FMCT: without their assistance, the whole plan will become nothing, for without the cooperation of the five countries with the most nuclear weapons, the newly made policy will be left as a stalemate. Moreover, in order to strengthen the coercion of the policy, there must be an instant declaration of a moratoria, so that the plan can be commenced at the demanded time.
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5. Questions (Ingun Hwang) Q1. How’s the progression on disarming DPRK’s nuclear weapon? A1. First, I must say that I’m not an expert of this topic. Progress concerned with this issue has been made, since the leaders of the DPRK and US had already met last year. From my personal view, not an official position of UN, in the last few months, the tone of the DPRK seems to prove that things may not be going as well as what was to be in June. The view for the practicality of denuclearization steps is not optimistic, but in the long run it is UN’s role to provide dialogue and lead their disarmament. Q2. It is hard to identify the exact status of armory terrorist groups have because their storage places are often kept in secret. Is it really impossible to track down their armory status, or are there any ways to find it out? A2. Their activities and armory status are hard to grasp, but as far as we are concerned, there are two ways to track them down. First is to monitor the legal movement of weapons. Member states usually report their weapons status to UN, and armory must be registered by the UN. The council reflect this information into the database. The second one is to track illegal ones. Although UNODA is not currently in charge of this task, a consultant hired by UNODA in the past now had set up his own entity and is working on it. Truly, apprehending the quantity of illegal weapons is not really comprehensive, and there is still a long way to go over it. Q3. I want to ask about killer robots, because the topic is somewhat futuristic, and we don’t know for sure what is being done to solve this issue. What is UNODA currently doing to approach this work? A3. I must say that killer robots are not something that Hollywood movies have created, not a science fiction thing. It can be any device that has minimum level of human control that attack or kill people. Such machines not so sophisticated, but including basic conductors for extermination are a problem. The issue is hinged upon the extent of human control in these devices. If military leaders use this kind of remote attacking devices and if they are conducted for operational uses, unemotional wars will accompany inevitable deaths of innocent and wounded civilians. Risks increase as less constraints exist. Though the progress is very slow, meetings and conferences in Geneva are held now.
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Q4. In disarmaments, there will be some deadlock situations. Are there some strategies or know-hows to break the ice and lead it to a consensus? A4. Many discussions about nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons are held constantly at different locations, and due to the UN’s powerless existence in this field of issue, other countries holding the meeting usually avoid inviting the UN; consequently, the UN is unable to comment and provide insights of the issue. There are occasions when the member states struggle to reconcile from past conflicts, so negotiations are hardly ever met to a conclusion. However, if these deadlocks are broken, these negotiations met to a resolution, even if they don’t affect the countries at the moment, at a long-term vision it will yield a positive result. The tactics performed by the committee are usually consulted by the chairman. Most of what they do is helping the chairman help member states receive support. What is most important is to recognize the issues. For example, NPT distinguished nuclear and non-nuclear countries. During the treaty’s adjustment, conflict existed as nuclear countries kept bargained its power while non-nuclear ones asserted disarmament. This conflict situation is the same for conventional arms issue and others. Q5. United States has unilaterally withdrew from JCPOA, and strong sanctions are exerted to Iran now. I want to ask your personal opinion about this issue and your thoughts. A5. Trump’s true intention about this decision is difficult to grasp. He may have well thought out plans and instead of looking only at the nuclear stuff, a wider view of the diplomatic context can be considered. U.S.’s internal domestic policy could be linked, too. It could be a policy intended to please his own supporters. Even though it may not be a benefit to the US entirely, but it may be beneficial to certain groups. We must not just evaluate policy in isolation, but observe it in a wider view, domestically and in a foreign way. Q6. Are there any measures UNODA is currently acting to solve the conventional arms issues? A6. With crimes, small armory is concerned. Major problems happen on many regions like Latin America and Caribbean places, specifically slum and deprived areas. Steps such as trying to limit weapons to be carried on hand should be done in a global rate. But first, the level of intervention should be set, and further actions like hampering rate in use and collaborating different sectors of gun regulation can follow. (Reference: https://www.un.org/disarmament/about/)
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A group photo with Mr. Arasu. J from UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
- A Study on UN Career from Lecture by Arasu.J, the United Nations Population Fund Ⅰ. Introduction By. Jung Hyeok Yang, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul 1. What is UNFPA? UNFPA stands for United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA is the works in more than 150 countries. The country supports the idea of UNFPA. UNFPA’s idea is based on SDGs 3 and 5. The ideas are every pregnancy wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s work is based on that all people can have equal rights and protection. UNFPA focuses on helping or support on women and young people because these are the group that has weak ability to exercise their right to sexual and reproductive health. For example, women get sexual harassment generally around the world, and the young child gets kidnapped because they have no power to resist. Like these reasons, women and young people need help most, so UNFPA focused on them. Some country doesn’t like UNFPA sometimes because UNFPA is trying to make gender equality society, but some states have social thinking, so they have opposite idea. For example, some country female can’t meet with male and male can’t comply with female so some countries don’t want UNFPA’s idea. 2. History of UNFPA UNFPA was originally introduced to the UN Population Activity Fund. The fund began with a trust fund in July 1967. Its administration has been delegated to the UN development program. In 1972, the program was placed
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under the authority of the General Assembly, and the new party board was appointed its governing body. In 1987, the name was changed to the United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA plays a unique role within the UN system. It is responsible for solving the population and development problems. They emphasize reproductive health and gender equality. Much of the fund's construction comes from its ICPD action plan as well as its Millennium Development Goals. The fund receives policy guidance from the Economic and Social Committee, also known as ECOSOC, and from the Conference. The fund works closely with other development organizations such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNDP, and UNAIDS. The UNFPA presents five main goals: universal access to sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health, increased birthrights, reduced maternal mortality, accelerated progress on ICPD agenda and MGD. In addition, they advocate human rights and gender equality. UNFPA helps governments conduct analyses on topics such as censorship, population and development studies, migration, aging, climate change, and urbanization nationwide. UNFPA works with the government, other UN agencies, local communities, NGOs, foundations, and the private sector to increase awareness and mobilize support and resources to complete its mission. In 2007, UNFPA decentralized its operations and became a more field-oriented, efficient, and strategic partner to perform actual and critical tasks on the site. In 2011, the UNFPA was reorganized. The center of their plan is based on enhancing their rights to sexual and reproductive health by accelerating their progress to MGD aimed at improving maternal health. They recently focused on reducing maternal deaths and achieving universal access to reproductive health, including access to family planning and female family planning methods. At this time, the UNFPA is trying to improve the lives of the poor population, especially women and young people. They are trying to achieve this through their expertise in demographic, human rights, and gender equality.
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Ⅱ. Summary of lecture By. Eun Ji Hwang, Jeonbuk Foreign Language High School UNFPA is delivering a world every pregnancy is wanted every childbirth is sage and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. SDGs 3 good health and well-being for people, and 5 gender equality are their focusing issues. 1. Are you ready to go out there to help them? He explained some of the experiences. Nepal, he did e mergency reliefs in there. Local people at suffer massive flood in the area so UNFPA had been ask to help in coordinate some response. They gave some food items to women and children. Other work pla ce in UN is Diplomatic and fancy but not in field, getting dirty, many people just need help. After hel ping Nepal, He got suggestions some of needed countries like South Sudan, Congo, and he went to Af ghanistan, worn a cloth cover whole body. There were so many obstacles such as he tracked in the roa d, drive about 17 hours to get there. Really tough t work but that kind of place need help. 2. Where can I go? Many people wondering about the place that they would go but that is wrong. We should consider where do they need me? For example, flooding or other natural disaster been happened. When the flood been happened in Nepal, UNFPA help them with NGO named Red cross the local experts. Building a sustainability in local. 3. Who we are? Our staff works in around 150 countries that are home to 80 percent of world’s population. UNFPA is one of the organization that well-balanced gender equality which are consisted with 51% female and 49% male staff. Also, we work with approximately 2,500staff members from 190 different nationalities. The IP (International Professional) staff are composed of 52% North and 48% south people. It means that hiring south people are ultimately about hiring a lot of people from developing countries to achieve balance and cooperation for help diversity. There are different opportunities like G.P and language staff. Contract type is fixed term temporary IC and consultant.
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4. Working with local leader? Working with local leader can be expressed by let them lead. In field the common conflict caused by culture differences. To solve the problem, we have to be start over by understanding their culture. In his experience, when he finished the field working term, the picture that he had been taken with local people, there were no woman only just man covered all space. Therefore, the solution can be taking a local female to teach women, understand the culture. 5. Job opportunities at the UN secretariat? There are different opportunities like G.P and language staff. Contract type is fixed term temporary IC and consultant. However, the most well- known U.N careers are YPP, UNV, and Internship program. First of all YPP is called Yong professional program that recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career asana international civil servant with the United Nations Secretariat. It consists of an entrance examination and professional development program once successful candidates star their career with the UN. The examination is held once a year and is open to nationals of countries participating in the annual recruitment exercise. Secondly, UNV (United Nations Volunteers program contributes to peace and development through volunteerism whole world. They work with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well-supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism. They work in some 130 countries empowering communities and helping to build sustainable live hoods and lasting development. Being a UN Volunteer is not a career it is also not an entry route to the United Nations. It is however rich with opportunities and experience and offers huge personal rewards. Lastly Internship program is to give you a first-hand impression of the day-to-day working environment of the United Nations. They will be given a real chance to work with our people. As part of team, working directly with outstanding and inspiring career professionals and senior management. Money is not given to members but to give opportunities for helping people achieve their dream. Ⅲ. The UNFPA’s relief operations By. Seung Jae Lee, Sehwa High School 1. What the UNFPA does What UNFPA does can be divided into three main categories? There are three things the UNFPA does: to ensure freedom of pregnancy, to ensure maternal health, to develop and support the potential for children and adolescents. So, what kind of activities did the UNFPA recently do? 2. UNFPA's recent assistant activities A. Activities in Yemen First, the UNFPA conducted rescue activities in the area of the civil war in Yemen in April 2016. "At that time, Yemen had 3.4 million fertile women threatened with life because of civil war," the UNFPA said. And the UNFPA said the Yemeni civil war has 21 million emergency relief workers, half of which are women and girls, and almost half of them, especially women aged 15 to 49 who are pregnant and have to give birth within the next nine months. And the situation at that time was almost all medical services were suspended due to the civil war in Yemen, which left about 15.2 million people unable to access all medical facilities, including the temple. About 1,000 mothers out of 68,000 pregnant women who are subject to life threats due to the lack of medical facilities and medical supplies are likely to die. Against this backdrop, the UNFPA started to provide first aid to 38 hospitals nationwide, including first-aid maternity facilities, drugs, and medical equipment despite the dangerous situation in the region and difficulties in entering. In particular, a set of medical devices and surgical equipment was expected to help some 453,000 fertile women give birth safely at home. In addition, they sent more than 100,000 sets of support equipment for vulnerable women across 19 administrative regions of Yemen, and dispatched a medical support vehicle team with agents to handle post-birthday medical assistance, family
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planning, and safe delivery education. In particular, the recently launched Yemeni humanitarian response team will continue to provide $15.6 million in aid to vulnerable women related to childbirth and sexual violence. B. Activities in North Korea So are the UNFPA's aid activities all about Yemeni activity? No. The UNFPA is paying attention to North Korea besides Yemen. In fact, the UNFPA put $2.4 million into North Korea in 2016 to focus on maternity health and population development. It also added a maternity course to North Korean universities to help give birth to pregnant women. The first of the UNFPA's North Korean business plans is a "birth and health" project for the health of mothers and infants. The main content of the project is to examine and treat cervical cancer, to perform syphilis tests on pregnant women, and to support family planning products such as birth control pills. Currently, 11 cities and counties are operating. In addition, oxytocin and magnesium are supported throughout the country to reduce maternal mortality and increase child survival. The UNFPA says it is also working with the North Korean Education Committee to set up a maternity course in a North Korean university. Second, the UNFPA's second focus is on the 'population development' of North Korea to improve its data generation and usage. The UNFPA said it established the Department of Demographic Statistics to ensure that the university is in line with international standards and provided the necessary education for its faculty members. We are also providing assistance to strengthen the capabilities of the North's Central Statistics Bureau and the Population Center to survey. In addition, the UNFPA announced that it will provide necessary medicine to 130,000 mothers and strengthen its ability to respond to disasters such as natural disasters with 700,000 U.N. dollars of emergency aid provided by the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund.
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Ⅳ. Questions By. Geon Woo Choi, Anyang Foreign Language High School Q1: Have you ever been out in the field and worked in person? If you have worked, how do you feel and what’s the most urgent thing to solve? A1: I have been in Afghanistan and Nepal. If you are in the field, you can see what is happening. I grew up in New York, but I knew where needed the help while working on the field. For example, it was too far from hospitals and other medical institutions. They had no car, so they rode a wagon or a cow. The most urgent thing to solve is SDGs 17 goals, designated by UN. Q2: The UNFPA is trying to solve women’s equality issues. Nowadays, feminism and the activities of feminists are the issues around the world, How do you feel about this? A2: Gender equality, SDG 5. Then UNFPA works on SDG 3 and SDG 5, We work on gender base violence. We can be attacked anywhere. Especially, women in refugee camps are more dangerous. For instance, Bread and money are common in refugee camps. Men also trade them for cigarettes. They give food to women and sleep together in tents. Safety and refugees are always a difficult problem for us, UNFPA. Q3: Are residents living on the field cooperative with UNFPA? Isn’t there a time to show an uncooperative attitude, claiming that it is their culture? A3: It was Afghanistan, Afghanistan culture is very proud culture. They were not always appreciate UN being there. They have been at war for 30 to 40 years, and due to the war, various groups and countries, including the United States and the United Nations, have been in Afghanistan. It is a matter of political balance. Q4: IF the problems that the UNFPA is trying to solve are actually almost solved, what impact would it have on the world and how much?
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A4: What is better than that, Awesome! Right? The UNFPA's goal is gender equality and make discrimination zero. They have all the rights, such as being guaranteed an opportunity and having the right to decide. If UNFPA's goal is realized, I think the world will change considerably. This is because number 5 of SDGs will be resolved. Q5: Has there been a conflict in the past between the program that the UNFPA is trying to do and the direction that the U.S government seeks? IF so, how did UNFPA solve it. A5: OF course, all time. UNFPA is always concerned with sensitive issues. Different culture different countries, and different ideas are always sensitive, sometimes very religious and very Catholic. That is why UNFPA is always in conflict. Q6: What would you describe in one word the experience of working at the United Nations? A6: Blossom. What do you think my major is in college? Math? English Literature? Medicine? I graduated from engineering. This is not relevant to the UNFPA now working. But now I'm working for UNFPA and I think this experience is ‘Blossom’ Q7: What was the hardest experience working at UNFPA? A7: My first job was in Nepal. There were two choices. Nepal and Somalia. There was virtually no choice, and I chose Nepal. Everyone knows why Somalia is not chosen and I won't tell you. It was my best bet. There were some people who used cows or wagons because there were no cars in Nepal, and it was very difficult due to temperature and humidity. It was 38.5 degrees Celsius for two to three months, and I couldn't sleep well. I was ten pounds less than I am now.
Participant Reflection Junghyeok Yang, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul What I felt as I listened to this talk was that the issue of women's rights is still serious, and we need to help poor country what they need. Listening to the lecture, I found a solution to the problems. The solution to the problems is investigate what they need and will help them. The solution to the problem of women's rights is protects women's safety by increasing their safety in daily life. Eunji Hwang, Jeonbuk Foreign Language High School: This lecture really inspired me with great inspiration, help, and motivation. Especially, I am very interested in developing countries, so I want to make various policies for developing countries when I grow up and provide humanitarian assistance to them. The speaker later told me to go to the country where I need to, rather than ch oose the country I want to go, as a person with various field experience. He also told them to come up with sol utions that they want and need, not solutions that I want to give them. These words helped me correct what I h ad been mistaken about and told me what kind of mindset I should be dealing with people in need. It was a gre at experience and valuable time to me. ‘Change the world for everyone to live in better home. Seung Jae Lee, Sehwa High School I have been interested in the United Nations for a long time, so I have been looking for a number of issues tha the U.N. deals with, but the UNFPA is an unfamiliar organization and I did not know them in detail. But this t alk has taught us what the UNFPA is trying to solve and what the UNFPA is currently looking at. Especially, I think it was a very valuable time to hear information that is not available on the Internet and valuable informa tion that would otherwise be heard by experts. Thanks to this lecture, I became more interested in UNFPA, wh ich I had never known before, and I wanted to study UNFPA more professionally by majoring in UN in univer sity.
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Geonwoo Choi, Anyang Foreign Language High School It was a special experience for me to come to the United Nations headquarters in New York, listen to lectures and write reports. After hearing Arasu. J’ s lecture from UNFPA, I wrote a report, which was quite interesting from the beginning. For example, from his experience at the field like Nepal and Afghanistan and I have heard a lot about the UN career, which is usually hard to hear, and it was very beneficial. I was able to ask questions and hear answers that I wondered, which was very attractive. Especially, it was a great help because it was an experience that no one could get if they weren't working at the U.N. The one thing I'm sorry to say is that I haven't asked many questions. If there is another chance, I will ask more questions what I wondered. But of course, I still have a good experience and I’m quite satisfied.
References https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%9C%A0%EC%97%94_%EC%9D%B8%EA%B5%AC_%EA%B8 %B0%EA%B8%88 https://www.unfpa.org/how-we-work# https://www.unfpa.org/frequently-asked-questions# https://www.unfpa.org/16-stories https://borgenproject.org/history-of-the-unfpa/ https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=VOL&lang=en-US https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=SJ&exp=INT&level=0&location=All&occup=0&dep artment=All&bydate=0&occnet=0 https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=NCE&lang=en-US https://www.unfpa.org/ https://yemen.unfpa.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Population_Fund https://www.unfpa.org/resources/unfpa-humanitarian-response-yemen-2018 http://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201809131616781753 https://www.voakorea.com/a/3240567.html
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Main Program (2) Yale University Model UN XLV Program Curriculum Date
Jan 17
Jan 18
Jan 19
Time
MUN Schedules
13:30 - 15:30
Yale University Art Gallery Tour
15:30 - 16:30
Delegation Registration
16:30 - 18:00
International Delegation Reception
19:00 - 20:00
Opening Ceremony
20:30 - 23:00
Committee Session ①
10:30 - 12:00
Yale Day ①
13:00 - 15:00
Yale Day ②
15:00 - 16:00
Yale Showcase
16:30 - 18:30
Committee Session ②
19:15 - 23:15
Committee Session ③
09:30 - 12:30
Committee Session ④
13:15 - 16:00
Committee Session ⑤
15:45 – 18:00
Committee Session ⑥
20:00 - 23:00
Delegate Dance
09:00 - 12:30
Committee Session ⑦
12:30 - 13:30
Closing Ceremony
Jan 20
MUN aims to provide delegates with an unforgettable experience, both inside and outside the committee room. Through our programming, delegates will engage deeply with Yale’s professors, students and resources. As for the Yale Day that is going to be held on the 2nd day of the event, students are invited to attend Master Lectures with Yale professors, explore Yale’s campus with a guided tour, or try a new activity with Yale’s student extracurricular organizations. Delegates can also have lunch with Yale professors and students and attend our College Admissions Panel.
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Position Paper Hyeonjik Go, Pusan Foreign Language High School President Carter’s War Room, Hamilton Jordan (Chief of Staff)
“We must not repeat this kind of disaster in this present situation. We must decide which action to take on to reach a resolution and accomplish our goals.”
“1979 Iranian Revolution” Around the start of 1900s Iran and United States gets associated based on oil sales. US depended hugely on Iranian oil fields for the use throughout the Country. The Shah who tried to improve Iran with the act of ‘White Revolution’ was opposed and exiled out of the country. In 1979 on Nov 4th begins the Iranian revolution where 63 people at the American embassy in Tehran were taken as hostages by Iranians demanding the return of the Shah to face trial.
As a Chief of Staff the primary goal for this committee I believe should be returning those 63 American hostages unharmed from the Iranian holds. In order to seek out the diplomatic solution, the core shall be figuring out what the Iranians call for. Iranians are asking for Shah to return and face the crimes he did and get the trials for what he has done. However we cannot be promised with the safe release of the hostages so I recommend that this committee find a diplomatic way of solving this Crisis. The original idea of this revolution was of hostility towards Westernization and the programs done by Shah. I believe in order to reach a peaceful settlement between Iran and the US there needs to be a sort of forum to meet the needs of each other. Iran has explicitly violated the Vienna Convention which grants diplomats immunity from arrest and makes diplomatic compounds inviolable. Iranians should be treated as lawbreakers for taking Americans hostages but I believe there can be an agreement to pull this through peacefully. Extraterritoriality meaning that jurisdiction on the foreign territory is claimed on foreign embassies where that countries law takes no power. However, Iranians broke in to our embassy in this case which can be interpreted as an act of defiance to American prestige. As we send out diplomats to foreign countries to represent our president they show no justification over such an act. America in this case does have the ground to work in military action to solve this crisis. If they does start off a military work and show hostility towards the captives it's a prerequisite essential. We must act to maintain America's prestige throughout the World. The specific place American embassy and that the hostages are our diplomats already gives the reason to act upon Iran. They rebelled and kept hostages with the reason of an anti-American sentiment. This harms American prestige as global positioning and needs to be dealt when it comes down to a military conflict. As mentioned above there can be two possible solutions to settle this crisis and preserve America’s prestige. Diplomatically we have the justification that they violated the Vienna Convention that keeps our Embassies safe in foreign countries. Military responses should be taken as mentioned on prerequisite essential situations where they show animosity towards the captives and threatened physically or mentally. 6 years ago Vietnam War which led to severe consequences, many fallen soldiers in battle. We must not repeat this kind of disaster in this present situation. We must decide which action to take on to reach a resolution and accomplish our goals. Either way we cannot be sure which will solve this crisis without further trouble. We do rely heavily on Iran for oil production and to keep in check with Russia. To keep hold of our influence over Europe I believe we must resolve this crisis that is given.
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Chan Yang Kim, Haneul Academy CSW, Philippines
“Prevention of Sexual Violence Against “Not everything will change at once, but as time goes by, there will be a noticeable change compared to the present.”
Women” In order to promote women's human rights, an education platform for gender equality should be established. Philippines has a high graduation rate and a high literacy rate. Through this, it can be thought that the Philippines has a high education rate. However, the Philippines is not well educated about women's rights or gender equality.
Recently, the Philippine president's sexist remarks were the talk of the town, and both men and women took part in the protests. Therefore, citizens are considered to have a high level of awareness about gender equality. But it also means that there are still people like the president who have wrong perceptions of gender equality and women's rights. Also, there are women who still claim to suffer from violence even though violence against women has decreased before. Therefore, a platform for gender equality and women's rights is necessary. First, the school's education curriculum on gender equality and women's rights should be established by law. Before that, if you think about the history of human rights, the concept of human rights has been around for more than 200 years due to the success of the French Revolution. However, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was declared in 1948. It took time for people to accept the concept of human rights since the concept of human rights emerged. After people adopted the concept of human rights, discrimination against others sharply decreased. Even when the education on women's rights begins, it will take time for people to accept the concept of women's rights. However, the representative of the Philippines thinks that violence and discrimination against women will be gradually reduced, such as the reduction of discrimination against others. Secondly, after schools have implemented education on gender equality and women's rights, the perception of women will be better than it is now. When students begin to learn about gender equality and women's rights, they will feel that women should be treated the same as men. This discrimination will then decrease recently because women are discriminated against compared to men. It will also help improve awareness of women. Violence against women in this society will naturally decrease as people will identify men and women alike. Finally, education about gender equality and women's rights can correct the wrong culture. There are some misguided cultures in the Philippines that lower women's status compared to men and justify violence against women. These cultures make the difference between women's rights and men's rights and make gender equality impossible. But if education can tell us why some part of the culture is wrong, we can correct it. And violence against women will decrease because rectifying culture makes violence against women unprovoked. Also, discrimination against women will decrease. As the Philippine ambassador mentioned, there will be progress in legal, social and cultural areas through education on gender equality and women's rights. Not everything will change at once, but as time goes by, there will be a noticeable change compared to the present.
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Minseok Kim, Pusan Foreign Language High School UNHCR , Belgium
“Rohingya Displacement” “As Anne Frank’s words dictate, there is no need to wait to change the world and offer help to those who need it the most; we can start today.”
“How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world! How wonderful it is that everyone, great and small, can immediately help bring about justice by giving of themselves.” Anne Frank’s perceptive words ring just as true now as they did decades ago; as global citizens, we have a responsibility to give of ourselves to others. Recently, the Muslim minority known as the Rohingya have fallen victim to violence and marginalization from Myanmar’s government and dominant Buddhist group.
The Rohingya originally arrived in Myanmar in the nineteenth century during British Colonial rule; however, despite the Rohingyas relatively historical background in Myanmar, the central government refuses to grant them citizenship forcing the Rohingya to become stateless and endure hardship. As Anne Frank’s words dictate, there is no need to wait to change the world and offer help to those who need it the most; we can start today. The international community has a responsibility to Rohingya refugees, to the countries who host the Rohingya, and to the UNHCR. First, the international community has a responsibility to aid the Rohingya. According to the Daily Star, 2,500 Rohingya refugees were brutally murdered in 2018 alone. However, many countries are refusing to accept the Rohingya and deliver aid, dismissing the Rohingya crisis as inconsequential. The Rohingya crisis shouldn’t be treated as an insignificant issue but as the international crisis that it is. As the number of stateless Rohingya increases, many countries will face problems such as anti-government backlash or an economic recession. Nonetheless, data given by the Human Rights Watch shows how many developed countries and international committees have upped their global assistance? For example, economically prosperous countries such as Turkey and Canada have supported many young Rohingya through education. In Bangladesh, various education centers were created for Rohingya victims and helped train them for job placement. Also, advocacy groups such as Amnesty International criticized the dismissive behaviors of Aang San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s former State Counsellor and raised awareness on violence against the Rohingya. Having a global mindset is necessary to ensure that people all over the world are able to live comfortably. As a few countries and advocacy groups have shown, the international community has just as much of a responsibility because not only are global citizens representatives of their countries, but also of the world. Furthermore, the international community has a responsibility to support the countries that host refugees. A study showed how public expenditures sky-rocketed in Malawi after opening doors to asylum seekers. Similarly, many Rohingya are entering Southeast Asian countries and it will become a financial burden to support them. Last year the World Health Organization warned of Bangladesh’s 1.1 million population, one third being the Rohingya. According to Bangladesh’s government, the country’s resources were continually drying up. To solve this issue, the World Bank raised 25 million dollars and established some 1,200 learning centers and many health clinics for the Rohingya. In Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh), the Golap Child Learning Center educates hundreds of young Rohingya refugees. A teacher at the center stated, “These Children have faced violence in Myanmar but after staying at the learning center, they have come back to their normal life.” By utilizing education, the international community was able to not only work as a positive force for the stateless refugees, but also lessen the burden of Bangladesh’s resources. Similarly, HOPE, a health care advocacy group, provided Rohingya refugees with clean water and essential supplies saving hundreds of Rohingya victims without
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exhausting Bangladesh’s resources. Through this long-term investment, countries will be able to continue providing the Rohingya with support. Finally, as global citizens, we must assist the UNHCR’s efforts toward saving the Rohingya. For decades, the UNHCR has been working to protect refugees and recently airlifted “more than 1,500 metric tons of emergency life-saving aid to Bangladesh” according to a report on Myanmar’s refugee Emergency response. Additionally, the UNHCR has deployed various relief specialists in different regions to aid victims of disease and natural disasters. However, thousands of Rohingya are still being deprived of basic privileges including simple lavatories and clean water. “Emergency aid can only ever be a sticking plaster” stated Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, while speaking on the Rohingya crisis. These numerous efforts toward aiding the Rohingya shouldn’t go unnoticed and the international community has a responsibility to raise awareness on this global issue. In fact, many activists are raising concern on the Rohingya on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Ultimately, global citizens can utilize diverse methods in order to help the UNHCR fight negligence towards the Rohingya refugee crisis. In conclusion, it is crucial for the international community to aid the Rohingya, the host countries, and also raise awareness of the UNHCR’s efforts to health, living conditions and human rights. Even while persecuted, Anne Frank believed in creating a positive change in the world. The global community should follow suit and make an effort to support the Rohingya. The advanced Free Trade Agreement results in more limited access to the European Single market. The EU-Canada agreement does not give tariff-free access to all Canadian manufactured goods, does not cover a number of key service sectors (e.g., audio-visual, air transport), and requires Canada to accept EU rules for exporting to the EU and for quotas on some agricultural exports. In other words, it would allow less access to the EU market than the UK currently enjoys in, for instance, financial services, but would not require the UK to accept the free movement of people or make significant contributions to EU spending.
Seunghyun Kim, KIS Philippines UNESCO, Caritas Internationalis
“Mitigate the drivers of the phenomena is definitely the first way to see the glimmering of a solution to one of the most urgent problems: violent extremism”
“Education as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism” The rise of violent disasters has happened all around the world and been a serious problem that affects the world in several ways. There is certainly no doubt about a current situation that it has long been a subject of debate, or sometimes regret, to the sensible citizens that in spite of a great number of institutions for the education of the poor, and police establishment all around the world, crime should rather increase than diminish.
Hence, it would inevitably true that some conclude from this fact that education to prevent and decease violent extremism through various educational institutions like Caritas are of little or no use. Nevertheless, it is hardly disputable that violence and even violent extremism can develop on and on unless some basic solutions like educating a chance of the vicious cycle of violence are offered. The Caritas works for countries like Iraq and Syria, where one of the most active and biggest terrorist groups under ISIS is located in, while at the same time is inspired by the catholic faith. These could be the reason why we could say that the Caritas heavily depends on and is closely related with the violent crisis such as terrorism. For one thing, we are pretty convinced that the inference of insisting on the uselessness of education is deemed
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to be absurd. As most of us may understand, several could draw the conclusion that increasing crimes shows that education is not working; not considering that although these means may be insufficient to counteract the cause of crime, yet, nevertheless, they must certainly slow the progress of overall crime rate, even of violent extremism. Furthermore, anybody can readily say that if there be many offenders despite these educational institutions, there would certainly be many more offenders if the education for the criminals were not existed. Hence, to neglect the fundamental roles of those educational institutions is unworthy of good sense. On the matter of how modern urban culture should look like in the new China, the aesthetics of contemporary urban Chinese culture is not the essence of our collective march towards proletariat dictatorship. Will it be colorful? Will it be monotonous? Will the buildings be gothic? These questions fail to perceive the quintessence of our socialist agenda. As long as the masses are united in ideology, and stand in solidarity with the centralist principles of the Party's decisions, the aesthetics of modern urban China is of small importance. We must not allow such superficialities divert attention away from the war against imperialism and feudalism. We must learn from precedents set by our Soviet allies and prioritize frugality, practicality and the masses before historic preservation. In the case of the old city walls, if they hinder our socialist urban planning, I shall personally take them down swiftly. Only monuments that retain the impressive history of our communist movement such as the Tiananmen Square should be taken into consideration for preservation. The square is a testament to the proletariat victory against reactionaries and pro-Japanese traitors. Thus, it should be maintained and actively promoted as a place of socialist pride. I also have to stress that our socialist nation must be one that is centralized. Calls for decentralization is reactionary and counter-revolutionary. Individual towns will have limited autonomy, and the committee should design an approval process where these towns can submit proposals for preservation or destruction and urban planning which the central Party will ultimately decide. All things carefully considered, the necessity of education is said to be an irresistible cornerstone to build up the first stair to reach the final destination: to prevent, or at least slow down, violent extremism. Therefore, implementing and promoting EDUCATION as a tool to help learners to realize the contributory factors of violent extremism, to build learners' resilience to violent extremism and to mitigate the drivers of the phenomena is definitely the first way to see the glimmering of a solution to one of the most urgent problems: violent extremism.
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Joosung Kim, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul G20 (Specialized Committee), Michel Temer (Brazil)
“On behalf of the Rohingya Refugees, requests the government of Myanmar to cease all acts of persecution violating human rights. There must be an end to this persecution toward the Muslims during which they can prepare for their evacuation to new shelters.”
“Rohingya Crisis” The Rohingya Refugees are an ethnic Muslim minority group of Myanmar, a country whose major religion is Buddhism. These people, known as “the world’s most persecuted minority,” have been suffering from ongoing systematic violence from the government and Buddhist extremists. This ethnic persecution remains mostly unreported and hidden in the public media, due to the officials of Myanmar restricting any media coverage. Due to this atrocity, the Rohingya Refugees are mounting on boats to their neighboring countries, earning the nickname “boat people”; this voyage is infamous for its high risk and casualties.
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Nevertheless, their flee from Myanmar resulted in an estimated 1,000,000 Rohingyas in Bangladesh, 500,000 in Saudi Arabia, 350,000 in Pakistan, and countless others in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal, according to The Economist. Although these refugees may have found a place to live, their occupied areas are inapt to be called a home: most of them live in captive areas where they are not allowed to get a job or to perform economic activities, leaving their children unavailable to receive proper healthcare or education. These factors urge the UN to take a proper stance and to act against this violence towards the Rohingya minority group. The stance of Brazil is that Myanmar is not a neighboring country and thus the Rohingya crisis does not affect Brazil directly. Brazil shares neither the culture nor the ethnic history of the Rohingyas and does not share and practice their religion. However, Brazil is in favor of supporting the Rohingyas, based on the humanitarianism. Furthermore, Brazil would like to give aid to the Rohingya Refugees. Rohingyas, a Muslim minority group, are not enjoying a safe and comfortable life in the Buddhist-populated Myanmar. It is inevitable, accordingly, for the Rohingya Muslims to evacuate from their original homes. If the evacuation plan requires the financial aid or refugee camps, Brazil is willing to support the plan with a decent measure, ensuring the safekeeping of the refugees, in the boundary of a non-violation policy of Human Rights. Of course, Brazil would like to acknowledge the efforts of the countries mentioned above for their proper actions on the acceptance of the Rohingya refugees. However, considering an estimated 43,000 Rohingya refugees either dead or missing during their flee from Myanmar and after arriving at the countries, the condition of the refugee camps, accordingly, is a crucial factor that causes the high mortality rate; most of the camps are quite insecure and uncomfortable, with a lack of food and water, thereby inappropriate as an ideal shelter. Due to this poor condition of refugee camps, many of the Rohingyas, especially the children, are faced with the situations as dangerous as those under persecution in Myanmar. Brazil, on behalf of the Rohingya Refugees, requests the government of Myanmar to cease all acts of persecution violating human rights towards the refugees, taking humanitarianism into account. Without this measure put in place by Myanmar, the boat people are expected to move continuously on their way to safety, thereby causing even more casualties along the way of this dangerous flee. There must be an end to this persecution toward the Muslims during which they can prepare for their evacuation to new shelters.
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Taeeun Kim, Gimpo Foreign Language High School Historical GA, Upper Volta
“As the attention and participations of nonviolent revolution increases, other countries and governments could gradually become nonaggressive.”
“1979 Nicaraguan Revolution” By the event of the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution, thousands of lives have been lost, and resulted in many other victims, along with the violations of human rights. Through the revolution, though it looked as if justice was coming into hand, the consequences were totally different. Unhuman actions have been sited, and to this matter, all of the victims, the Nicaraguan citizens needs their basic human rights to be guaranteed.
The right of the Jewish citizens, Miskito Indians, and other persecuted groups must not be left out from the governments care and support. The right to carry the basic human rights is something that has to be provided to anyone, and it is the duty of the United Nations to help these places and the governments to recognize what their actions are resulting in. The republic of Upper Volta, now known as Burkina Faso, gained independence from France in 1960 when the tension in Latin America was being built. After the independence, the country went through coups, strikes, military enforcements, and rebels from different parts of the country. Though a president has been elected through a democratic election, the citizens and workers of the country are now raising the attention for their human rights. Like it is for all the other places, the international attention and the effort for human rights should be a major issue to consider so that further victims and catastrophic consequences such as the ones after the Nicaraguan revolution does not repeat. As the world continues to change, in order to protect the human rights and avoid violence, there has been series of efforts made by the General Assemblies, UNHRC (United Nation Human Rights Council), and OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights), raising awareness for human rights through different security council resolutions, speeches and forums. Which all stresses the fact that human rights can only be promoted and protected by the help of the national institutions and civil society, including non-governmental organizations. As it is one of the major missions of the United Nations, the violence and violation of human rights must stop, preventing the repetition of the past mistakes. In past history and even now, there has been number of revolutions for a new change for a better country or for the world. However, the fact that this process did result in violence cannot be denied. It is an important to consider suggesting a solution to how the cycle of violence could be destroyed. But we still cannot deny revolution because of violence. Therefore, the Upper Volta suggests the idea of nonviolent revolutions, increasing the education and the need of nonviolent revolutions along with the support of different organizations and the general assemblies. As the attention and participations of nonviolent revolution increases, other countries and governments could gradually become non-aggressive. If the process settles in, this may become the key to break the cycle of violence during revolutions.
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Hyunho Kim, Bugil Academy
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IAEA, Denmark
“Denmark is committed to promoting global peace, security, and stability among nations; however, the country’s right to sovereignty must be protected.”
“North Korean Nuclearization” Believe it or not our world is likely to be controlled by strong countries. As a result, most of the nations are trying to reinforce their military powers. Since possessing nuclear weapons is the easiest way to stand on the others, during the Cold War, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain conducted many tests with it.
As a result, in order to end this meaningless nuclear arms race, the United States, the Soviet Union, and some six other countries have signed a treaty, the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This NPT, however, was not able to keep North Korea at bay. North Korea has conducted its first nuclear test at Punggye-ri in 2006. Moreover, as North Korea’s current ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) technology with striking radius of 10,000km is getting into an advanced level, its possession of nuclear weapons is a huge threat to the whole world. Unlike other countries, North Korea has a high possibility to make a preemptive strike with their nuclear weapons. Acknowledging this severe situation, according to Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (covering the period 1 July 2016-30 June 2017), UNHCR worked with states to ensure that people with international protection needs had access to safety, and that bilateral and multilateral arrangements between states to transfer responsibility for determining asylum claims contained appropriate safeguards. UNHCR continued to advocate alternatives to detention for refugees and asylum-seekers. A progress report on UNHCR’s global strategy “Beyond detention 2014-2019” found that the total number of children detained in the 12 pilot countries by the end of 2015 had decreased by 14 percent compared to 2014, with two countries ending the detention of asylum-seeking children altogether. The Brussels conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”, held in April 2017, drew attention to the adverse consequences of low funding levels on protection and assistance for refugees. This delegate appreciates the international protection that was made by many States and the UNHCR. In 2016 the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) has passed Resolution 2270 to impose sanctions on North Korea that included inspection of both inbound and outbound cargo to and from North Korea. Even with these sanctions, however, North Korea adhere to keep on testing with nuclear weapons. So as a response of North Korea’s 5th nuclear weapon test in the same year, the UNSC has passed Resolution 2321, and as a response of North Korea’s ICBM called Hwasung-15 test in 2017, the council has passed Resolution 2397. Both of these Resolutions were to further strengthen the sanctions. Like other nations, Denmark condemns North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons and votes for North Korea’s denuclearization. Denmark has supported and still supports the UNSC’s Resolution 1695 concerning the North Korea’s weapons program. As a way to show that Denmark is not happy with North Korea’s government, Danish MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Head of Department of Asia Susan Ulbæ k mentioned
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that Denmark cannot accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. Moreover, Denmark closed the North Korea mission to the country and declared the mission as ‘persona non grata’ in order to take an action instead of just standing behind and being bold in word only. Denmark is committed to promoting global peace, security, and stability among nations; however, the country’s right to sovereignty must be protected. Denmark believes that solutions to eliminate the North Korea’s armament of nuclear weapons, there must be unanimous strong consent of all nations including China. There were many sanctions that were imposed on North Korea, however, with a secret helps from China, North Korea was able to continue its test on nuclear weapons. So, Denmark claims that in order to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapon tests, IAEA must request the UNSC to monitor and send a number of inspectors to the border of China and North Korea, and create new resolutions to further impose sanctions on North Korea. Moreover, an international commission should be formed under IAEA and UNSC to be in charge of inspecting North Korea’s nuclear facilities and persuade them to abandon it. Denmark would welcome to join such a well-qualified commission concerning the disarmament of North Korea. As for the relationship between Denmark and North Korea, besides black-market import, a sale of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, if North Korea is not willing to abandon its nuclear weapons, Denmark will never reopen the North Korea’s mission to Denmark and not going to form any kinds of relationship with North Korea. The security of all nations is the first thing to consider, and our nations should try to unite as one and keep every nation on the right track.
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Seungyeon Nam, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul UNESCO, Room to Read
“International Water Management, Infrastructure, and Technology” “Teaching someone is a task requiring a long-term process; however, if it is successful, it will be rewarding enough that will motivate Room to Read to keep going.”
From 1990 to 2015, MDGs (Millennium Develop Goals) has brought up significant changes to global water management and infrastructure: about 20 countries have improved their access to water sources. However, the problems from the 1990s weren’t completely eradicated. Especially in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania, there still exists countries where access to clean drinking water facilities is highly restricted.
The problem does not end at limited access, but also expands further to the issue of gender inequality. For instance, physical differences result in higher access to water for men. Furthermore, the problem of lack of infrastructure is prominent as it forces people, especially young girls, to walk a long distance to get to these water supply chains. Water management can relate to different problems such as hygienic matters and children education. However, this delegate would like to focus mainly on the limit of education water infrastructures and what it would result in. Room to Read seeks to financially and morally support actions to improve such problems not only because water is a necessary resource for survival, but also since poor water facilities directly affect the gender dynamics in these regions.
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From 1990 to 2015, MDGs (Millennium Develop Goals) has brought up significant changes to global water management and infrastructure: about 20 countries have improved their access to water sources. However, the problems from the 1990s weren’t completely eradicated. Especially in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania, there still exists countries where access to clean drinking water facilities is highly restricted. The problem does not end at limited access, but also expands further to the issue of gender inequality. For instance, physical differences result in higher access to water for men. Furthermore, the problem of lack of infrastructure is prominent as it forces people, especially young girls, to walk a long distance to get to these water supply chains. Water management can relate to different problems such as hygienic matters and children education. However, this delegate would like to focus mainly on the limit of education water infrastructures and what it would result in. Room to Read seeks to financially and morally support actions to improve such problems not only because water is a necessary resource for survival, but also since poor water facilities directly affect the gender dynamics in these regions. According to UNWOMEN, women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa spend about 40 billion hours a year walking to supply water to their families. For every visit, girls tend to carry up to 45 pounds of water over their heads on their way home. This can cause serious damage to the girls’ physical structures, preventing growth and distorting the shape of their bones. Moreover, the activities of water delivery and absence of clean water facilities limit the girls from schools and education. It sometimes even takes 2-3 days for a water trip, and the trips don’t occur between short time intervals. Accordingly, even though girls attend schools, due to time spent on water delivery, the girls won’t have a consistent record of school participation. During its past engagement, in particular the sub-Saharan African countries, Room to Read has strongly advocated changes to the minorities’ surrounding environment: reducing burdensome journeys through construction of better routes to fresh water. Every solution to a problem starts with awareness and recognition and being aware of it. Therefore, raising people’s awareness and strengthening and deepening their knowledge about “‘fair”’ access to water must be the first step. Only after realizing the errors of their surrounding will the people begin to strive for solutions. Women and girls must acknowledge that their labor and journeys are part of gender inequality so that eventually, they shall seek justice and better approaches to water. Callowness in the area of gender inequality is a result of lack of education. Room to Read shall oblige to provide courses of human rights and social inequalities during programs of restoring education in developing areas. After their acknowledgment in gender inequalities, people will reevaluate their status with water shortage: limited access to water will be reflected as unfairness and advocacy for new water infrastructures will grow. Though still, the minorities are not aware of the weight of education. They are much more focused on getting actual fresh water by walking extensive miles rather than spending their time on workshops to gain information about gender inequality. In this manner, attempts for raising awareness in between the actual minorities will be useless. Rather than themselves, the surrounding countries and the external helpers should be the ones to acknowledge the intimate relationship between water infrastructure and gender inequality. Room to Read acknowledges sudden implementation of educational courses will turn out to be ineffective, therefore, immediate short-term projects will be concurrently needed to solve people’s urgent needs in advance with extended educational projects. As one immediate resolution, Room to Read will financially support developing countries to increase the number of improved water facilities. As the immediate problems ahead are being solved, Room to Read will start the extended project of education further from the current status. So far, Room to Read has reached Tanzania, Zambia, and South Africa to provide needed education and reduce illiteracy rates. Room to Read will continue on with its efforts, reaching out to other countries needing attentions. By reducing the time needed for bringing water, women and girls can spend their saved time on schools, actual careers, and other places they desired of. They will also be able to devote their time into raising awareness about
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human rights. Teaching someone is a task requiring a long-term process; however, if it is successful, it will be rewarding enough that will motivate Room to Read to keep going.
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Bee Dan, Daejeon Foreign Language High School Bush Cabinet (Specialized Committee), Dirk Kempthorne
“At the core of achieving success in this operation is first identifying the scale and number of damages done to the natural systems.”
“Hurricane Katrina” Gifford Pinchot, former governor of Pennsylvania, said, “The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for the future.” As Pinchot emphasizes, the Department of Interior has its mission in taking the responsibility to incidents that occur on the land of the United States of America. Following the Hurricane Katrina, this Secretary would like to emphasize the importance of efficient reconstruction effort to relieve the U.S. citizens’ grief due to the natural disaster.
The first and foremost mission of the Department of the Interior (hereinafter called DOI) will be aiding the first responder in the sites of damages. The local communities of fire departments and any other NGOs that might be sending needed personnel to the sites will have to be assisted by trained government officials. The department would like to dispatch as much as officials who work under the umbrella of DOI to further this effort. By providing well collected knowledge of the geology, the department officials would be like the lighthouse of search missions for missing persons whose families are crying for their members to return home. Also, these officials would be sorted into various task forces, depending on their specialties, and be called for in different states upon separate requests. The department would be willing and able to consult on other U.S. departmental issues. Regarding this, I believe that the reason the pain of war continues to these days can be found in their history education. To be specific, the lack of integrated history textbooks result in the differences of the contents. They are teaching the students to distort history and make sure that they only focus on their advantages and not teach the disadvantage. Furthermore, they blame each other for the war and consider themselves as a one-sided victim. This type of education would connect on the seriousness of Bosnia's wars that the modern world can end to future generations. While human lives are important, it is also important to address the loss in ecosystems to plan on long term efforts for relieving distress in the animal world. By requesting reports from national parks on accurate measurement of the damages done to the parks, the Department would collect and sum all the collected information to allocate the appropriate amount of funds for reconstructing the forestry, river banks, and any other natural habitats to ensure that the ecosystems are prepared to relive its past for the strength of future. Moreover, the department would like to ask for local governments to estimate for the loss of infrastructures such as dams and levee so that in cooperation with other government agencies, DOI can plan out ways that the reconstruction won’t harm the indigenous people or the sauna and fauna that are currently inhabiting the regions that will be up to massive construction efforts. Moreover, the Department deems it more than crucial to take into account how the ecosystem of the United States of America has changed to the disaster, meaning the migratory pattern of birds, coyotes, and other relevant organisms will be carefully looked after. This way, these lives will be carefully monitored and aided with support when such help is needed. Also, the department will be construct a database to mark the locations and status of damages from the hurricane and predict where would be the most vulnerable for following
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hurricanes that will come after this one. It is highly likely that subsequent storms too will cause many damages to this nation, it is important that we are ready before it hits this precious territory. The groundwork in accomplishing all above tasks must be accompanied with the right allocation of government funding and additional fiscal support from funds. It is more than likely that existing funds will be insufficient to effectively carry out the operations. The need for sufficient financial support will ask for the private corporations to donate for the purpose of DOI. The spending of these funds will be overlooked with a temporary audit committee formed under the provision of this Secretary. Comprised of experts in auditing, the fund will be subjected to corruption or unnecessary spending. Every penny will be spent to rescue and build this land great again. At the core of achieving success in this operation is first identifying the scale and number of damages done to the natural systems. Then, the department will summon competent officials to carry out operations at sites, aided with the funds that, hopefully, other government agencies and corporations will be provide for the great cause of protecting the nature. He hopes for a fruitful conversation to reach the best solutions for this matter.
Joonsung Bang, Incheon Kwangsung High School
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UNHCR, Colombia
“Students should have the right perception of discrimination by changing and correcting the wrong perception of discrimination.”
“Rohingya Displacement” The Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar at the start of 2017, are one of the many ethnic minorities in the country. Rohingya Muslims represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine state.
They have their own language and culture and say they are descendants of Arab traders and other groups who have been in the region for generations. But the government of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, denies the
Roghingya citizenship and even excluded them from the2014 census, refusing to recognize them as a citizens. They were also said to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Columbia is in such a precarious state that it is classified as a national tourist empire in the U.S. that it requires attention when traveling. Colombia is on shaky ground due to its armed struggle against drugs and guerrillas, terrorism, violent crimes such as murder, organized crime and kidnapping. And social problems include the city's unemployment rate and the extreme gap between the rich and the poor. Resource-rich Colombia has continued to suffer from political and social unrest, especially since a very small number of wealthy people take the lead in politics, economy and society, and most of the people are from low-income families. And Colombia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society in Central and South America, but only 20 percent of European races control the actual decision-making power in politics and economics, so the guerrilla groups have been engaged in armed struggle on the basis of rural and jungle regions for more than 40 years, and currently control half of
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the nation's land. In addition, there is widespread distrust in the whole society as a result of the armed terrorist attacks by guerrilla organizations, the quakes of strong drug trafficking, kidnappings by guerrillas and illegal gangs, and the fabrication of counterfeit money. To solve this serious security problem, FARC (Furzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Columbia), the biggest component of domestic security, is also weakening its power through continued use and surveillance by government forces. In addition, in order to secure Colombia's basic rights without distinction of religion, language or race through UNSCO, the current situation in Colombia must be clarified through interstate education in order to maintain stability. I also think the government should allow students at Columbia schools to think differently about the damage caused by discrimination, for example, the number of cases and some cases of discrimination. So students should have the right perception of discrimination by changing and correcting the wrong perception of discrimination. And I think we should comfort and encourage those who suffer just because they are a little different from us.
Hannah Song, Seocho Middle School
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UNEP, Denmark
“Denmark today comes to an approach that we are eager to help other countries overcome marine pollution.”
“Restoration of Coastal Ecosystems” The pollution from coastal ecosystems give a devastating effect to our human race. Marine pollution was first noticed as a problem in the 1950s as experts found out about the irreversible actions people had done to the ocean.
Soon, active discussion took place on whether we should continue dumping trashes into the water along with the protests to stop the pollution. Furthermore, this issue has been discussed and controlled in earnest since the London Convention in 1972. This meeting was set up to prevent future marine pollution and sea dumping by UN. Until now, there are three main types to what we call marine pollution. Most commonly, oil spills, leaks and sea dumping are known to be the main causes of marine pollution. Oil spills contaminate the sea which endangers the wildlife that lives near that area. Ocean dumping include chemical products or radioactive materials that have been let out to the sea. With these pollutions happening, UN, NGOs, and several countries are putting efforts on campaigns, making limits to ocean territory, and giving the responsibility to handle the given regions. Denmark too has experienced coastal pollution due to its regional characteristics. In order to solve the pollution, scientists have done nutrient inputs into the oceans to purify the ocean more to its original state. Other than this way, Denmark, including Greenland has also joined the ‘agreement on cooperation on marine oil pollution preparedness and response in the Artic’ with countries such as Canada, US, and other European countries where they all agreed to be prepared for any possible incidents of oil spills and to alert the security issue in the Artic region. In order to efficiently reduce pollution in oceans and coastal regions, there needs to be several ways in various methods. Denmark believes if additional agreements on protecting the ocean gets arranged, the countries can better tackle the problem and prevent future accidents that pollute the marine habitat. In addition, if we expand the scale of studies on new scientific methods to bring back ocean water, coastal ecosystems can be healthy for a longer amount of time. Our country is already using marine debris as a new energy source and using
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‘floating trash bins’ to clean up the waste. If we have more techniques to restore the coastal environment, Denmark thinks that the current issue can be solved. As oceans are 72% of the Earth, there is an urgent need to stop marine pollution as much as we can, and Denmark today comes to an approach that we are eager to help other countries overcome marine pollution.
Junghyeok Yang, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul DISEC, Bulgaria
“Transnational organized Crime, Drugs, and Violence” “The intensity of legal punishment is good and most easy things to prevent violence.”
There is a relationship between drug trafficking and political violence. For examples, In the 1800s, the poppy was imported from India to China. So this causes Opium war. For another example, In the 1960s, the profits made by cocaine help paramilitary groups during the Colombian Conflict. Like this drug trafficking earn money and help political violence and UN thinks this became a huge problem.
We need to think about some question. The question is about there is any benefit from prohibiting drug and how can we prevent violence and reduce drug trafficking. From Bulgaria’s point of view, 30,000 Bulgarian serve rheumatoid arthritis and most people have a hard time to get the medicine name RoActemra. People can get the medicine from drug dealers so Bulgaria disagrees to stop the drug trafficking. There are negative parts on drug trafficking but also there are positive parts too. From Bulgaria point of view, Bulgaria is a very safe country to compare with USA. European Union signed Istanbul convention this mean Bulgaria think prevent violence is important so I think we need some strong law that can prevent violence. In conclusion, I think just prevent every drug smuggling is not that good idea because the drug can be used for medicine so I think government checks why they bring drug and if they bring for good reasons then I think government pay money and use the drug good way. For example, use the drug to painkiller for sick people. It’s very difficult to prevent violence so in my opinion increase, the intensity of legal punishment is good and most easy things to prevent violence.
Ian Eom, High School Attached to College of Education, Chung-Ang University / IAEA, Bulgaria
“North Korea Nuclearization” “While denuclearization must be flourishing the economic potential of NK, which could possibly lead to global economic development, realization of the human rights in the NK needs to be taken into the consideration as well.”
Denuclearization refers to a complete, verifiable, and irreversible elimination of all weapons and “existing nuclear programs, and rejoining the Non-Proliferation Treaty. For years, America and other countries have been working hard for the denuclearization to keep the international peace. North Korea had been threatening and heightening tensions internationally. The potential risk of the damage caused by nuclear weapons, which we are all aware of, is not just an Eastern Asian issue.
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Despite NK’s promise to stop nuclear tests, in November 29, 2017, North Korea gets an estimated 15000 kilometers ranged missile in their hands, which means that only South America is out of NK’s range. However, recently, there have been efforts for denuclearization such as the Panmunjom meeting and meeting in Singapore. North Korea is continuously showing an intention to denuclearize, leaving the question of NK’s humanitarian violations, treatment of existing sanctions, and the participation of NK in various treaties and the preparation for the 2020 NPT. Bulgaria supports the achievement of a world free of nuclear weapons. In addition, on behalf of a group of European countries, said the only realistic way to attain the goal of effective, verifiable, and irreversible nuclear disarmament is through a progressive approach based on practical and feasible steps. Bulgaria thinks that denuclearization must be based on mutual trust and followed by engagement in negotiations. Now that NK has shown encouraging signals of denuclearization, it is time for NK to take concrete actions addressing international concerns. Bulgaria agrees with the UNSCR and the EU resolutions related to NK, our country will continue to implement in our full policy of critical engagement, which combines strong pressure on the North Korean regime through sanctions. The direct, indirect sanctions will exist until NK embarks on credible path toward CVID. Building blocks that will strengthen the international disarmament and no-proliferation regime are the only feasible way. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the central platform for the achievement of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. We should prepare for the upcoming 2020 NPT treaty. In addition, bringing into force the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), overcoming the impasse in the Conference on Disarmament, including enlargement; starting negotiations on a FMCT are the possible solution for a progressive denuclearization. In addition, the universalization of the ATT remains priority for our country as it plays an important role in promoting international security. While denuclearization must be flourishing the economic potential of NK, which could possibly lead to global economic development, realization of the human rights in the NK needs to be taken into the consideration as well.
Minjung Oh, Daeil Foreign Language High School CPD, Haiti
“The rearrangement of refugee policies—such as acceptance and treatment of refugees—is another suggestion Haiti makes.”
“Assessment of distribution and treatment of Syrian refugees” As noted in the U.N. Charter on Human Rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty, and human security. Regarding this matter, the World Food Programme (WFP) stated that 13 million people, 40 percent of the population, are unable to get food safely and 40 percent of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition.
Dozens of years of war, civil unrest and natural disasters have caused enormous damage to Afghanistan. Despite recent developments, millions of Afghans still live in deep poverty. I want to thank the WFP, FAO, and UNICEF for their continuous help to the countries that need it in a variety of ways. The Republic of Haiti has developed through the years, after going through numerous dictatorships and finally reaching democratization. Having many advantages in environmental and agricultural fields, Haiti still has some problems to solve. One of such is the refugee problem. In recent decade, the Republic of Haiti have suffered a lot in many ways—one is the Haiti earthquake on 2010, which resulted 250,000 people wounded and killed, and a million refugees who lost their homes by a monstrous earthquake. After the earthquake, Haiti was helped
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by a variety of countries and the UN—thankfully, Haiti was restored to its original state. Through these things, the Republic of Haiti learned the importance of cooperation between other countries and the United Nations. Based on historical events, the republic of Haiti believes international cooperation between nations is the ultimate solution for the assessment of distribution and treatment of Syrian refugees. Haiti urges nations to utilize public gyms and stadiums for Syrian refugee camps. In 2017, Québec, Canada announced that to embrace Syrian asylum seekers from the United States, the city has opened Montreal Stadium used in the Olympic Games. While staying at the stadium, Syrians can get settlement support and access to facilities. Like Canada, Haiti suggests all nations to do the same, adding various access to medical service, facilities and health checks. Furthermore, the rearrangement of refugee policies—such as acceptance and treatment of refugees—is another suggestion Haiti makes. By the rearrangement of refugee policies, it can prevent overpopulation of refugees in certain countries. As a result, 11 million Syrian refugees would disperse to other countries. In addition, establishing clear standards enables each nation which services and restrictions are provided to refugees, and therefore, it will lead to the elimination of discrimination of refugees. The republic of Haiti believes international partnership and such rearrangements would solve refugee problem in the long-term. In the present, Haiti has almost 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers who want to find a country to live. Most of them go to Chile, where refugee acceptance is comparatively easier than other countries. Even though Haiti cannot provide good quality refugee camps like other nations, Haiti will do its best to solve the worldwide issue of Syrian refugees with nations.
Chaehyun Yoo, Southville International School ECOFIN, China
“To address a solution regarding the issue of cryptocurrency is to recognize and ban all types of the existing global cryptocurrencies.”
“Cryptocurrency and Government Regulation” Cryptocurrency is a form of virtual currency that has no central authority and uses a decentralized system for purchasing and trading. People around the world are able to exchange coins at low transaction charges and can have immediate transaction settlements. However, cryptocurrency also opens the door for tax evasion, to the Dark Web for illegal trading, and to an unpredictable fluctuation in the currency that can harm the global economy.
Due to numerous reasons, China has banned the trading, and the use of cryptocurrencies inside the country. The government was worried about corruption, and the risks it will bring to the country, as well as about the protection of the buyers. The People’s Bank of China (the country’s central bank), has also mentioned that 90 percent of the ICOs in the country are fraudulent. China is the first country to ban the usage of cryptocurrencies. On December 2013, The People’s Bank of China along with four other financial government ministries issued an official notice titled “Notice on Preventing Financial Risk of Bitcoin”, stating that they only acknowledge cryptocurrencies as a form of virtual commodity. They allowed the citizens to buy and sell it as long as they were aware of the risks. On January 2016, The People’s Bank of China mentioned that they had plans on issuing a national virtual currency to reduce the cost of banknotes, and to promote economic activity. Following that year, on January 2017, China’s three biggest Bitcoin exchanges, namely BTC China, Huobi and OkCoin were issued warnings by the Central Bank that they lacked internal risk controls. Then on September 2017, the Chinese government officially illegalized domestic
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Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and virtual trading within the country. The Central Bank also commanded financial institutions to stop providing bank services associated with cryptocurrency. Moreover, advertisements on virtual currencies were banned from China’s search engines and social media such as Weibo, Baidu, WeChat, and AliPay. However, this did not stop the traders from using virtual currencies, which led the government to block Internet access to 124 foreign cryptocurrency exchanges in 2018.
The aftermath of illegalizing domestic ICOs and the trading of cryptocurrencies lead miners, or the processors in charge of transaction confirmation, to leave the country. It also shifted investors and traders to other countries like Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong to continue their trading. Under these circumstances, cryptocurrencies also affected the global economy. China used to be one of the largest sources of cryptocurrency, with Chinese miners taking up 70 percent of the total Bitcoin mining power, and they mine approximately 75 percent of all Bitcoins. This eventually led to a drop in the price of virtual currencies. To address a solution regarding the issue of cryptocurrency is to recognize and ban all types of the existing global cryptocurrencies as a threat to the financial market and the economy, and encourage countries to create a national virtual currency instead. The idea and purpose of the cryptocurrency is to allow individuals to have a peer-to-peer transaction without an intermediary such as the banks. If national virtual currencies are made, the government and the Central Bank of each country will be ensured that all exchanges and transactions will be properly regulated. In effect, money-laundering, and anonymous trading will be prevented. Through this method, current miners would not need to flee to other countries, and the banks will able to have the capital control since they will be having records of all the capital flows. Moreover, reliable and fast references will be made through the blockchains for tax collections as well, and lesser costs will be spent on circulating banknotes. Sanghyun Lee, Global Prodigy Academy UNISDR, Denmark
“To meet the most basic needs such as housing, the problem of rising sea levels does not have to remain a problem any longer.”
“What should be done for those displaced By Rising Sea Levels?” Denmark feels that each and every human being born to our good Earth should have a place to call home. However, for many, having a home is quickly becoming an impossibility—due to rising sea levels.
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Thousands of people in the island nations of Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Republic of Maldives have lost their homes and inhabitable territory and freshwater sources to rising sea levels. In addition, coastal cities such as Miami, USA and Dhaka, Bangladesh are experiencing greater financial losses due to storms that are exacerbated by sea level rise and warmer water. There are two main factors believed to be the cause of rising sea levels: thermal expansion of water whereby warmer temperature induces water to expand, and melting of glaciers and ice sheets which directly affects sea levels to rise. Denmark sees sea level rise as a serious threat that can adversely affect humanity in the 21st century and believes effective and efficient measures must be put in place. Although international efforts such as UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) have been seen, member states’ differing opinions on the details have delayed production of a consensus on the issue. The issue at hand is member states’ differing opinions on accountability: while the UN member states see that the many island nations that are adversely affected by rising sea levels are unfairly reaping the results of many other--often more industrialized and developed--nations that are greater emitters of greenhouse gases, they cannot agree on how much responsibility they should take on the issue. With a coastline of 7300 km, and 80% of its 5.5 million population living in areas affected by rising sea levels, Denmark believes that rising sea levels is a serious threat to humanity in the 21st century. The country’s mainland peninsula, Jutland, is entirely considered lowland with the highest point in the entire country being only 173m above sea level. According to Danish Meteorological Institute, Denmark is expected to witness a sea level rise of up to 1.4 meters in the 21st century. Denmark’s extreme coastal flooding events, called storm surges, which cause a sea level rise of 5 to 6 meters in a mere few minutes, are forecast to worsen with rising sea levels as well. It has been calculated that a ½ meter rise in sea levels will increase the frequency of extreme storm surges by a factor of five. Several studies have shown that an extreme storm surge could do 3 billion Euros or more in damage. In light of the aforementioned situation Denmark has closely worked with the UN and its respective departments over the years. Also, it has set up its own climate targets and laws in response to the negative effects of greenhouse gases. For example, Denmark has set a target of completely phasing out of fossil fuels by year 2050, with relevant changes to be made in areas such as agriculture, buildings and transportation. Alongside its active participation in greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, Denmark also established the Danish Preparedness Act, a government manual of protocols in emergency situations. Being prepared for disasters is the only path it feels humanity should take. Denmark feels that tackling the rising sea levels issue must be a two-track strategy. One, an international body such as UNISDR should take the initiative in preparing funding from various sectors of global society to provide tangible relief to those displaced from their homes due to rising sea levels: climate refugees—those that are displaced from their homes from rising sea levels—should be relocated to a habitable land in neighboring nations. For example, Kiribati holds freehold land in Fiji. Two, at the same time, inter-governmental and global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases must be backed up by binding mandates that call for each nation to set greenhouse gas reduction targets so as to delay the pace of rising sea levels. At the same time, all member states should be called on to establish plans similar to Denmark Preparedness Act. With a clear plan to reduce greenhouse gases with established protocols for global emergencies, coupled with humanitarian spirit of helping those who are struggling to meet the most basic needs such as housing, the problem of rising sea levels does not have to remain a problem any longer.
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Seung Jae Lee, Sehwa High School WHO, Denmark
“If the government tries to stop the obesity rate from rising, it will not only solve this problem quickly but also have a huge impact on the people.”
“Rise in Global Childhood Obesity” Clothing, Food, and House: These are the three elements that humans need to live in a basic life. That is, humans cannot live without these three elements, so these three elements must be fulfilled in order to maintain life. Among them, food has been the most important factor that has affected humans and has changed the most over time.
The human diet has changed over tens of thousands of years and the structure and physiology of the human body have evolved as the diet has changed. At first, humans got energy from vegetables. Then, humans began eating meat about 2 million years ago. And humans developed fire-based recipes before Homo sapiens, which evolved 200,000 years ago. The use of fire eliminated the need to spend a lot of time and energy on chewing and digesting food. Later, mankind grew crops and settled. However, due to their limited diet and dense population, they were in worse health than the hunter-gatherer race. And with the industrial revolution, the diet of human beings changed greatly. With the development of refrigeration technologies, rapid transport and long-distance transport were possible. In addition, with a large number of sweet and high-calorie foods, people have often been exposed to such foods, and the development of technology has reduced people's activity, leading to a very high rate of diabetes, various complications, and obesity worldwide. Denmark, too, could not escape this global aftermath. In fact, the obesity rate of the Danish people was 10 percent in 2000 and 11.4 percent in 2008, but it was 14.2 percent in 2013, ranking 33rd among OECD members. In 2013, 29.3 percent of children aged 5 to 17 and 21.1 percent of women were obese in Denmark. This means that Denmark is also significantly affected by the global problem of "increased obesity." The Danish government also introduced the world's first fat tax in 2011 to detect and address the growing obesity rate. The Fat tax is a system that requires an additional tax on all food products, including fat over 2.3 percent. Back in 2011, Denmark was classified as overweight by 47 percent of its population, and 13 percent suffered from various diseases from obesity. The Danish government implemented it in October 2011 to solve the obesity problem and promote national health, but after the introduction of the fat tax, there were many problems such as rising food prices, rising production costs, shrinking food retailing, and decreasing consumer benefits. In fact, the price of butter, oil, and sausages containing more than 2.3 percent fat has risen by 9 percent on average since the fat tax was imposed. And in terms of distribution, domestic sales have declined as some consumers buy large quantities of high-fat food from neighboring countries. Eventually, the Danish government abolished the fat tax in a year and with the same intention, the sugar tax, and chocolate tax were also abolished. The Danish government needs to find out why the obesity rate is increasing in order to prevent the obesity rate from increasing. The reasons for the increase in obesity rates can be largely divided into the effects of traditional foods, the universalization of high-calorie foods, and the decreased amount of activity due to technological
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development. However, traditional Danish foods rarely have a significant impact on the obesity rate. The reason is that most of the traditional Danish foods are made with salmon, eggs, pork, and cheese, so they do not contain high-calorie ingredients. In fact, in 2004 chefs, nutritionists and scientists gathered to develop a diet in Northern Europe to solve the growing obesity rate and unsustainable crop problems in the Nordic region. Northern European diet refers to a diet that focuses on food that is traditionally eaten in northern European countries consisting of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. That is, the main reason for the increase in obesity rates in Denmark is the decrease in activity due to the universalization of high-calorie foods and technological development. Due to changing food culture and developing technology, the risk of obesity is increasing. In order to prevent an increase in the global obesity rate, the government needs to make policies and promote the risks of obesity. Denmark, therefore, recommends that countries should make policies that encourage children to go outside, do sports and activities that can move actively, rather than spending their lives in the home. To solve the problems that occur within the country, the government must be changed. To prevent the increase in obesity rates, public advertisements on the dangers of obesity should be made to promote it to the public and persuade the public to refrain from eating high-calorie foods such as fast food. If the government tries to stop the obesity rate from rising, it will not only solve this problem quickly but also have a huge impact on the people.
Youha Lee, Suwon Academy of World Languages WHO, CARE International 1
“C ARE suppose the support from many international communities on, but not limited to solving the socioeconomic factors of childhood obesity.”
“Rise in Global Childhood Obesity” When one hears the word, obesity, people usually think the causes are just eating a large amount of food than that is needed for required nutrition or lack of activity. However, obesity deserves much more serious attention than it is getting now. The episode that has not been told yet is the noteworthy relationship between obesity and socioeconomic factors. Obesity is invariably thought as a diet issue for nutritionists, whereas social inequality is for sociologists and economists.
Yet, obesity is not just a matter for nutritionists: rather, it is one of the many effects of social inequality and requires a collective social response. Taking the wrong direction when reacting to the underlying causes of obesity will strike more as issues of social inequality are dominating the news agenda. Despite vast increases in total wealth in the world today, the health issue remains a marker for a general political problem about inequality in society, even in the most moneyed societies. Illness like childhood obesity is the kind of health problem everybody – not just those with higher education and income – wants to prevent and solve. CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and puts women and girls in the center to provide them equal rights which is one of the central factors of overcoming poverty. CARE has been progressing many projects regarding food security. The USAID-funded project called Tufaidike Wote (Swahili for “Working Together for the Common Good”), enhancing livelihoods by helping them have more nutritious food, financial independence, and more income-generating opportunities. Partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since 2001 has contributed to food security, health, water and sanitation, emergency response, and women’s empowerment and livelihood-development programming. Sustainable Economic project prioritizes looking at power dynamics so that poor families can have access to information, appropriate agricultural and productive resources, and assets. Nutrition projects ensuring not only the promotion of improved nutrition
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practices but also helping to provide the necessary foundation for adopting them and Agriculture projects looking at input supply systems, on-farm practices, gender dynamics, market opportunities, climate change, and government policies to ensure that farmers can produce enough of the right kinds of food to feed themselves and earn a living. Whether you are a worker or someone running your own business, you rely on the market to access the goods and services you need to support your family which is no exception to the poor. Nevertheless, there are thousands of people suffering to date, struggling to put food on the table Though some NGOs like CARE have considered the social parts of the problem, the tragedy is that obesity is usually treated as trouble for the individuals or families – not as a social problem. And so the solutions are mostly focused on individual or family level. And this should completely change. But so far, there have not been many moves about it. Suppose that the governments had tried to deal with Ebola by advising everyone to live in areas with no fruit bats – likely to be the reservoir of Ebola lately – or in clean houses only, rather than by building handwashing stations or inventing proper vaccines. Responses that are currently made to a health problem that kills so many people around the world that it has become the fifth leading cause of early death, is just as unrealistic. Therefore, CARE strongly believes that we need to spend more money not only on educating the ways of healthy lifestyle, but also on improving access to nutritious foods for those with lower income to globally solve childhood obesity effectively. To tackle the social and economic parts of this issue, it will mostly need funding, to improve the lives of those in low-income communities in the long run. The money should support the low-income communities not only by providing them just money which would make them passive, but also by providing them the place, opportunity, and materials to learn the techniques about farming and work in their farms to grow their own healthy foods. Also, improving the rural poor’s access to the agricultural inputs and services that they need to increase their harvests, access to buyers to sell their crops at fair prices, and access to products, services like healthcare and education, and household goods to provide their families with the lives they deserve will be essential. Thus, CARE suppose the support from many international communities on, but not limited to solving the socioeconomic factors of childhood obesity – taking actions only limited to socioeconomic factors will also not answer this topic well –, and on money needed to solve childhood obesity is surely needed.
Yoonsung Lee, CheonCheon Middle School
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UNESCO, Denmark
“I would like people to be able to use safe and healthy drinking water and have plenty of water in their homes for everyday use by combining nature and modern technology.”
“International Water Management, Infrastructure, and Technology” The development of science and technology has increased the number of factories around the world and the population has exploded, but it caused climate change. Thus, climate change has caused the world to suffer from water shortages. Many countries, including Zimbabwe, Czech Republic, Denmark and Korea, belong to water-scarce countries.
Many countries, including Zimbabwe, Czech Republic, Denmark and Korea, belong to water-scarce countries. Many people think they know about the world’s water problems, but little is done because it does not have an impact on most people’s daily lives. However, the World Water Commission announced that by 2025, half of the world's population will suffer from water shortages. The global community is now suffering from severe water shortages due to global
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warming, rapid population growth, and excessive water usage by people. To reverse this problem, people must first recognize that they are living in a water-scarce country and change the perception that they are not affected by the world’s water problems. The number of households recycling rainwater is increasing every year by 50,000 and it is recorded that these rooftops recording reduce evaporation in the city by 50%. Many people in poverty are in danger of being sick because of clean drinking water, cannot bathe due to having no access to clean water. To solve this problem, help from developed countries to developing countries suffering from water shortages is necessary. Developed countries have excellent technology, which makes it possible for developing countries to collect the rainwater to supplement the water supply and to convert seawater into fresh water to be used and consumed homes. Then there will be enough of water to help support the poor. With many social and economic problems still existing in the world, countries have to take responsibility and begin to create more solutions rather than more problems. Denmark is one country stepping up to make changes not only for its own country but also for the world. The country of Denmark has created solutions for both water shortages and for improving education that other countries can model after. Denmark has had a long history of poor water quality. Up until the 1960s, people could often see swarms of fish dead on the rivers and seas due to water pollution. Denmark has become one of the first countries in the world to create the Ministry of Environment, and has supported the development of new eco-friendly technologies with strong regulations on emissions. In addition, Denmark is striving to reduce the world's declining freshwater through its AMBROSIA project. This project focuses on the reversal of brackish water through desalination and water recycling. The year 2025 is not far off; reducing the use of tap water in each country will delay the water shortage. I would like people to be able to use safe and healthy drinking water and have plenty of water in their homes for everyday use by combining nature and modern technology.
Hyunjun Lee, Munsu Middle School CSW, Denmark
“The primary way to increase participation by women in politics is to use a quota system.”
“Women’s Political Leadership and Participation”
Globally, women are underrepresented in politics. Women make up less than 25% of parliaments worldwide. Also, only 12% of the world’s heads of state are women. Studies show that this imbalance is also common in local politics. Though these numbers are increasing, it is important to continue to work to get more women involved in politics. Studies have shown that gender has a direct impact on a politician’s priorities. This means that by getting more women involved in politics it is possible to get a wider variety of ideas and priorities. Also, it allows women’s priorities to get the attention they deserve. In addition, women’s participation in politics is important for advancing gender equality. Studies have shown that increased participation by women leads to increased gender and racial equality. The primary way to increase participation by women in politics is to use a quota system. Different countries have tried different quota systems with some success. In Ireland, political parties lose 50% of their state funding if they do not have enough politicians of either gender. In Georgia, political parties that include at least 30% of either gender get 30% more funding from the government. These systems have increased the number of women in politics. In India, certain political offices were reserved for women for 2 elections. Once these were no longer
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reserved for women, they were 5 times more likely to elect a woman than before. Though quotas can be controversial, they show promise in increasing women’s representation in politics. Jungwoo Lim, Dongsung High School CSD, Haiti
“The labeling of GMO products to ensure customers’ right to know and consume.”
“Viability of GMOs in Combatting Global Hunger” Since human appeared on the planet Earth, hunger and malnutrition have always been humanity’s enemies. Many people have died out due to either starvation or suffering from vitamin deficiencies. As agricultural productivity increased, the actual number of people suffering has drastically dropped but the literal solution for undernourished or starving people was not found.
One of the solutions suggested by humanitarians and ecologists was GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). GMOs are organisms that have had their genes changed in a way that does not happen naturally. They have been implemented to protect lives and are resistant to diseases. There are many disputes going on regarding GMOs as there are as many disadvantages as advantages. Reasons why the public dislikes GMO are because not only do they arouse many health problems but also harm the environment. Also, they disable organic farming and impact many farmers. However, there are many advantages to this such as their improved nutrients and quality inside the food itself and their ability to finally end starvation. One of the examples of a famous GMO is ‘AquAdvantage Salmon’. It grows to market size in half the time as the normal salmon due to its fast growing hormones and a promoter sequence from the ocean organisms. Although many disadvantages and advantages confront each other, both the public and the government had acknowledged the need for the labeling of GMO products for the customers’ right to know. Therefore, from 2015, 64 countries were required to label their GMO products in their marketplaces. Although the main producer of these products, the U.S.A, does not see the risk of them, the labeling policy is going ahead as some side effects were found in an experiment carried out in Europe. There are many different reactions towards this policy. For instance, in Canada, the government is not putting much effort into labeling them as GMO products as they do not want additional regulations to be implemented just because of this. Another example is the EU. Unlike Canada, they have definite regulations implemented for GMO products and are respecting human’s right to know. Whereas, countries such as Zambia and Serbia, chose not to import GMO products even though they suffer from food shortages. The main reason being is because of their farmers. They propose that by preventing GMO products from coming into their countries, it will not only help protect the farmers but also not ruin their agricultural economy. The most well-known GMO-related Haitian policy is the rejection of Monsanto Seeds which are seeds of corn and vegetables, some of which contain highly poisonous pesticides. In May 2014, Monsanto offered Haiti 60,000 sacks of those seeds. The farmers knew that despite their advantages, they would eventually harm Haiti’s agricultural land and would lose their food sovereignty. They proceeded on with social movements showing strong disapproval towards the donation. It has led to a march to protest against the donation and even many corporations agreed to the farmers’ opinions. As a result, Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture rejected Monsanto’s donation of those seeds and the farmers have put their effort to rely on their own country for their agriculture production without depending on other countries.
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Haiti suggests the following solutions for solving GMO problems: First, constant research should be done in a regular basis to eliminate the public’s concern towards GMO’s uncertainty. One suggestion is to gather different field scientists from all around the world and open a forum to discuss about the safety of GMO product. Second, creation of some campaigns to let people know what exactly is GMO and what are some advantages to it should be done. That campaign might include some famous celebrities and stars to show that eating GMO products are safe and not risky. By this, the public’s understandings and recognitions towards GMO products will be enhanced. The demand will also hopefully increase and might be an immediate and certain solution to finally ending poverty and starvation. Third, there is a need to create more polices such as the labeling of GMO products to ensure customers’ right to know and consume. Also, by creating another campaign that will help customer to raise their awareness to differentiate products by their presence of genetically modified hormones. This will again ensure customers’ rights and their health safety. Last but not least, it is recommended to start a volunteer trial program, where people volunteer to buy and eat more GMO-labeled food by promising some subsidies when one takes part in this. They might still be reluctant to participate in this programme but the sense of duty to help the malnourished will motivate them to take part in this regardless of financial problems. About a few years, doctors and scientists could track their health and see if there were any bad side effects. If not, it could make the public feel more comfortable on GMO products.
Jane Chun, Chung Nam Samsung Academy UNESCO, Amnesty International
“Education will be a turning “Education as a tool to prevent violent point to violent extremism. It extremism” is one of the most important Education has been a tool to address the drivers of the violent tools to make the young generations and drivers to extremism. As an educator, recognizing the push (marginalization, inequality, and persecution whether actual or perceived etc.) and pull perceive violent extremism as factor (outlets for grievances, the promise of hope or justice, and sense injustice.” of purpose etc.) of the drivers is the first step to take. Afterwards, the educator should encourage young people to communicate in the face of the disagreement and approach to change peacefully. Moreover, the educator should help learners to develop their critical thinking investigating claims, and clarify rumors and legitimacy or appeal of extremist beliefs. The final step might lead the learners to actually resist toward extremists, improve social-emotional skills, and engage in society without having to resort to violence. If this process is being well done throughout the whole nation, the young generation wouldn’t be struck in the issue of violent extremism. The problem is, despite the effort of UNESCO and 45 nations, the community and family are blocking the young generations’ insight toward violent extremism. Various nations (Syria, Yemen, Chad, India etc.) are facing violent racial, gender inequality.
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Overlooking the role of the community, family, and media wouldn’t make the situation better. Therefore, Education is important. However, focusing on the young generation isn’t the actual key to prevent violent extremism. Empowering young generations to become active global citizens is able to contribute to building more peaceful, and sustainable goals, or the ultimate goals of the global citizenship education of UNESCO. However, the violent extremism that people are facing in the globe is usually occurring by adults who are the actual cause. Not only the young generations but adults should be the main recipient of the global citizenship education. Adults should also learn the attitude to respect for diversity, human rights, and how to live together. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Education will be a turning point to violent extremism. It is one of the most important tools to make the young generations and drivers to perceive violent extremism as injustice.
Yujeong Jung, Dongsan Christian High School ECOFIN, Denmark
“If we use cryptocurrencies, not only this system make our life more convenient, but also it will solve some problems like sending money to developing countries.”
“Cryptocurrencies” Recently, users of cryptocurrencies are increasing. Cryptocurrencies is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange. Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Monero, and Ethereum are example of cryptocurrencies. It uses algorithm named Blockchain. Due to this system, cryptocurrencies enable and speed up individual’s transaction. This is a very attractive feather for users, and some experts said cryptocurrency is the alternative to inflation.
Moreover, people can easily participate in economic activity like remittance or investment which are possible beyond national dimension. In spite of these advantages, it also has risk. Cryptocurrency has anonymity which can be used in illegal trade like illegal weapon, or drug that has possibility to use in terrorism. It is difficult to hack, but if users lose their key, than money will disappear, even no one has responsibility about it. And it can be used in tax evasion or money laundry. We have to find a way to precaution this situation. For these reasons, opinions are divided whether or not to use cryptocurrency. And opinion that claim necessity of regulation. Despite many opinions, several countries embracing this technology expected to be widely used in near future. We hope to use cryptocurrencies with proper united regulation. It is because if we use cryptocurrencies, not only this system make our life more convenient, but also it will solve some problems like sending money to developing countries. The example of active use of cryptocurrencies in Denmark is using blockchain technic for foreign aid. Denmark ministry of foreign affair released report “Hack the Future of Development Aids”. This report explains principle of Blockchain, and method of combining use blockchain in various way. Foreign ministry said using encryption based on blockchain has a potential to transform international aid. Like this example of using cryptocurrencies lead positive changes, however as previous mentioned, there are always follow risk that occur on an international scale. Additionally it may disturb or destroy world peace that we ultimately wanted. Due to this reason, we have to make united regulation that can prevent cryptocurrencies abuse like money laundry, or illegal trade. December, 3, 2018 representative of G20’s countries consent to make united regulation for money laundry. They expect to write final reports next conference that held in Osaka,2020. It is very important but it only deal with matters related to money laundering and taxation. Denmark think after we achieve making this regulation, we have to make united regulation that can deal with a broad subject.
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Denmark, one of the member of EU that involved in G20, Denmark will support developing and studying cryptocurrencies technology also agree to united regulation. If this regulation enforced, Denmark will observes the rules. As mentioned above, Denmark support cryptocurrencies that are very convenient technology which can bring many changes. However, the volatility of cryptocurrencies is one of the problems that have. If many people who live in all over the world use cryptocurrencies more commonly, this volatility can be reduced. To encourage using cryptocurrencies, firstly will make active effort domestically like using advertisement or give advantage like accommodate mileage to them who are using cryptocurrencies Today, Denmark is already use more electronic money than actual money. So it make people easy to approach cryptocurrencies. In order to use cryptocurrencies safely, it is better that many countries participate in this regulation. To encourage the participation for other countries, holding a international festival is good for improve relationship between each countries. This festival may use cultural feature of each country. Also sustaining good relationship through diplomacy is also needed. Jiwu Chung, Yeouido Middle School SPECPOL, Denmark
“We know the monumental task that is at hand to educate and feel first-hand the effects of climate change.”
“Disputes in the Arctic Circle” Climate change is getting worse and the whole world is affected. The Arctic Circle is one place that is directly affected by this issue. It is located most northerly of the five major circles. In fact, it is the northernmost region of the world. Arctic circle sits at around 66 33’47.4” north latitude, and there’s at least one day a year where the sun is visible for a continuous 24 hours. The arctic circle covers around 8 million square miles (4% of the earth). It is literately the coldest place on the earth. But the Arctic circle is confronted with many problems.
To begin with, indigenous people are facing two main problems. First, they are not counted politically. Around 4 million people are living in the Arctic Circle, which is the size of Los Angeles or the state of Oklahoma. Indigenous people started to live in the Arctic way before the European or American explorers stepped foot in the Arctic. For thousands of years, these people created their own culture and language. But because they are not tempered in a country they are not counted politically. So, they do not have a representation in their government. This leads to the situation where they are not heard by the international community. As a result, these people have problems forming collective interests. Second, indigenous people are being threatened by the increasing temperatures that melt the polar caps. Temperatures have been increasing at a rapid speed. Communities are getting threatened by rising sea levels as well as the decrease in hunting areas. Just as the sinking island Tuvalu, the indigenous people located in the Arctic Circles may become refugees. Denmark is located near the Arctic Circle. It is neighbor to several countries that are in the Arctic Circle like Sweden and Norway. So, when the Arctic ice melts and the indigenous people become refugees, Denmark might have to accept these people into the society. If this happens, accepting indigenous
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people might disrupt Denmark society. The indigenous people would need jobs, and the government of Denmark would have to find solutions with limited resources. Denmark thinks that all people including indigenous people should have the right to live happily the way they lived for hundreds of years. They should not be forced out because of the rising temperature. As a result, Denmark is willing to find solutions for the threat we are facing collectively. Giving aid is only a minor answer to a complex problem that impact the world. There are only a few solutions to stated problems. First, with indigenous people, Denmark thinks that the international community should give direct aid in possible relocation. Additionally, the international society should aid in educating local communities to seek political power. Second, in order to solve the problem regarding climate refugees, the global society should give effort in solving climate change. We know the monumental task that is at hand to educate and feel first-hand the effects of climate change. Demark suggests a concerted advertising campaign to be implemented to spread the climate change awareness. In that way people would know better the importance of stopping or even slowing down climate change. Also, people should participate in ecofriendly lifestyles. Recycling, carpooling, using public transportation to use less energy. There are lots of methods to stop or decrease the climate change. These solutions will help remedy the disputes that are arising in the Arctic Circle.
Chang Hyun Chi, Daejeon Foreign Language High School UNSC, USA
“Post-Conflict Peacebuilding”
“US, as the leading state in post-conflict peace building, promises its utmost effort towards solving the urgent issue at our hand.”
John F. Kennedy once said, “Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” For long, the United States of America has recognized and acted upon the need and want of lasting peace through consistent and planned effort on carrying out the responsibility to protect. Indeed, it would be both unjust and unacceptable to undermine the US involvement in peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding in conflict-stricken areas.
In history, US has witnessed that on a short term, conflicts can be seen as resolved when they have only entered the latent stage from which involved parties can easily re-elevate the tensions and repeat the tragedies, not to mention its tension with Russia during the Cold War. Even in the absence of open fires across borders, silent conflicts can threaten and eventually suffocate innocent people. Under the grand purpose of universal peace and security, US voices its full support for the United Nations Security Council’s attempt in enhancing post-conflict peacebuilding mechanisms for relevant member states, if and only if it aligns with the nation’s firm belief in minimizing civilian causalities with both efficacy and efficiency. With experience and knowledge, US would like to offer promising solutions to the agenda at hand. On a fundamental level, there must be a consensus among all member states on defining stages of conflict for a systematic approach in constructing peace. For several times, the UN peacekeeping missions were accused for their incompetence in achieving peace. At the core of these accusations, there lies the question of whether a third-party intervention is effective in conflict resolution. One possible answer to this question is that the success of UN’s intervention heavily depends on the timing. According to different stages of conflict resolution, the department of UN Peacekeeping and UN Peacebuilding Commissions should carefully plan out which stakeholders and relevant sectors must come into play. Indeed, the first and foremost priority is the consent of
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the main parties involved. As this council consults over both of these UN bodies, the members should provide assistance–given when requested–to member states in need of help. Moreover, another challenge is the cooperation between international, regional, national, and local bodies in building peace. A common misconception in peacebuilding is that what is deemed good to the world might not be applicable to individual state situations. For example, education is known as a main contributing factor to development. However, in peacebuilding phase of a corrupted and largely segregated state, educational projects might exacerbate the existing barriers between solidarity groups, heightening group grievances and tension. Now, it seems crucial that the opinions of relevant parties to the conflict are key to identifying what is needed to build peace. Thus, US cannot resist the significance of in-depth talks among the intervening parties and between them and the relevant conflict parties. In the past, the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions hosted friendly discourses in conflict-stricken areas. As novel as the intention of revealing the truth in the root causes of conflicts, parties would be able to identify different layers of tensions that need to be relieved and where reconciliation would be set forth from. Though the council would establish commissions, US deems it appropriate that elite states should oversee the body’s progress. This way, developed nations can construct firm network with states of interest to help send the necessary resources to reconstruct damaged infrastructure and other means to achieve sustainable development on a long run. Peace making should be accomplished. Peace keeping is a critical matter in disputed nations. Peace building, is an indispensable factor in the international society. Ruling out conflicts in disputed areas is indeed an important step towards achieving world peace. However, just because you have ruled out conflict does not mean that conflict is over. Peace building is crucial in maintaining peace and security. Unless one conflict is completely over, it would be the root of multilateral conflicts, leaving the world in the brink of chaos. Thus, the US, as the leading state in post-conflict peace building, promises its utmost effort towards solving the urgent issue at our hand.
Geonwoo Choi, Anyang Foreign Language High School DISEC, Denmark
“Restrictions & Regulations on “It is axiomatic that digital and technical solutions are needed to achieve the goal of sustainable development.”
Humanitarian Aid” I think one of the biggest problems in humanitarian aid is corruption. Of course, there is not always corruption. However, it is also true that there are so many stories about corruption that it is widespread in the society every time around the world. For example, in India, public officials receive as much as $700 million in bribes in exchange for favorable land registration.
The Indian government is paying attention to the block chain as a way to improve the situation. We have to pay keen attention to this corruption because we are not a country that does not support other countries. Indeed, Denmark has consistently achieved the international recommendation of ODA/GNI of 0.7 percent since 1978, and has continued to earn a reputation as a "generous donor" by donating a total of $2.88 billion ODA, or ODA/GNI of $0.88 percent. Although the size of foreign aid has been reduced since 2016, the fact that it is still an aid country remains. However, Denmark topped the CDI (Development Contribution Index) released by the U.S. think tank International Development Center in support of developing countries in 2017.
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I think it is better for a country to provide state aid than for a non-governmental organization. There will be surprisingly few non-governmental organizations that help the sufferers with only good intentions. Most of all, it takes the power to get there to supply the disputed area, which is vital to the military's. That could also lead to another problem in the process of military assistance. So instead of going through this process, I thought we needed a new way of helping to stop the possibility of corruption as well. The aid method is the aid of blockchain, a technique that has emerged up until recently. The most direct advantage of using blockchain technology is that donors and beneficiaries can directly exchange aid without middlemen. Cryptography allows the Danish international aid agency to send money directly to beneficiaries living in poor countries. It costs little money because you don't go through a bank or a wire transfer company. The time it takes to transfer money is shortened from a few days to a few seconds. The aid organization is able to respond quickly to a conflict, not to mention with a blockchain-based digital currency. It is axiomatic that digital and technical solutions are needed to achieve the goal of sustainable development. Denmark is second to none in innovation. The same is true of the international development and cooperation. We are already working on this. If many countries, including the U.N. and the EU, cooperate and pursue this, it will be considered to be able to proceed faster.
Myoung Jun Choi, Akita Minami High School CSD, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
“Involved countries should altogether discuss about the difficulties in setting the emission quota and the stagnation of prices to come up with a better solution.”
“Viability of Carbon Pricing Initiatives in America” When it comes to a discussion of possible solutions of global warming, reducing emissions of Greenhouse Gas is essential. To decrease the emissions of CO2, which takes the most of Greenhouse Gas emissions, suppressing the consumption of fossil fuels is needed. Theoretically, we can simply decrease the sales volume of gasoline, but in practice, it is highly difficult to regulate production activities in free trade countries except for an emergency.
Therefore, following the Paris Agreement in the Conference of Parties, “Carbon Pricing” and the “Cap and Trade system” has recently been in the spotlight. In this proposal, I explained key points of these regulations and discussed potential disadvantages when these measures are implemented. Lastly, I suggested ideas to address the weaknesses while still maintaining the goals of the proposed regulations by global community. First, supporters of carbon pricing argue that by putting high prices to carbon artificially, investment in reduction measures would likely to proceed in industries, and it encourages reducing the companies’ carbon emissions. On the other hand, “Cap and Trade system”, regulates businesses by setting the limits on the carbon emissions. Correspondingly, because we can take reductive measures which is economically effective throughout our countries, these are said to be the advantages of installing this system. Accordingly, by putting higher prices artificially on Carbon, in the use of “Carbon Pricing”, investment in reduction measures would proceed in companies which leads to reducing their Carbon emissions which is the benefit in this case. However, there are some potential disadvantages in the proposed regulations. Regarding “Carbon Pricing,” because of the taxation of Carbon, it is worried that the number of industries moving their production base to a different country will increase, which can lead to de-industrialization. Also, carbon pricing can cause “Carbon Leakage,” which refers to a situation because some countries reduce their emissions limits of CO2, by moving to other countries having weak emission regulations in relation with production activities,
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the emission of other regions will increase, which eventually leads to emission increase in the whole world. It has no meaning by just adjusting the price of carbon in one country if the CO2 emission of the world increases. “Cap and Trade system” also have some significant disadvantages. First is the difficulty of setting the emission quota. Even if the emission quota has been set, because of economic fluctuation and effects caused by the promotion of saving energy and sustainable energy, the demand may vary in great extents. The second weakness is the stagnation of prices. It is possible to make the emission quota at a low price, which will be a reasonable solution to reduce the emission amounts of CO2 in a short period of time, but by purchasing the emission quota, the capital funds will be deprived and would have the possibility of inhibiting the investment used for innovation and the introduction of low-Carbon technology in the long run. Third, the system has the problem in efficiency. Theoretically, it has a premise of reducing emissions efficiently, but it is still a doubt whether this system is effective in other foreign countries. Moreover, there has been financial problem in the cost of administrations. In the reason of allocation of the emission quota, regulated entrepreneurs can adjust the interest, but this interest adjustment would lead to a massive amount of costs in administrations. Also, after the interest adjustment, exceptional measures will be ushered, which the possibility of making the system more has complicated. To deal with these disadvantages, many efforts are being made. Having said that, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation proposes a regulation which supports the “Carbon Pricing System” and the “Cap and Trade system” for efficiency. When it comes to “Carbon Pricing”, the key is not to make companies change their production base, but make the whole process more efficient and better for the whole social welfare. Thus, to conclude, involved countries should altogether discuss about the difficulties in setting the emission quota and the stagnation of prices to come up with a better solution.
Eunseo Choe, Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies UNHCR, Democratic Republic of the Congo
“Rohingya need aid from international NGOs and United Nations, these institutions have obligation to give a hand to make refugees financially independent.”
“Women with HIV/AIDS” Rohingya are stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. Rohingya are regarded illegal immigrants. They are escaping Myanmar’s violence. Most of Rohingya are finding their shelter in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh readily accommodated the refugees. However, Bangladesh lack adequate shelter, food resources and access to sanitation. Furthermore, the places where Rohingya are residing in Bangladesh has the risk of natural disasters. To prevent these problems approaching refugees, United Nation is making an effort to give substantial amount of humanitarian aids such as funding known as JRP (Joint Response Plan), improving access to food and water, developing new sites that can safely accommodate Rohingya.
Democratic Republic of the Congo had similar refugee emergency before. Extreme civil wars are taking place at Democratic Republic of the Congo. Villages are burned, military is killing the citizens without proper reasons.
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As a result, affected Congolese are fleeing their region and seeking place to reside. Hundreds of thousands more have fled to Angola, Zambia and other neighboring countries. [2] Some refugees migrated to Beni and Oicha. Horrible situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo led to outbreak of Ebola virus, which is a virus that worldwide medias paid attention to it. More than 200 people in the nation died due to this disease and a lot of people were infected. To resolve this problem, United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees is giving significant assistances. UNHCR is working with the International Organization for Migration to lead the coordination and management of sites hosting internally displaced people (IDPs) in North Kivu and Tanganyika provinces. They also provide protection and assistance to Congolese refugees in neighboring countries, in collaboration with authorities and partners, including those forced to flee during the most recent surge of violence. Democratic Republic of the Congo’s refugees and Rohingya refugees are both refugees in developing countries, which are not able to manage the problem financially. Democratic Republic of the Congo believe that Rohingya need aid from international NGOs and United Nations, these institutions have obligation to give a hand to make refugees financially independent.
Jihoon Han, Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul SOCHUM, Denmark
“Mental Health”
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
George S. Patton who was U.S. Army officer during World War II said “You have to make the mind run the body.” Although this was for encouraging soldiers during the wartime, this quote is indicating the close correlation between human mind and body. If the mind is uncomfortable, the body also cannot be comfortable. If there is disease inside the mind, the body becomes weaker and more vulnerable to illness.
Considerable amounts of citizens believes that prioritizing supports for physical health rather than mental health is a corrrect way to augment the overall health of society. However, neglecting the importance of mental health is a serious mistake since it is a very pressing issue. At this time, almost 25% of the world population is suffering from mental or neurological disorders and two thirds of them are not getting any professional helps. The situation of less than $2 is being used per capita in most of the developing countries and the lack of psychaitrist is worsening this critical problem. 13.2 percent of Danish adult population, which is almost 623,000, is having mental illness or disorder and the percentage is keep augmenting as 0.7 percent increased from 2010 to 2013. Moreover, although 20.8 percent of the Danish population said that they are having high stress level in 2010, it became 25.1 percent in 2017. This rapid growth of population who are suffering from mental health issue has proven that this problem is very pressing in Denmark. To cope with this problem, the way of Denmark psychiatry approaching the mental health issue has been changed over the past two or three decades. At this time, it is more focusing on the outpatient treatment, rather than implementing the impatient-based treatment. Eva Secher Mathiasen, who is the chair of the Danish association of psychologists said “The trend is not something that is peculiar to Denmark.” Like she mentioned, yet this is pressing issue for Denmark, it is much more pressing issue for the whole world. Concrete actions and cooperation between nations have to be done to simultaneously reduce the amount of patients and prevent more people suffering from mental health issues.
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Both of supporting them by funding and developing new medicine is significant for treating those mental illness. However, we have to clarify that the mental illness is the problem occurring inside the “mental.” Not like the body, mental is the part that we cannot see. It is not the thing that we can change by doing surgery. Thus, before taking some exterior supports like funding or providing new medicines, there has to be intrinsic and fundamental fixation. Education and advertisement have to be activated in school, company, and public space to give citizens a consciousness to help people who have mental disorder. There has to be consciousness that the mental disorder can be cured easily when there is supports from neighbors, and thus having a good relationship with people. If that happens, the medicine will works more well and the recovering process of mental health will be accelerated. Since there is lack of doctors, psychiatrist, medicines, systems in developing countries, it is hard for them to resolve this problem by themselves. Thus, high-income countries have to cooperate and provide funds together. Moreover, international institutions or countries have to set up some programs that might be beneficial for doctors and psychiatrist who go to the less-developed countries to do voluntary activity and support treating mental illness. If psychiatrists go to the country or region where is lack of technology and medicine to provide some helps, huge amount of people suffering from mental disorder would be free from it. Furthermore, if government and college incentive citizens to study mental-related fields by supporting and giving them benefits like providing scholarships, there will be more students who are willing to be a doctor or psychiatrist. Then, the problem of insufficient number of psychiatrist will be resolved and more people can receive help from them. World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Like the remark of WHO, it is time for the world to start accelerating pre-existing supports and programs for mental health and moreover, create much more concrete and thorough ones.
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Eunji Hwang, Jeonbuk Foreign Language High School WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières
“When the serious issue happened, set a system of preparing a project on it, forming a team of coordinators, Ph.D., and experts, and then dispatching them to the field.”
“Rise in Global Childhood Obesity” Recently, the obesity which be considered as a feature now recognized as a global health crisis. In particular, childhood obesity is a condition that include negative effect on health or well-being of children due to excess body fat. Ways to show the level of obesity is called a BMI (Body mass index) that for children, 85% or more are considered overweight and 90% or more are considered obese. There is a genetic factor in obesity if a parent is obese, there is a slight probability that the child is also obese.
Specially, this situation is not for development countries but also for developing countries. The highest rates of childhood obesity are in Micronesia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Since 2000, the number of obese children in Africa has doubled. In many places, there is no adequate nutrition for children. In South Africa, one in three boys is overweight or obese, and the other three are underweight. In Brazil, 36 percent of girls are overweight or obese, and 16 percent are underweight. Both obesity and malnutrition are coexisting on the rise caused serious phenomenon. MSF focused on developing countries that are hard to treat due to malnutrition and various disaster problems in developing countries, but considering these facts, child obesity is steadily increasing, so it has entered global
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issues, appears to be actively in need of support, and will move in that direction. This organization is constantly trying to supply the maximum amount to undernourished children. Children with severe malnutrition are hospitalized, and after a certain amount of good health, they are discharged from the hospital, and they are provided with home-based nutrition therapy to continue treatment. The health center checks the status on a weekly basis. Also, in a more living sense, Doctors without Borders is an organization of doctors beyond one organization that treats obese and malnourished patients. Considering the topic, the MSF recommend to improve an environment of the lack of access to nutrition and pediatric treatment. In a case of N'Djamena an 18-month-old boy who was hospitalized at the center, he went to the hospital for treatment due to fever and acute diarrhea, but after a few days, the same symptoms appeared in other community health centers due to the hospital strike, but he refused treatment and eventually came to the doctors without a border's center. In the case of malnutrition, people are more vulnerable to infection and are more inclined to increase complications because their immune systems are significantly lower so it should be highly accessible. Also, for development countries which are suffering from adolescent obesity, school is in very important position for teenagers, that a place to spend more than half of the day. It need to set a more specific system in school physical education class and meals menu or in lunch box which parents responsibility also needed to fill the recommended daily vegetable intake. Although, some changing is necessary that the perception of false obesity formed through media and advertising. Already, it has already been shown that smoking and violence in teenagers caused by the media have had a bad influence. Therefore, ignoring the media's impact seems to be a dangerous act. Supporting advertising the seriousness of adolescent obesity and advertise the healthier foods than advertising for instant products could be solutions. This organization is consisted with doctors. When the serious issue happened, set a system of preparing a project on it, forming a team of coordinators, Ph.D., and experts, and then dispatching them to the field. As child obesity is a dangerous issue, a team of experts and medical staff on child obesity will also be set up to send to areas where obesity reaches 40 percent.
Ingun Hwang, Haneul Academy ASEAN, China
“Ulrich Beck, a sociology professor, once introduced a term called 'Risk Society.' The idea states that modern society has risks that are uncontrollable, massive, and improbable than those of the past, raising a common fear
among citizens.”
“Climate Refugee Crisis in Small Island Developing States” Ulrich Beck, a sociology professor, once introduced a term called 'Risk Society.' The idea states that modern society has risks that are uncontrollable, massive, and improbable than those of the past, raising a common fear among citizens. One of these risks is climate disaster, from which many are still struggling to recuperate the loss. Its influence and destructiveness are well explained in current SIDS status. Due to environmental degradation of coastal zones, 15 million people are expected to be displaced, and in 2050 they will lose 17 percent of their land in Bangladesh alone.
The pressure will likely be exacerbated by continuous deforestation and global warming, accompanying copious victims. While ASEAN has previously taken steps to alleviate the situation, no significant changes are made until now. Since an enormous amount of ecological migrants flow into China's vulnerable cities, the country cannot be excluded from this discussion as well. China currently is experiencing problematic situations with
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excessive population, therefore those moving from damaged areas to China's cities virtually face defects in food, shelter, and culture. Increasing frequency of natural disasters in major cities fans. Growing coastal cities are likely exposed to floods and typhoons, by which the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimated that roughly 6 million people were internally displaced in China during 2012. To alleviate climate change, the Chinese government have joined agreements and provided financial support for countries-in-need-of-help, but no improvement is on the horizon. Here, China is aware of, and fully prepared to assist ASEAN in solving this issue. Socioeconomic resources exist, applicable in demands of preparing environmental measures and countries suffering from climate issue. Possible resolutions that China can utilize are at international levels as far as serious infringement in national rights is not concerned. Then China is motivated to provide ideas and methods for restoring the damage, with enough funds and resource to materialize abstract relief program. Furthermore, practical systems must be implemented to aid climate migrants. Education should also play its role in teaching people of climate issues. A campaign can be conducted to educate normal citizens how to deal with ecological change; this may include suggesting different ways of survival and protecting the planet. Movers' environmental inability to stay in their homes can be solved by issuing a visa that permits residence in other regions for a certain time of period along with the proper urban planning. For advanced analysis, detailed measures should be set to classify and figure climate refugees. Through this effort, China believes that climate refugees can return to their homes humanely and global collaboration can be achieved.
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Hyeonjik Go, Pusan Foreign Language High Schoo Bee Dan, Daejeon Foreign Language High School Chang Hyun Chi, Daejeon Foreign Language High School
“- Addressing the Refugee Issue� I.
II.
III.
A.
Syrian Crisis A. Historical Background B. Status Quo C. Past Actions Refugee Issue in the Middle East A. Background B. Major Issues 1. Iraq Refugees 2. Tragedy of Yemen 3. Not Much Different for Libya 4. Case of Palestinians Possible Solutions A. Peace Building 1. Definition of Peace Building 2. Peace Building as a Solution B. Funding 1. Funds from Different Sectors
Historical Background
In order to talk about the current Syrian civil war happening in the territory, mentioning the ancient Syrian landmass is inevitable. The ancient Syrian territory consists of four nations in the current society: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. From the past, this region was torn with conflicts and controversies, making the region the most volatile place in the world. Throughout history, Syria remained the focal point of debate, taking the attention of the international society whether its intellectual of bellicose. Today, Syria still remains the most conflicted area in the world, leaving the international society a complex task to solve. After the termination of World War I in 1919, Syrians earned the status of an independent nation. However, this status did not last very long. League of Nations, a peace organization made after the World War I, officially ratified the French mandate over Syria, ending the independence of Syrians. There are three major reasons for the French mandate over the
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region: Britain keeping eastern Mesopotamia under its control so that it could counter the Russians and protect its oil interests; the Jewish interest toward the Palestine region; and last but not least, France’s desire to remain one of the dominants of the Middle East region. These factors all combined resulted in the French dominance of Syrian territory, leaving the Syrians with hatred toward the West and a desire to create a nation for all Arab states. Following its independence from France in 1946, Syria was put into a pluralistic state, where various social and political parties with different ideologies clashed with each other. Although Syria was able to earn its independence from France, it was in a extremely unstable state at that time. Various sectors, militaries, merchants, laborers, and many other classes performed resistance against the ruling parties, seizing control over the extremely fragile Syrian region. The fragile and unstable situation within the region gave reason for the formation of the Ba’ath party, a movement committed toward forming a united Arab state. Threatened by the instability of the nations, Syrians decided to form a union with the Egyptians, being realized in 1958 as the United Arab Republic. However, although the creation of the United Arab Republic might be seen as the Arab nations fulfilling their aspiration to from United States, on the other hand, it was just a haste decision to counter the political instability, resulting in the concentration of power in Cairo. As a result, the Egyptian president Nasser took control over the UAR, governing from Egypt to Syria, often disregarding Syrian political interests. All of the Syrian political parties were disbanded and Nasser even tried to nationalize Syrian industry, trying to put everything under the president’s control. Therefore, following the dissolution of the UAR in 1961, the Ba’ath party took control over Syria, mainly consisted of minorities. In 1967, Hafiz al-Assad started to lead the country, trying to reform the nation by incorporating different classes that were originally discarded from achieving power. As a result, in 1973, Ba’ath party was declared the leading party within the Syrian society and Assad remained the leader of the country, continuing Nasser’s authoritarianism. In 2000, following the death of Hafiz al-Assad, his son, Bashar Assad assumed the presidency. At that time, the state was already in an extremely fragile and unstable state, leaving the region on the brink of catastrophe. B.
Status Quo
The Syrian Civil War is a multi-sided armed conflict happening in the Syrian region, mainly between the government side led by president Bashar al-Assad and the rebels. However, not only these two parties but many other domestic and foreign forces are related to the conflict, each craving for different values. Among numerous motives that led to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, an event known as the “Arab Spring” could be deemed as the major trigger that started the Syrian civil war. In 2001, political and economic protests were successfully held in Egypt and Tunisia. These successful actions led to the start of Arab Spring, also referred to as a pro-democracy movement in Syria. Alarmed by the unusual atmosphere, the Syrian army arrested and tortured 15 Syrian students for writing graffiti, a sign of supporting the Arab Spring. In the process, one student was killed. As a result, the Syrian citizens were outraged by the incident, demanding the government to release the other students and to provide the citizens with greater freedom. However, the Assad regime responded by killing hundreds of protesters. Shocked by the atrocious act, in 2011, Syrian rebels formed the Free Syrian Army, fighting against the Assad regime. Moreover, even before this major incident, the Syrians were dissatisfied by the Assad regime, as the country lacked political and economic stability and freedom, not to mention the harsh condition of living within the nation. Failing economy, skyrocketing unemployment, severe drought, and government corruption were the other factors that led people to resent the Assad regime, hoping for a better nation. Last but not least, religious tension could also be said as one of the major motives that led to the outbreak of Syrian civil war. While most of the Syrian civilians are Sunni Muslims, a small part of Syrians, mostly the governing party, are Shia Muslims. The ongoing conflict between the two religious groups is a serious controversy that could not be overlooked. Although the Syrian civil war started as a “civil war”, but looking at the current stance, it could be seen as an international military conflict, consisting different international forces that have dived into the war as to seek their own benefits. Mainly, the supporters of the Assad regime are the Russian Federation, China, North Korea, and Hezbollah, a military group based on Lebanon. The rebels are supported by the United States, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other western countries interested in the crisis. The ongoing conflict also led to the formation of numerous terrorist groups namely the ISIS and the Curds. In conclusion, the Syrian civil war could be simply defined as a four sided war: the Assad regime, the rebels, the Curds, and the ISIS. The situation in the area is not cooling down, as the US started to heavily intervene in the war following the usage of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.
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C.
Past Actions
Alarmed by the seriousness of the situation and in order to halt further extension of the ongoing war, the international society, especially the United Nations, has done numerous efforts to address the issue at hand. Ever since the outbreak of vicious war in the Syrian region, numerous UN bodies, namely the Human Rights Council, General Assembly, and Security Council have directly countered the escalating Syrian crisis, suggesting and implementing constructive solution to the area. In 2011, in order to monitor and punish severe human rights violation in the Syrian territory, the Human Rights Council implemented the Commission of Inquiry in the Syrian soil. This commission, cooperating with the General Assembly, has put forth many resolutions addressing the severe human rights violation in the region and calling for the Syrian Arab Republic to cease abusing the rights of its citizens. The Security Council, as the first body to address peace and security issues in the international society, has been deeply engaged in the crisis. On 14 April 2012, the Council sent 30 unarmed investigators to investigate the possibility of cease fire in the region and implementation of counter war infrastructure through adopting resolution 2042. On 22 April 2012, under resolution 2043, the UN Supervision Mission was established in Syria. However, even with all these efforts, the situation in Syria is not cooling down. Therefore, the international society is claiming that the Security Council should consider new steps to take in order to effectively address the issue. The new options could be specified into three factors: the imposition of arms embargo within the Syrian region; implementation of partial sanctions on group leaders that are seriously breaching human rights; and the referral of the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court. II.
Refugee Issue in the Middle East A.
Background
Throughout the long history, the Middle East has been one of the most important crossroads of different mankind, where cultures, continent, and ideas intersect. Like other dangered parts of the world, the Middle East has produced millions of refugees over the past ten years. This old and new refugee crisis has become part of the various challenges we must solve at once. Today, the ‘UN High Commission on Refugees’ reports more than 16 million refugees and 60 million displaced people around the world by the breathtaking deluge of refugees and forced migration of the Middle East. Nowadays episodes of these forced migration and war are not new to the Middle East as it occurs so frequently. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have died out and thousands are still being forced to escape the fears of the civil discontent, civil war, and the abuses of the government. Children in the Middle East have known nothing but death, war, and loss from the second they were born. Civilians get internally displaced, most of them eventually leaving their country and become refugees in foreign land. The wars in Syria and Iraq have produced the greatest portion of the Middle East’s refugees in recent years, but situation wasn’t much better in countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Neighboring states have faced severe challenges in absorbing millions of refugees. Large refugee populations are the result we can see caused by many of these crisis, but they often hold on even after the conflicts. In the Middle East, this is the case for almost all of the large displacements, which keep millions with vague hope for the future. The international community must go further than just offering humanitarian assistance, it must provide real economic and political support throughout this long and extremely difficult transition period that is ahead of us. B.
Major Issues
Most people are running away from their disastrous countries to survive or look for a better life, trying to escape the violence in their societies by going to other countries. But these dangerous journeys expose them to various public health risks. Physically demolished by the war, countries of the origin are losing the young and healthy part of their population. In addition, illegal economies led by immoral predators promise safe passage to refugees that often results in enormous risks from harsh environmental and living conditions in refugee camps, violence and sexual assaults, and unsafe ways of traveling. a.
Iraq Refugees
Iraqis were, and still remain as one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world. An estimated 2 million people had been displaced internally, and a similar number had fled abroad, most noticeably to Jordan and Syria, and also to Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, etc. Most refugees chose the region’s large cities as their place of exile for jobs and their survival.
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Syria and Jordan still take over the largest Iraqi refugee populations in the region. Nearly 64,000 Iraqi refugees are registered with UNHCR in Syria, and another 30,000 in Jordan as well. Refugees from Iraq cannot work legally in countries, and after living on their savings for as long as they can endure, more and more of them have grown poor and exhausted over the years. Many only register with UNHCR when they become so vulnerable that they are no longer able to live by themselves. Host countries continue to hold much of the burden of assisting Iraqi refugees, to provide them with access to national health and education foundations. Although there has been some improvement of security inside Iraq over the past years, the country remains deeply fractured and struggles to gain stability. UNHCR is helping to return the refugees but still over one million Iraqis remain displaced. b.
Tragedy of Yemen
Being the poorest country in the Middle East, Yemen has, for many years had the region’s most generous refugee policies. The country currently has about 230,000 refugees, most of them Somalis. Moreover, every year, over 100,000 African people head toward the shore of Yemen, as in the hope of finding a new shelter that would provide more freedom and support for them. The journey is highly dangerous, and hundreds have died during it. Most of the people among them suffers from abusement and violation from different illegal forces, arriving at Yemen in a traumatized condition. Several NGOs are supported by the UNHCR, rescuing people within the 2,000-kilometer coastline, providing them with protection from pirates and smugglers and basic needs. With the help of the UNHCR, many Yemenis are adapting to the new much safer environment, but the displacement situation in the North remains unresolved. Yemen needs stronger support from regional and global actors to allow the country to move forward toward increased stability. c.
Not much different for Libya
The refugee crisis in the region of Libya is marked as one of the largest refugee crisis in history. Millions of Libyans got out of the country border, fleeing to the land of Egypt and Tunisia in 2011. Among the people who have flown to the foreign land, there were workers, laborers, refugees from other nations, and last but not least about a hundred of nationalists. This is the factor that makes the international society hard to solve the Libyan refugee crisis. The diversity of the refugees means that there should be different approaches and support toward each of them and this is making the supporting process harder than ever. Moreover, another problem that worsens the situations is that this large-scale migration from Libya to the neighboring nations such as Egypt and Tunisia occurred when the nations were experiencing economic and political revolution. Nevertheless, even though the nations were suffering from the reforming of their internal bureaucracy, they kept their borders open toward the refugees. Accepting them with shelters and needed support. The international society should acknowledge that it is not the economic support that is needed for the Libyans right now. It is political support through international cooperation that is needed, so as to build and secure a solid and democratic political system within the nations, which would then result in the solving of refugee crisis. d.
Case of Palestinians
One must not forget that by far the largest and most protracted of all refugee problems today, not only in the Middle East region but in the world, is that of the Palestinian refugees. Today, more than five million Palestinian refugees are scattered across the Middle East, with hundreds of thousands more dispersed throughout diverse continents. The Palestinians’ continuing refugee status leaves them fundamentally at risk. UNHCR tried to identify alternative solutions to bring all of them to safety, and about 3,000 particularly vulnerable people were eventually resettled to more than a dozen different countries. However, the situation of many of Iraq’s Palestinians continues to be very sensitive. The international community needs to provide stronger support to help prevent another massive displacement of Palestinian refugees which would have devastating consequences on the regional stability. III. A.
Possible Solutions Peace Building a. Definition of Peace Building
Peace Building is a process that takes place in post-conflict areas where there needs to be enhancement between groups of society and individuals to prevent a repetition of further conflicts. They take on root causes of such conflicts and corporate both sides to reconcile to see the end of grudges between and set peace among them. For Peace Building to take place in regions or in between groups, it must meet the common grounds of some conditions; functional structures, emotional conditions and social psychology, social stability, rule of law and ethics, and cultural sensitivities. Such conditions must be met to maintain peace and prevent further incidents that might take place. United
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Nations Peacebuilding holds charge of all interventions and aids on peacebuilding throughout the globe. It helps nations for its lasting peace to create conditions in between that meet the needs of both or more. Peacekeepers provide firm security and interfere throughout the process. Peacebuilding, on the other hand, helps with political, economic and social aspects to maintain the peace that will be built upon nations and shift conflicts to peace. b.
Peace Building as a Solution
In such given cases like Syrian Crisis or the Middle East where conflict occurs simultaneously, the root causes are entangled through culture, economy, social constructions and etc. That is why Peacebuilding in these areas is crucial. As mentioned above, unlike Peacekeeping, the functioning of Peacebuilding starts with seeking the root causes of conflicts and understanding the situation rather than working with a force for settlement. Peacebuilding addresses three principles which are consent of the party, impartiality, and non-use of force for inter-related reinforcements. This will allow post-conflict areas and conflict areas to understand the intervention of worldwide power to handle the matter in hand. Normally if foreign forces were to intervene the opposing party will gain number to act against it, but the approach taken by Peacebuilding organizations does have a ground to take place in conflict areas. Although even if such Peacebuilding does show improvement there are a few things that we must bear in mind. One doubt that is questioned with the latest missions taken by Peacebuilding was of its accomplishments. The key factor upon this action is timing. Areas which are in conflict or post-conflict areas are vulnerable and shows aggression toward any that shows hospitality. So timing wise the consent of the main parties involved is significant to work. The way for Peacebuilding to work through and transparent the intention of exposing the truth in the root causes of conflicts, parties would be able to identify different layers of tensions that need to be relieved and where reconciliation would be set forth from. This to pass through smoothly elite nations must be attended to oversee the progress to reach Peacebuilding. With the given processes and legislation that this Peacebuilding commission works on ables the conflict-stricken areas to regain peace and reconcile upon the matters that they conflicted upon for good. It does take time to rebuild trusteeship and hospitality toward each other after the damages that they would both endure, but they will be aided with different sections of UN sectors and elite countries to settle such further matters. B.
Funding Through Charity Organizations a.
Funds from different Sectors
Currently UN funding is in shortage due to countries procrastination of contribution to the UN. Also UN budgets seal at the general assemblies, which is held in September. This shortens the choices of funds that we can gather up for aiding such crises like Syrian Crisis or the Middle East Crisis. Which leaves us with funding organizations such as World Bank, IMF, or ACABQ which is one of the UN organizations. These funding systems work on loans and interests to set deals. Such deals will be beneficial in reinforcing and solving the given situations. Funding might be questioned if it could be in help to solve these situations. But if we look into the root causes and all those with opposite views meet up on similar subjects such as money, oil to economy assets to fight upon. Failing of economy in the country, skyrocketing unemployment rates to more helped these crises to build between countries even nations surrounding the area. For the Syrian civil war to end and regain peace between the parties funding would play a critical role in calming the rural areas and seeing the end to such cruel actions taking place. Since it stretched out to bigger parties to take role in this civil war or the refugee crisis they face difficulties in getting the right supplies to medications to others and lack them. With the funding provided by many other organizations to aid these in need the charity will be used upon locals to the weak for safer, healthier living regardless of the crisis which will gain favor from them. This will allow further movement through such crisis since it shows no progress in improving the status quo. IV.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is clear that the tragedy currently happening in the Middle East, especially in the Syrian region, is escalating in a tremendous speed, requiring the attention of the international society more than ever. The Syrian conflict has been ongoing for 8 years and the Yemen crisis is on the brink of chaos as international forces are joining the fight. Millions of refugees have flown from their homeland without any shelter to protect them. The United Nations, as the biggest international organization in the world, has stood up toward these issues, providing and supporting the region with financial aid and constructive solutions. However, the situation is not seeming to cool down. Even worse, due to the complex interrelationship between each forces, the situation is getting worse than ever. As the most liberal constitution in the international society, the UN should find a constructive solution toward this issue, maintaining peace and security of the world.
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HYEONJIK GO, PUSAN FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
Columbia University. I'm pretty sure it's a name that rings a bell inside a lot of you. 5th ranked in the world famous for its Nobel Prize winners and their way of education. Buildings were smaller in sizes even compared to Korean university buildings, because they gather into small groups for classes to focus on student’s education more. Fascinating fact about the campus of Colombia University was that each department had its own libraries. Normally you would find one big library for every student to use but Colombia's campus made students to differentiate each other and focus on their majors. As I mentioned earlier the whole campus isn't big of a size since it is located in New York City where land prices are extraordinarily high. It was strange to see a University fit so well into the urban surroundings. If we were to imagine of New York we think about rush hours to busy streets full of people and inside all this there was Colombia University. The atmosphere that I noticed while walking around with Mentor, Sung Mo Koo it was peaceful and harmonic, totally different to the city itself. Our mentor led us through and gave us his own experiences on how he got admitted to the college and what he did to prepare for it. Personally I do love the urban ways and the campus life that I dream of and Columbia University did fit my imagination of a future campus life. Since our mentor informed us of what to prepare for, I realized what I should do to be ready when it is my time to shine myself. Life isn’t all about getting into Universities but I believe it to be the first step to take for my future career since I know what I should prepare myself for.
As a past MUN participant, during the preparation period after we were noticed with our committee and agendas researching the given event on Tehran Hostage Crisis wasn’t too difficult. However since Crisis committee that I was assigned to was unfamiliar which slowed the whole procedure and the role that was given Hamilton Jordan Staff of Chief of President Carter’s War Room was unknown too. So I started off trying to understand how cabinets like this function when crisis happens. Staff of Chief, Mr. Jordan was known for his friendship with President Carter who helped Carter choose upon greater reasons throughout the time. That’s where I started my research to get a grip on what I, Hamilton Jordan has to seek through the sessions. Normally if such incidents were to occur there are two possible solutions to decide; diplomatically, military. Considering current situation at the time, actions that the cabinet could take was limited for such reasons. Iran was needed to supply for American oil usages, Soviet Union and America was going through Cold War and Vietnam War hasn’t been far off. Taking notion, when the session started as predicted crises were announced to make matters worse and kept us from saving the hostages. Different from the past MUNs that I have attended, they were updated with crisis and we were to change the situation immediately with directives to amend the situation. I learned that in order to proceed and improve myself I were to decide upon urgent matters with caution and care and learn to persuade others. Persuading others in a non-native language isn’t always easy, but if you have your firm grounds and make others buy into your thoughts with your logic that is when you can achieve greater. I got to know that the next time
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I attend such competitions, now I know what and how to prepare and research for it. Logic comes into sense when I do my researches and think upon the matter, and if built strong it will come in handy at all times.
Normally we don’t get chances such as this to visit the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations. My last visit to New York was 2years ago went on a UN HQ tour and passed by the gate of Permanent Mission and joyed for the Korean flag that stands at the front of the door. The 2nd visit through this program granted me a chance to go inside meet the Korean ambassadors and actually talk and ask questions of their work. We all know about SDGs that UN has given out to make world better. Ambassador Park gave us a lecture regarding such matters. SDG abbreviation for Sustainable Development Goals do take credit for its presence, but I noticed throughout the lecture and all the experiences I had, that it was taking no power in actual life. Such goals and lists can be acknowledged, but in order to make change it must be used and applied to our individual life. Change is always difficult, for this Earth to change and sustain we must be able to let go of the comfortless which is double-sided with pollution. The most memorable question that was asked was what we could do, as students we cannot go and simply make policies ignoring the fact that we are merely grownups. We can start by changing ourselves, the lifestyle we have already been accustomed to, which has led to current Earth aching from pollutions. To start off plastic bags for instance, we can all change the use of it to personal bags to reduce the use. Also simpler ways are recycling, picking up garbage and eating less outside. Small actions will consequently do greater changes. It is a pity that not many recognizes SDGs. It’s been long since they started promoting SDGs but, in Korea you are lucky if 1out of 10 know the term SDGs. So we can all go around and let others know of this so they can also participate to protect and save Earth that we have damaged intentionally or unintentionally. As I mentioned at the beginning we don’t get such chances to have these experiences and I learned to move and act not just speak of it. I shouldn’t be acting imprudently, I should act and push on with caution to settle this matter and improve to make a better world.
MINSEOK KIM, PUSAN FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL .
There was an air of dignity and righteousness that surrounded him. Standing upright with a stern look and sharp features, the statue of Alexander Hamilton was truly a stunning sight to behold. This dignified sculpture was artfully created by sculptor William Ordway Partridge in 1908 and was erected on the grounds of Columbia University. One of the first stops during my stay in New York was Columbia University. An official Ivy League school, Columbia
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University is famous not only for its prodigious classes but also for their diverse programs. Before the trip to New York I had thoroughly done research on Columbia University and was astounded by countless programs dedicated towards students. For example in the English department, some classes devoted time towards Victorian poetry while others were dedicated to modern British fiction. Through my research I believed that I had attained an overall understanding of Columbia’s curriculum. However, during the campus tour I was proven wrong. The tour guide explained with great detail on how Columbia University not only has some of the best programs but is also equipped with an extensive swimming pool and fitness center for athletes and non-athletes alike so students can train both their mind and their body. Another interesting feature was how specific dorms were created for students to mingle and make new friends. Further on, after the tour guide showed us the most significant buildings and sculptures around campus, he explained in detail how international students and under- privileged students can still attend Columbia University. The university has various programs garnered towards helping students overcome obstacles and receive the best education. After attending this tour, I realized how Columbia put the necessities of its students first. In conclusion, through the Columbia campus tour I was able to learn about the diverse programs, facilities and most important how international students can attend the school. Although I visited many landmarks and notable places during my time in New York, attending the Columbia campus tour was the noteworthy.
During my trip to the U.S. I was able to take part in the YMUN competition. The YMUN, or Yale Model United Nations is an exceptional program aimed towards solving global issues related with the UN and its various agencies. Middle and high school students from around the world were allowed to join and take part in the competition to solve various problems such as disarmament and environmental disasters. For 4 days, students represented each of their designated countries and UN agencies and discussed, debated, and formed unions to come up creative solutions. The first day of YMUN was hectic. For many, it was the first time participating in YMUN including myself and many students were unsure of what to do. However, during the first 4 hour session, I learned how each student or ‘delegate’ had to debate with each other and voice their opinions to the Chair, which was a group of three people that were in charge of the entire meeting. If a delegate wished to change the topic of debate or add their opinion they were required to raise their personal placards. Another intriguing part of the YMUN was that students didn’t represent themselves but entire nations. Unlike other debates I had participated in, each YMUN member had to be a countries representative. For example, I was assigned to be a delegate from Belgium and had to analyze Belgium’s stance on the Rohingya crisis. One of the first topics or ‘motions’ was opened by a veteran YMUN competitor and was on the issue of Rohingya sanitation and living conditions. Having prepared beforehand for various Rohingya related issues, I believed I would awe people with my extensive knowledge on the subject and show them the hard work I put into research. However, as the debate continued I realized how underprepared I actually was. Many of the students spoke in ringing tones, arguing passionately for their cause. I clearly remember how a delegate for Afghanistan would spring from her seat and zealously describe the living conditions of the tortured Rohingya with heart wrenching stories of women and children dying from starvation. Similarly, other delegates too would speak with great fervor. After hearing these students speak I honestly felt intimidated and scared. However, as the days progressed, I began to settle in with the environment and spoke more freely utilizing my research papers and knowledge of refugees and the Rohingya. Unfortunately, YMUN was only 4 days and I wasn’t able to speak out as much as I had hoped. Although I wasn’t able to perform as well as I hoped, I am truly grateful for having been given this opportunity to meet new people, debate on interesting issues, but most importantly for having the chance to learn and study at one of the most notable universities in the world under caring educators. I would like to hone my speech and writing skills so I will be able to work to my fullest during the next YMUN.
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SEUNGHYUN KIM, KOREA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PHILIPPINES
Today, on the 13th day of January 2019, I visited the Columbia University with the group members of the Yale MUN program. This university is one of the most well-known universities not only inside the city of New York, but among the countries around the world. By this, a lot of students, even the Korean students, dream to get in to this university. The 2nd year college student of Columbia University toured the whole university campus for us and even made a presentation of tips of going in a foreign university by graduating a Korean high school. During the tour, he shared his knowledges about the buildings inside the campus and their purpose. Also, it was interesting that he knew all the stories about the monuments in front of some buildings. Touring around the campus was a great experience for me because it is not common in the Philippines to encounter universities surrounded by huge buildings. This was the reason why the scale of the Columbia University amazed and caught my attention which was unlikely because of the unbearably cold weather today during the whole tour. Through the presentation he has prepared for us, I learnt a lot and gained useful information that would be able to help me when I get to assign for a university in the future.
Joining the Yale Model United Nations was a great challenge while at the same time an unforgettable experience for me. Since it was my first time to join a MUN, I didn’t know much about how this works, and what I should do to represent my own nation/NGO. However, before the actual MUN, I made a lot of researches about MUN. I challenged myself to find more information and get the general ideas about MUN. Also, I tried my best to research about the given topic and make my NGO’s ideas clear towards the topic. It definitely was not easy, but it was worth doing it because even I was not participating the contest yet, doing the research and preparing for the contest beforehand taught me how to learn things by my own and made me to be interested on problems which people of the world is struggling with. For participating in the contest, I was able to learn how to cooperate with other participants that represented a certain country to narrow the distance between two different ideas of a different bloc by convincing them. This whole YMUN program was a great opportunity for me to learn things that I could have never learnt just through textbooks and classes in school. I could clearly say that this have made me improve myself in various aspects.
Since I was little, I used to dream of being a person who could represent the world and help people in need. This naturally made me interested in the UN and I wanted to know more about it. Although I live in a foreign country, it was not easy for me to be able to gain information about UN. All I could get was some books and documentaries that are related. This did help me to know more about UN, but I wanted to know what it is like to work in UN from a person who have an experience working there. This was the main reason why I thought of this YMUN program to be a great opportunity for me. From this program, I was able to listen to the lectures done by people who actually work for the UN. I think this was the reason why the lectures were more realistic, and the information given were more practical for me. Also, we were given the time to ask questions to the lecturer and through this, I was able to get the exact information about what I really wanted to know which is impossible to be done by reading a book. Among all the great lectures I listened to, the first lecture given by Arasu Jambukeswaran from UNFPA about UN careers was the most memorable one. He talked about his own experience working
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in the field in Nepal and Afghanistan and described his work there and the difficulties that he had to encounter. I felt this lecture was special because the previous books that I have read about the UN was mostly about the positive side of the job. However, this lecture was distinctive because it did not only describe the good part of being a part of UN but also talked about what we, who dreams to work in the UN in the future, should expect from getting this job. Although the lecturer gave specific disadvantages of this job, I felt more intrigued to be a part of UN in the future. I was able to acknowledge how difficult it is to work in places of unpleasant environment while I don’t get to have the chance to choose where I would like to work in, but I was driven more into this job when the lecturer talked about his passion towards this job and his attitude when he handles the difficulties that he had to encounter during the field work. I think I could never forget the lessons I have earnt during this program and I believe that the lectures I have heard would be a stimulus for me now and in the future.
JOOSUNG KIM, CORNERSTONE COLLEGIATE ACADEMY OF SEOUL
Today I have attended a tour of Columbia University led by a Korean college student named Sengmoo Gu; he currently taking classes at the school, majoring mathematics, specifically statistics. For about fifteen minutes, he himself led us throughout the whole campus, stopping at famous landmarks and describing their history, reason of existence, and sometimes his personal social experience there. Although it was freezing cold, his thoughtful and interesting meanings of each buildings and its description made the tour much more gripping. The most memorable buildings were the different types of dormitories, the Butler Library, and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. There were three main types of dormitories; the types of students residing in the different dormitories fascinated me. For me, dormitories are just one type of home: people just live there because they were designated the room. However, Mr. Gu told us that there is a dorm for students who were “anti-social,” the introverted, quiet, and indoor type of people. There was also a dorm for students who were extroverted, talkative, and sociable, and lastly, a dorm for those just in the middle between the two extreme dorms. This was unlike any other dorms I have witnessed in my life, so a different group of people for different dorms was a mind-blowing idea. The Butler Library was astonishing for me to observe, due to the sheer size and descriptions of antique architectural techniques mentioned by Mr. Gu. It had a more significant meaning to its existence compared to everyday libraries, for there were names of famous philosophers like Homer, Aristotle, Plato, Vergil, and so on. Lastly, we were in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering so that Mr. Gu can receive questions from us and answer them right back to us at the spot, an invaluable experience I will never forget. One outstanding trait of Columbia University as an Ivy League college is that during a student’s first and second year, he or she has to take core courses, ranging from Calculus to Art, Music, and Literature Humanities, an opportunity for the student to at least have a taste of what each field of knowledge is. Due to these chances, students will have a more informed and accurate decision of what their major will be, for if they try to change it at their 3rd or 4th year, the consequences will be dire. What was more meaningful for me, on the other hand, was the fact that we were in the Department of Computer Science, a field I wish to work in. After the Questions and Answers period, I had enough time to roam around the department itself, imagining myself working in one of these classes. The site was clean, neat, and quiet: a perfect area to delve into the field of Computer Science. Although I cannot afford to attend this great school, full of opportunities and excitement, I was able
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to at least form a plan for me to aid myself in reaching this goal of studying in a wonderful school like Columbia University. I surely wish that one day I will be able to study there.
Although I was excited for this experience, I was unsure of this decision to travel all the way to the U.S. for a discussion contest such as the MUN: there were rules I had to follow, research I had to do based on topics I had never thoroughly thought about before, and new people, with different ethnic beliefs, race, and nationality, I had to meet. However, I thought of it as a great opportunity to make my dream of meeting a different variety of people my age. With these concerns and hopes in mind, I took my flight to New York. During the days participating in the MUN, after the tour in the UN headquarters, I was able to meet my committee members. After all, due to the fact that I was in the Specialized Committee, G20 Summit, there were only about 19 people, compared to the ginormous components of members consisting the usual committees, such as the General Assembly Committee. At my committee, although insignificant in size, there were many different types of people, with many different characteristics. There was a delegate from Bangladesh, a senior dreaming of majoring computer science. He had an extensive research data, bringing in binders of information for the two topics given in the committee. Although the MUN is in fact a competition for a prize, he was unhesitant of handing me information related to the topic, accordingly aiding me in writing our resolution. There was a delegate from Australia, a sophomore who was shy in speaking in public. It was also his first time participating in the MUN, and I was able to feel sympathy for him. Due to our similarities in our current situation, we were friendly enough to each other to write a resolution paper for one of the topics. A Jewish senior with prioritized thinking of his own ideas, bold in every aspect, one student was participating in the topic in the most active way; although some of his speaking styles and aspects of a topic was rather radical, he kept his faith in his own thoughts and solutions to the topic. Like these students and all the other sixteen members of the committee, we had an exciting time sharing our ideas and dealing with political and economic issues regarding the Rohingya refugees and the U.S.-China Trade War. We did have some disagreements and objectives, but due to our common goal to solve the issue, we proceeded in merging a solution for the sake of those who are suffering. In the end, we were able to find a common resolution, ending the MUN altogether. I had many opportunities of meeting new and good people, stretching my knowledge on different aspects of life, students, and experiences. I noticed how ignorant I was compared to these bright and hopeful students. They were to pursue their dreams, their hobbies, and their future jobs, and I was able to learn many life messages from them, and also the students of Yale. Although I won’t have time to join another MUN, I would cherish this event as one of the most important and exciting moments of my life in 2019, and possibly my high school years altogether.
Today our group went to the UN tour in order to have a more interactive experience with one of the most prominent union in the world. First, we went out to the streets, interviewing random pedestrians about what they think about Korea and the UN in general. There were many interesting answers, and I was surprised about how well these random people are participating in this short interview. We then went on a tour of the whole UN department, walking through different and ideal rooms such as the General Assembly. I was amazed by the sheer size of that room, but given the fact that all member countries join in this committee, it is not that surprising. Still, it was ginormous in size. There were many other things we did, but the most memorable moment of my tour was when the delegate of the UNODA, the department of disarmament around the world, Hideki Matsuo, came for a lecture and some time for receiving questions and giving answers. His vision and information that he presented to us was mind-blowing for me, given the fact that I live in a country where there's an immediate threat upon our upper nation, North Korea. Given the fact that the problem is real and needs certain measures of resolution, I was unable to feel the time pass by so quickly. Thanks to him, I now have a new vision, and thanks to this experience, I now have a clearer vision of what the UN actually is, and how amazing it is for other nations with different ethnicities, religion, beliefs, policies, political structures, GDPs, and issues can merge together to form a solution to worldwide problems.
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CHAN YANG KIM, HANEUL ACADEMY
This was my first time going to other country’s university, Columbia University. At first, as I had not been to Columbia University ever, I thought that it would be just similar with my country’s university. But after I saw Columbia University in person, I totally knew that I was thinking wrong. It was too different. Columbia University has a much bigger size than my country’s university as I was overwhelmed with the size of Columbia University. But not only size but also the appearance was perfect. Each building presented its own feature. There are also other different points. First of all, Columbia University has a core curriculum that makes all students achieve same subject. For example, there is a curriculum that makes student learn another language and learn liberal art subject. By learning another language, Columbia University makes their students prepared to be a social citizen. Learning another language also makes them understand other countries culture. And students by learning music, art, PE, it makes their student educated not only in their major but also in many sides. Columbia University also has another special system compared with Korea’s University. They have set up a strong sisterhood relationship with other universities. Korea also has set up a sisterhood relationship, but they do not have strong relationship as Columbia University. In Korea, they have exchanges between two or more university. But in Columbia University, they actually can make a same club with other students who studies in another university like Barnard University (Barnard University is a university that has a strong relationship with Columbia University).Finally, they have a special treatment to their students. They make 95% of their students live in the dormitory room. Not only my country’s university but also other universities couldn’t make 95% of their students live in the dormitory room. They have 16% of the students who studies abroad, and actually most of them have a hard time making a residence except the dormitory room. And the figure 95% means that they think about the students who studies abroad too.
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TAEEUN KIM, GIMPO FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
It was a great honor for all of us to visit one of the greatest universities in the United States. All the students were led by one of the Korean students Koo Sung Mo, who were also a member of the school. He was going through his second year, and thankfully he volunteered himself to give all the other students a tour around the Colombian University. We started touring around the campus, amazed by its size and the school’s history. The Colombian University was a place of opportunity many other students. In fact, the rate of foreign students of the school was six teen percent. The students’ race and their skin color was not a problem, and it looked like the school had accepted the students who had the passion and talent to study within the university. During the tour we were able to witness different libraries, depending on the different majors, such as law, physics, computer science, philosophy, and more. The number of libraries were amazing, but at the same time, the design of the building and the statues which represented each library were also stunning. To go on further, the university student Koo Sung Mo showed us different dormitories which were in the campus, and we were able to find out that ninety five percent of the students who were attending the Columbian University had the opportunity to stay there. All of us were able to notice that Koo Sung Mo, our mentor though out the tour was very proud of his school and the facilities provided. After the tour around the school, we were able to hear more about the school life, the compulsory lessons you have to take, and the rate of the students who were actually accepted. We also found out that there are different branches which starts from the Columbian University, such as the Barnard College for girls and the Columbian college. Overall, the tour around the Columbian University was a great opportunity for all the Korean Students and it was described as a dream University with many opportunity and increased chance in exploring. Though its tuition fee seemed expensive, I strongly believe that its quality of education and facility is worthy, like our mentor Koo Sung Mo has also said.
It was a great opportunity for me to participate in the YMUN XLV this year. In fact, it was a purely great experience that I was able to visit one of the greatest universities in the United States and have a tour around. In the YMUN XLV, I was in the General Assembly, the HGAs which dealt with the past historical issues. This year, there were two Latin American historical events. The 1979 Nicaraguan revolution, and the 1975 Operation Condor. Both events resulted in thousands of victims and violation of human rights. During the committee as a representative of Upper Volta, which is now also known as Burkina Faso, I mainly emphasized the fact that human violation must stop, and that the same tragic history must not repeat. The whole procedure went smooth by the lead of our amazing chair members and throughout the sessions I was able to observe some of the members who were very great and impactful at their speech and also the way they formed the blocs. There were many things to learn and improve. Furthermore, I was able to hear different thoughts from different people about the topic, based on their countries positions and was able to get involved finding the best solutions to the problems we were given.
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Within the numbers of sessions, we formed blocs, working on working papers and the resolutions. During the YMUN, by these kinds of different procedures, I was able to interact with different people from different countries. Some were from the United States, but from other states such as Boston, some were from China, Philippines, Dubai, Mexico, it was totally global. Thankfully, by this experience I was able to build global friendship, get to know some new cultures of my new friend, and understand the differences we had. In fact, I was able to meet one of the greatest and funniest chairs in my life. Overall, YMUN XLV, was one of the greatest events that happened in my life so far, being able to meet new people, get involved in debates, making speeches in front of more than 70 people, I was able to learn how to interact with people, getting different feedbacks and hearing others opinions and thoughts. The school was great, the people I met were amazing and the whole experience was special for me. It was a big stage, I was able to build up my global mind, and overall it was a very helpful experience for me. And I really appreciate the things that I’ve earned from it.
I. Climate Change to World Change During the United Nations lecture sessions, in session4, we were able to meet Ariel Alexovich from DESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs) who did a lecture on the topic, ‘Climate change’. She raised awareness of the impacts and the dangers climate change, and the ways to overcome it. She also introduced the SDGs (Sustainable development Goals) briefly and the solutions that United Nations suggests and the ways United Nations was doing to overcome the crisis. Climate change is a matter that everyone has to consider as it is a world issue we are dealing with. Its causes are very diverse, but one of the factors that our lecturer mentioned was the increase of the CO2 emissions. The CO2 emissions increased by 38% from 1990 to 2009. War and peace, economic prosperity, health and well-being were the main cause of its boom. The increased CO2 emissions contributed a big role in global warming, making the temperature and the water level of the world to go up. Along with the mention of the global warming, she also listed the major environmental threats and consequences of them. ‘Biodiversity loss,’ which increased the possibility of our future generation to meet the animals we know on books, ‘Desertification,’ which encouraged starvation in different parts of the world, ‘Ocean degradation,’ which caused the corals in the ocean to lose its color, nutrition and also lead to biodiversity loss of the marine lives. Furthermore, ozone depletion, air pollution, and the lack of water were some of the problems that she mentioned. She highlighted the fact that the results and the threats of climate change was near us. Climate change’s impacts can hit close to our home and especially have a big impact on island countries, which leads to climate refugees. Some of the islands we know may disappear sooner or later and the increase in climate change will be the main cause of it. To these problems, the solutions that United Nations suggested were things such as the increase of eco-friendly energy. For example, UNDP suggested that giving grants to different organizations to work on projects to install wind energy turbines could be a solution to use eco-friendly energy worldwide. United Nations also suggested the use of solar energy, as its price has gone down a lot so that the access to people has become easier in certain countries such as Africa. In fact, United Nations actually provided solar kits which helps people who are poor with the access and connection to the machines and electronics. Furthermore, United Nations had the ‘Paris Agreement’ which was an agreement within the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, aiming to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 Celsius, enhancing the financial flows, technology framework, starting in the year 2020. During the lecture, our lecturer also mentioned the connection of SDGs and climate change. SDGs which raise awareness of the crisis the world is facing, and the goals that United Nations would like to over-come, are all connected to climate change in different ways. For example, goal5, woman is more vulnerable to climate change. Goal 2, hunger and climate change- increase of desertification and biodiversity loss are one of the factors why hunger has increased in certain areas. Likewise, they are all connected in one way or another. As United Nations is actually suggesting and acting to stop climate change, United Nations supports further on by assessing the science used for aids by the ICC reports, and assisting other countries in implementing adaptation and mitigation plans. However, our lecturer Ariel Alexovich emphasized the fact that more actions from the government and the actions from
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business groups and the younger generations are required. While emphasizing its importance, she also suggested the simple methods of helping the environment. Every purchase we make matters, and every decision we take matters. Simple ways to reduce plastics in our daily lives and the use of materials given around us were also a way to help the environment. After the lecture, many of us were able to think about the power we have to change the world, and the role as the younger generation to make a better change for the world and the next generation. In fact, personally, it was one of the most inspiring lectures as it actually brought some little changes in my life, trying to reduce using plastic bags and straws, using metal or glass bottles instead of plastic bottles, or recycling. Likewise, this lecture was able to change the way of my daily life little by little, hoping that I was becoming one of the members who were bringing a positive change for the world. Now, I am able well aware of the impacts and the consequences of climate change, and am able to persuade people to make a better environment. For this, I would really appreciate our lecturer Ariel Alexovich, who did a wonderful lecture after all. “Climate change is not affecting just few of our countries around the world. It is a world change as a result, and If you are a living as a member of this world, it is our duty that we protect it.” -Ariel
II. Working as a member of the United Nations – UN Careers Getting to know what working as a member of the United Nations was able to be done by the help of a wonderful lecturer Arasu Jambukeswaran from UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). During the session, he introduced the United Nations careers, humanitarian at UNFPA, and his life as a member of the United Nations. He first mentioned the fact that to be a member of United Nations organizations, it was a 100% voluntary job from different parts of the world and that it was not a big company which had many other people from around the world. He introduced the different parts of the United Nations, such as the UNHRC, UNHCR, UNDP and mostly UNFPA which he was working in. The lecturer emphasized that there were two main questions that he considered for those who are willing to become a member of the United Nations. 1.
Are you ready to go where others don’t? Where help is needed? Throughout the lecture, he mentioned the importance of fieldwork and experience. Being a member of the United Nations meant that the person is willing to be volunteering for those who are in need of help, and field work meant that visiting places where others would not. It meant that the work would be physically harsh and tiring. He also introduced some of his fieldwork experiences in the emergency relief in Nepal where he helped the villagers from floods, and the experience in Afghanistan which was a tough dangerous place. Surely, these two places are not where people would like to go purely on their will. To be working in the United Nations, you must be ready to be at places other do not, since that’s where people are needing help.
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Where can I go? Where do they need me? Where am I needed? This question meant self-evaluation. Looking back at the abilities I have and the places where I can use that ability 100% and support. This was one of the very important question, since it is the one which decides which position you would belong in the United Nations.
Working in United Nations, he emphasized the fact that stability, cultural awareness and the line between intervention and intervene to stay clear were important. Whether in fieldwork or not, making sure that discussion and cooperation, having feedbacks between the people you work with is important. Cultural awareness- understanding the country you are working with, finding the best, suitable solution for them is also another important factor to consider. In fact, working in United
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Nations, in UNFPA, or during field work, he said that the different cultures and thoughts were the most sensible problems and also the most difficult parts to deal with. Overall, this lecture was mostly about the lecturer’s experience as a member of the United Nations and the parts he enjoyed working in United Nations and the hardships he faced. It was a great time being able to ask some of the questions which were not found online, and to actually interact, get feedback from the person who was working in the United Nations. There were so many helpful answers as a person who was interested in the United Nations and therefore, I would really like to appreciate our lecturer Arasu.J for his wonderful lecture and the feedbacks he gave for us which would remain in our mind forever.
HYUNHO KIM, BUGIL ACADEMY
The university that I have visited today was Columbia University. This great university is in the Ivy League. This university, however, is too small that we won’t really believe that it is Ivy League university. Yet, considering the land price of Manhattan, it makes sense. According to mentor Sungmo Koo’s words, this university is still working on the expansion of its land area and keep working on constructing new buildings. The buildings, especially the library, was one of the best buildings that I have ever seen. Although the campus was small, that small place was filled with peace and romance. This place located in the middle of New York was totally different from New York where everything is busy without any romance. Seeing this contrast gives my heart time to relax. During the Q&A session, I have asked a couple of questions to my mentor. One of the questions that I threw to him was “what kind of volunteer activities did you do when you were in high school?” And the answer was pretty amazing. I thought that there must be some kind of huge scale volunteer activities to go to Ivy League university, but the mentor has said that “I only do the volunteer activities when my heart tells me to do. I only do the volunteer that I can enjoy, volunteer without joy is not a real volunteer”. After many questions and answers were discussed I’m now able to understand what Ivy League university wants their students to be. It was a meaningful time to tour around the university and it was a priceless experience to have a discussion with the mentor who is actually in the Columbia University.
Yale University is a private Ivy League University in New Haven, Connecticut. As all know, this university is one of the best universities in the whole world and it was such a great opportunity for me to have a chance to visit Yale University. I and my 29 friends from the Republic of Korea were all selected through many interviews and tests to represent Korea in the foreign land. We have been to Yale University for the MUN that was held in and by the university. We had a great time there at Yale University and have learned many things through the sessions. Yet, I wasn’t there only for the MUN but during my free time, I have toured Yale University with a guide who’s currently studying at Yale University. I have been to many places in Yale University but the most impressive place that left in my
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mind was Yale library and art museum as it is the place where I’ve got a huge shock by the scale of it that can’t be forever achieved in Korea. Moreover, after the committee session, there were some times for the Q&A with our chairs. After these things, I have come to know more about Yale University and since I have an interest in studying overseas especially in America, it was a meaningful experience for me.
“Disarmament Issues. Lectured by Hideki Matsuno from UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)” As one of the citizens of Korea, a nation that is bordering with the world’s craziest country possessing nuclear and biochemical weapons, North Korea. I have much interest in nuclear weapons and global disarmament. After getting a lecture related to disarmament from Hideki Matsuno from ODA, I have come to thought that those kinds of arms race are meaningless. The generation of invading other countries for resources has gone, and yet many people have said that they need it for national defense but it is a funny excuse of possessing nuclear weapons as there are still other arsenals to defend their country. Moreover, if everyone abandons their weapons there will be no need of such weapons for any purposes unless they are trying to kill others. I have thought that this kind of arms race that is now still on progress, is meaningless and great waste of resources. If we don’t waste the money that is being invested in developing and producing the weapon, we can feed every African who are now in the situation of starving to death. I’m sure that our world will develop much faster and be more harmonious and peaceful without those weapons.
SEUNGYEON NAM, CORNERSTONE COLLEGIATE ACADEMY OF SEOUL
Having my first visit to an Ivy League school, I was thrilled to observe the beautiful school buildings and the artistic sculptures placed inside the Columbia campus. Though it was a bit cold walking around the campus, the cold weather made it easier for me to set off my focus to the architecture and the natural components blending in with the grey, urban atmosphere around the campus. The outlook of the campus itself was amazing, but what surprised me was actually the size of the entire campus. The campus was relatively small compared to the other universities in America; however, it felt as if the small size was a benefit to the school rather than a defect. I could see that the small size made the school community to be more intimately bonded and easily alarmed about the school news. Thus, the campus’s location right off at the center of New York City has allowed the students to freely access various restaurants off of their choices. These charming points lead me to have deeper interests into Columbia University. Our whole team followed our mentor, Sungmo Koo, a 2nd grade student at Columbia majoring in the area of statistics. He gave us all a tour and ended off with a simple but decent presentation about his university and past academic records. He taught us about the course requirements and some helpful information to know when applying to Columbia. There were also Q&A sessions, in which I could ask him about his academic courses in high school, entering Columbia University with a major undecided, and such. Overall, today’s experience turned out to be very valuable and rewarding, though it was very tiring to walk around after a 14-hour airplane ride. It was my first time in Columbia University, and despite my past indifference about this university, I truly enjoyed it. Now, I really look forward to my future relationship with this place
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and I feel motivated enough to become someone to achieve that relationship in the future.
“Seek for a Change” Ten days may be felt as relatively a short, useless period to an individual since time especially passes by quickly on the clock of a high school student. However, the recent ten days I have been through were definitely rewarding and extraordinary (By means of extraordinary, I mean full of new, unexpected experiences). January thirteenth was the first day of my trip for the ‘Yale Model United Nations’ program (YMUN in short). Prior to my departure, I was preoccupied with tons of concerns and frights about the whole journey ahead of me. Nevertheless, I had to get onboard. The program had ended after nine days, and I came back home in the same dress from January thirteenth. However, on the moment I stepped into the Incheon Airport, I was, internally, a completely different person from who I was nine days before. The trip had been planned out in advance, fully packed with events for us to attend. The trip’s itinerary consisted of workshops, university tours, lectures, and others, and it eventually ended off in Connecticut, at Yale University. We got to visit the actual United Nations headquarters located in the heart of New York City. Inside of it, we were able to audit lectures by the UN workers. After each lecture, there were Q&A sessions, in which we were granted with chances to ask the lecturers about anything we were curious of. I also desired to question the lecturers; however, I had growing concerns that stopped me from taking public remarks at that instant. Despite my outgoing personality around my peers, I act like an introvert and am tackled with indecisiveness when being in front of the public. From the moment I sense myself in front of a great crowd, I become anxious and frightened of the criticisms that may lay upon my diction, my pronunciation, and every other action that I choose to perform. Then, I reflected upon my current stance, burdened with the pressure from the massive expense of this whole trip. I considered my parents’ devotion would become wasted unless I made the best out of my given circumstances. I slowly raised up my firm fist in the air, and the speaker adopted my inquiry. I stood up and carefully spoke; I was eventually overwhelmed with bashfulness and pink blushes over my body. Nonetheless, I received the answers that I longed for and perceived that it was worth taking a chance of embarrassment. Those words also instigated my further interests into the global issues, which I thought I would never even take a sniff onto. Ultimately, pressure that burdened me also became the main impetus that drove me to take risks. I continued on with questions that day, and those small accomplishments made me proud: I decided to risk myself, although the worries and fears seemed to devour me down. The UN workshops ended up pleasantly with great gains, and our team was headed towards the major event, the YMUN conference held in Connecticut: ‘One down, plenty of more to go’. The YMUN was the major purpose of our whole trip to the states. Arriving at the university excited me, but I was far too concerned about the public speeches I had to make in the evening. During the first session, the delegates gathered together in a small ballroom. The room was packed with people: this made me to be tenser than ever. As each delegate received their placards, the room was settled, and we moved on to our actual debate. MUN was not as I expected. I had conceived of actual debating sites, with delegates conversing to one another. Rather, each of the delegates had to come forth to the podium in front to present his/her own stance. Listening to the other delegates’ exquisite speeches without a single cue card made me to grow even more inferior and intimidated. I agonized over the 2 hours about whether I should volunteer myself or not to the speaker’s list. To continue on from my previous ‘confidence streaks’, I decided to take extra risks. I signed myself up as a speaker and, although with a script, expressed my opinions. About seventy to even eighty delegates were my audience and their stares frigidly pierced through me. Again, as I descended from the podium, my face heated up and this time, so did my heart. Speaking in front for the first time was no doubt an agony, but that first step dismantled my threshold against public speaking in front of the delegates. Successive to my speech, other delegates reached out to me for further discussions. Then did I realize, only after bearing my own embarrassment and shyness could I actively join the blocs and the discussions at the conference. Risking myself allowed me new opportunities and enlightenment about myself: albeit being a newbie, I came to quite admire the art of public speaking. Overall, the trip to the States was presumably one of the best experiences I have had in my life. There were some, actually quite many, of those moments when I broke out in cold sweats, but every drop of those sweats was eventually rewarding. It was difficult being placed in extreme dilemmas, ones which I had to choose between embarrassing myself but gaining experience and veiling myself in front of the crowd but securing my own self-esteem. The dilemmas were painful since decisions had to be made and I was an ‘irresolute’ person. Despite such circumstances, I made great accomplishments: I made clear decisions every time and I repetitively made a speech in front of the public. My decisions ended up excavating some of my hidden interests and new talents I could work on. New interests had transformed me, and now I am a distinct character from whom I used to be in the past. Certainly, all the credits belong to this remarkable opportunity and myself, who was willing to change.
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BEE DAN, DAEJEON FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
As it was the first day of the program, we went to visit the University of Colombia. Seongmo Koo, a person who majored math and was in 2nd grade of the university toured us around the campus. The whole campus looked so big and grand, and the old-looking buildings made the campus look more stylish, which was what I liked about it. I wanted to take more pictures, but the weather was too cold for me to take my outer clothing off, so I gave up after taking a few. I really wanted to go inside the law school library because it looked like it was really something. It was huge and had this statue that came from the Greek and Roman mythology. After a short tour around the campus, which took us about 20 minutes, we had some time to listen to a presentation from Seongmo Koo teacher, about the University of Colombia. How he had worked to get here, what kinds of programs he attended, what subject he majors, and the money we need to spend every year for school. He gave us hope that if we come to this university, we can expand our thoughts in different ways and get to see the world in a whole new way. But at the same time he stayed realistic, for example, about the amount of money we had to pay for the university. After the presentation we asked some questions and the teacher left his mail and kakao talk ID. I decided to contact him soon and ask some questions during this program. After he went we made 7 groups. My group consisted of 4 people and they all looked nice. We started to make the table of contexts for the report so that each person could take a part and participate. It was the first day of the program and I am already so tired. I didn’t get enough sleep so I guess I’ll go straight to bed after writing this. I felt really glad to have a chance to go around one of the most famous schools in New York. Also getting to know the specific information was also really impressive but I still felt like I didn’t want to be there because it is too expensive for me. Overall, it was a great day and I appreciate all the work from Seongmo Koo teacher, and our program staffs.
I’ve been to many MUNs (Model United Nations) in Korea, but it was my first time participating in a MUN outside of Korea. There were many committees in YMUN XLV. There were 5 big parts. General Assemblies, Economic and Social Councils, Regional Bodies, Specialized Agencies and Crisis committees. There were about 1000 people participating YMUN XLV, and about 200 secretariats. The scale was totally much bigger that I got easily scared. My committee was the Bush Cabinet, which was one of the Specialized Agencies. I took the position Secretary of the Interior. There were about 15 people who attended as delegates and 2 chairs for my committee. We had two topics. One was ‘Domestic response to 9/11 and military and international outreach’, and the second one was ‘Hurricane Katarina’. Our first agenda was the 9/11 issue and as we started the conference I couldn’t say a word because I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. My mother tongue is Korean but half of those kids used English as their mother tongue. I had too many words and phrases I didn’t know so I had trouble understanding them. I was intimidated by their elaborate speech. After the first day, I thought to myself that I couldn’t waste more time sitting down and doing nothing. So, I went the next day with some of the resolutions written by me. I started to speak up a bit more and as I did, the people there acted differently than I thought. I thought they would ignore and disrespect me but that was a big mistake. They started to listen to what I say and they also came up with more ideas. In conclusion, I just really enjoyed the 4 days. I got a much larger view of seeing this world and felt again that Korea is a really small country for a person doll himself up. I
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thank the ‘Hope to the future Association’ again for giving me such a great chance and hope for more students to experience this amazing MUN.
The first 4 days of this trip was so special to me. I’ve been to New York before and I have gone up to the front of it but I never knew we could actually go inside the building. By the ‘Hope to the Future Association’ I got a chance to meet real diplomats who work at different organizations in the UN. There were 5 speakers from the UN Headquarters. I. Arasu Jambukeswarn from the UNFPA talking about his careers. II. III. IV. V.
Donald Lee, a UN retiree who spoke about SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Hamid Rashid from the DESA’s Economic Affairs Division speaking on Gender Equality Ariel Alexovich from the DESA speaking on Climate Change Hideki Matsuno from the ODA speaking on Disarmament
I really enjoyed the contents of all the wonderful lectures and especially the lectures from Arasu Jambukeswarn and Ariel Alexovich. They both talked mainly on gender equality which I am currently interested in. In Korea these days, starting from the ‘Me Too movement’, the idea of ‘Feminism’ has gone viral over the internet. I found out that it was not only in Korea but all over the world. After I heard the lectures from the two diplomats I thought that people in Korea fuss over and fight over things that aren’t even that important. The actual problem are in developing countries where women still don’t have the right to say what they want. I felt that we were wasting time on small words between men and women and trying to figure out which sex is the best. But, the word ‘Feminism’ as everybody knows, doesn’t mean which gender is the best. It means the range of political and social movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes. I had time to rethink about my life and what my life should look like in the future. I really want to work in big associations like the UN Headquarters and the act of helping someone who is really in need of big help was really cool and amazing. I wish I could be one of them.
JOONSUNG BANG, INCHEON KWANGSUNG HIGH SCHOOL
Columbia University seems to be a freedom itself. There is free activity or learning, and the size of a library or dorm seems to respect students' freedom and rights. Outside, it provides a large garden for students to study during recess. I was also impressed by the idea of enriching students' imagination for free activity, and it was good to discuss one thing in learning. And despite the many questions of students who want to go to these excellent universities or other prestigious universities, I was really grateful that when they tried to go to any university, they summed up the advantageous ways to get to the university so that students could understand it easily, that their current school did not discriminate, whether it was a regular high school or a specialized high school, and gave them hope that anyone could go. I think it's time for me to have a meaningful time in my trip to Columbia University. I'll have time to ask more questions and learn more about the university.
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HANNAH SONG, SEOCHO MIDDLE SCHOOL
After visiting Columbia, I could learn various information about Columbia University and the process of going to foreign universities. As I am also willing to go a foreign university, I thought that it was a very meaningful chance that I cannot experience anywhere else. First, by getting a school tour, I could see what buildings are in the university, and know the brief history of the building. One of the buildings that was memorable for me was the school library. Columbia University presents its’ library to be one of the best in the world, and I could see from the number of the buildings just for the library. And with the school introduction our mentor Sung Mo Koo gave to us, I learned what curriculum students learn after entering Columbia, and the difference between Columbia’s education motto and what other schools pursue in their education. I learned was the process of going to an American university, especially when studying in Korea. Because our mentor had also studied in both Korea and Japan, the situation for me was also similar. By the Q&A session, I found about how to prepare for a foreign university from a person with the same experience as me. I thought this was very meaningful.
Through this camp, I got to learn and got a chance to think about many things. Before the camp, my plans for my future or dream jobs were very vague, but through the several programs especially in the UN, I could have confidence towards my future career. As I also want to work in the UN, by listening to the lectures made by people who had worked in UN or are currently working in the UN, I got to know what it would be like if I also worked in the UN. One of the most memorable lectures was the lecture made by Ariel Alexovich, who talked about the environment and SDGs which were my interests. Because I had been interested in the environment since I was young, hearing Ariel’s speech gave me information that I could not get from anywhere else that was very helpful. She told us what the UN does to improve the environment and their future ideas. Additionally, through the UN tour, I could also know about the history of UN in more detail and the values they work for. After participating the Yale Model UN, I had a meaningful experience. It helped me learn about the current world situation to widen my depth of knowledge. Meeting a lot of people also helped me make friends from all over the world. Concluding, this camp was much more than I expected and gave me a lot of help for my future.
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JUNGHYEOK YANG, CORNERSTONE COLLEGIATE ACADEMY OF SEOUL
In 1754, Columbia University established. It was originally called King's College (1754~1784). We the Korean delegates took the tour. Guide tell us positive aspects and negative aspects of Columbia University. Positive parts are Columbia University have an excellent system about dormitory. He explained that a typical university allows students to spend only three years in dormitories, but Columbia University allows four years to students. Another positive aspect is even international students don't have to worry about food because around Columbia University have a lot of restaurants so international students can enjoy eating. The negative parts are Columbia University's tuition. The school expenses are hundred thousand dollars. This mean is no matter how good school is, and it's too expensive to regular students. But he tells us that student can get a scholarship. I think Columbia University is an excellent university, but regular student can't handle tuition fee even they get a scholarship. Through this school tour, I enjoyed a lot, and I felt that Columbia University is one of the best school in the world, so I want to go to Columbia University.
IAN EOM, HIGH SCHOOL ATTACHED TO COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, CHUNG-ANG UNIVERSITY
A Korean Columbia University student gave us a tour guide through the whole campus. We only heard a brief explanation about all the buildings in there due to the cold weather but that wasn’t the main part of the tour. After going indoors, he explained about the curriculum of the college and the livings inside the campus. His explanation gave me, and probably all of us, an idea of the goal of the college and the effort it is doing to achieve does goals such as subjects that every student
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must learn in common, and the swimming test that all students must take. As a result, it gave us truthful information for us to decide whether to come here or not. After the speech we had some questioning sessions. There were many questions with diverse topics. Some asked about the specific school curriculums such as what you learn in classes and what subject exists and doesn’t. Since the explainer was majoring statistics, I asked questions about the future view of it because it is the basic to understand big data and other data sciences, which is a hot issue recently. Others asked about the specific life in the campus and how he achieved his academic works. It was a great opportunity to have a little peak about basically all the things in Columbia College.
MINJUNG OH, DAEIL FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
Visiting the University of Columbia, one of the best universities in the U.S.A., was a valuable experience for me. Before visiting the university of Columbia, I have never considered myself going to a foreign university nor did I thought about studying abroad that much. However, after looking around the whole campus and interviewing with sophomore currently going to Columbia, I started to think in a different perspective. First of all, I was amazed at the grand campus buildings—especially the libraries that could be seen around the whole campus. Famous philosophers—such as Aristotle and Plato—names were carved on the outer walls, sculptures representing the university just made me awe. The old architecture of the campus made me feel like I was back in the past. Surprisingly, the newly built campus buildings perfectly fitted with the original buildings. The most impressive fact about the university was the connection between other colleges. Actually speaking to a sophomore who currently studies at university of Columbia was one of the priceless experiences I had in my life. Sungmo Koo, a Korean student majoring statistic, had introduced about the core curriculums of the university and the unique characteristics of Columbia. The ultimate goal of Columbia is to educate all students to do various things in various fields. Not only academic programs, but also art, music, sports and many other subjects are required for all students—which is called “core curriculum”. By this curriculum, students can learn a variety of things and become the great leaders of the world. Furthermore, I noticed that the university was comparatively free on choosing what to major for the university years. As a result, students can whatever they want to study without any limits. Education is not the only strength that Columbia has; providing dormitories for 4 years to every student is one of the advantages of university of Columbia. Majority of the universities in the United States do not provide dormitories all 4 years. Compared to this, the University of Columbia lets students stay in the dorms if they want to. Besides these things, the campus being located in the city gives students joy of eating variety of food whenever they want to. I realized that I was looking narrowly about my future dreams. Because of this great opportunity, I started to consider studying abroad and searching universities in the United States. Thanks to Sungmo Koo and his introduction, I believe I had a great time looking around the University of Columbia.
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CHAEHYUN YOO, SOUTHVILLE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
It was my first time to visit an Ivy League school. The Columbia University, one of the oldest institutions in the United States, opened my eyes to fantastic views. The elegant gothic-designed architectures really amazed me. The different libraries inside the university had its own style and color, and each building had its own uniqueness that differs from one another. Also, I was inspired by how the students of the Columbia University influence themselves to work harder, and to be the future movers of society by having different kinds of statue replicas such as “The Thinker”, a lion that symbolizes the athletes of the school, Athena with an owl in front of the library, and more. Although we were not able to look into each and every part of the school in depth, going to the university and having a tour made me inspire to work harder for my dreams. Visiting an Ivy League school opened my eyes to so many new things and opportunities that I may achieve only if I strive to do my best.
On our third day in the UN Headquarters, we went on a tour where we got to see the different halls of the building. It was very memorable and just by having a tour already aspired me to work even harder for my dream. It was spectacular to see the different conference halls in front of my eyes because the diverse settlements and resolutions are written and done in these places, and the people involved are the ones changing the society for the betterment. The UN tour was indelible for me because I got to see the different conference halls such as the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, and last but not the least, the General Assembly Hall. The pathways inside the building were also decorated with different information about the background of UN, what they did and are doing, and with different gifts that were sent from around the world. It was also interesting to read the quotes that were up on the wall. “The world is over-armed and peace is underfunded” by Ban Ki Moon, the former United Nations SecretaryGeneral, was one quote that caught my eyes during the tour because the world is spending so much on military weapons but I believe that this does not completely lead to peace in our society. On top of that, visiting the different conference halls and having a tour of the different parts of the building aspired me to open my eyes to bigger opportunities. Before we had all the lectures and the tour in the UN Headquarters, I never had a thought of working as an UN ambassador nor had a thought of having a career related to UN. However, through this experience, I thought that maybe working for the UN is not a bad idea at all. My dream ever since 6th grade was to pursue a job in the media or in the broadcast field—so I began to think that working for the UN media could be something that could work out. Through the program that we had in the UN Headquarters for 3 days, I was able to expand my vision and broaden my views on what I would want to become and work for when I grow up. The tour aspired me to work harder for my goals. In conclusion, the whole UN Headquarters program opened my eyes to new things and taught me a lot of lessons through the lectures as well. It was indeed a memorable experience that I can never forget about.
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SEUNG JAE LEE, SEHWA HIGH SCHOOL
Today we visited Columbia University in New York, looked around the campus, and had a meeting with students. Columbia University is an Ivy League private university in New York City, New York. In Manhattan, New York, the center of the world, a wide range of international political and economic information is available. The U.N. headquarters, the heart of international politics, and Wall Street, the world's financial hub, are nearby, surrounded by some of the world's most influential media companies and art, music and cultural centers. Columbia currently has 8,400 undergraduate students and 18,600 graduate and doctorate students. The undergraduate college has Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of General Studies, the Columbia Law School, the Columbia Business School, and the University of Science. It is composed of 15 graduate schools, including International and Public Affair. We visited Columbia University and met Sungmo Gu, a sophomore majoring in mathematics and statistics at Columbia University. First of all, we met Sungmo Gu and went around Columbia to hear about buildings and dormitories, and then we went to a lecture room and held a meeting. The first building I saw while watching the campus with Sungmo Gu was a dormitory. There are three dormitories located on the Columbia campus, each of which has different characteristics. First, I was told that the atmosphere in the dorm is very quiet and study atmosphere. Among the three dormitories, the only one with an air conditioner is popular among students who want to study quietly. The second dorm is very active and it is said to be a dorm where a party is held every week. Every Thursday, you can see students lining up to attend parties. The third dorm is called a dorm with neutral characteristics that are not applicable to either. After seeing the three dormitories, I went to the library, which is the symbol of Columbia University. Columbia University has a total of two libraries, one of which is a recently built library with various philosophical books. The other one is a very old library that is now not used as a library. After that, we looked at the building used by the philosophy department right next to it. There was a statue of Rodin's thinking man in front of this object. The building was not big, it was small. After that, I watched the recently built law school at Columbia University. A statue of Bellerophon taming Pegasus was built in front of the law school. After that, I looked at the building of the school of engineering and applied science and the building used by the school of music. A statue of the lion, the mascot of Columbia University, was built in front of the building used by the school of music. Then, we went into the underground lecture room and had a meeting with us. First, after hearing the introduction of Sungmo Gu, he told us the Columbia University's education curriculum, how to enroll, Columbia University's tuition fees, his high school days, and so on. And finally, we had Q&A time. The most impressive thing after today's Columbia campus tour was the composition of Columbia's education curriculum. Colombia’s education policy is that “To see the world in a broader perspective, we need to acquire a wide range of knowledge. Above all, I was surprised to find that it was so consistent with what I was looking for. Also, the buildings and lights on campus were very beautiful and I loved the fact that students from various countries gather and study. And I also felt that Columbia was very considerate of its students. But the only downside seems to be the high cost of tuition. After a meeting on the campus tour, I thought that if I could solve my expensive tuition, I would go to Columbia University. It seems to be a very good school that offers students many opportunities and a high level of learning.
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I was the delegate of Denmark included in WHO. WHO, which handled a growing obesity rate around the world and Ebola virus in Congo, had three seniors as chairs. Yale conference had Yale undergraduates as chairs of the committee. Their knowledge and acquaintance with current affairs astonished me, and their previous experiences in high schools demonstrated how narrow minded I was. Also, because the YMUN is the biggest MUN conference, it was able to work with intelligent and brilliant high school students. Barely having studied topics by reading newspapers, it was extremely challenging to delve into topics like current problems around the world, and how to solve the problems that WHO deals with. It took several weeks to organize ideas and I had to even send emails to college professors for feedback. It was quite tough to me because it was totally my first MUN conference, but it was a very valuable experience for me. Above all things, intense and engaging debate with fellow delegates opened a new page in my perspective. The experience of the Yale MUN conference will be with me forever and it will be the best experience in my life forever. Personally, this YMUN conference could be summed up by the word amazing. I was able to do what I had admired only through the Internet, and I was able to meet the people I had respected and listened to the lecture. And this time, the YMUN conference was a turning point in my life that allowed me to re-determine my mindset and decide my future. A new stimulus for myself was needed, and without doubt, Yale MUN has been an insightful and motivational experience. Until last year, I studied without a clear goal because the order of my parents to study. Instead of clearly deciding why I study or what I want to do in the future, my parents simply ordered me to study and I got confused about this. In other words, I needed new motivation and I needed to agonize about my future. In this chaotic situation, Yale MUN solved all of these problems. With Yale MUN, I was able to find out what I really want to do in the future, which helped me decide what plans I should make to make my dreams come true and what I should do now. I have always dreamed of working at the UN since I was young, but I lost my dream in high school because I was confused about my schoolwork and identity. Thanks to this YMUN, I have come to find the dream again, and I will do my best to achieve this dream. The experience of the YMUN will be never forgotten and will be the best experience in my life forever.
“Sustainable Development Goals” Ⅰ. Introduction 1. What is SDGs? SDG was first created in 2015. In September 2015, during the 70th session of the U.N. General Assembly, members of the United Nations held the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit and adopted the official international name "Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." Sustainable Development Goals: The goal of SDGs is to promote global action concerning people, the earth, prosperity, peace and cooperation as action plans for people, the global environment, and common prosperity. This can be understood as an extension of the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), which actively engaged in international activities at various levels to address poverty issues from 2000 to 2015. SDGs are the largest joint goals of the UN and the international community to be implemented from 2016 to 2030 after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were implemented from 2000 to 2015. The goal is to solve the universal problems of mankind (poverty, disease, education, gender equality, refugees, conflict) and global environmental problems (climate change, energy, environmental pollution, water, biodiversity), economic and social issues (technology, housing, labor, employment, production, social structure, law, foreign economy) with 17 goals and 169 detailed goals by 2030. Ⅱ. Summary of lecture 1. Planetary boundaries a. Human induced changes are pushing our planet to planetary boundaries 2.
Reaching the boundaries a. The climate is changing too quickly (climate change) b. Species are going extinct too rapidly (biodiversity) c. Too many nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus being added to our ecosystem (biogeochemical) d. Cutting down too many forest and destroying other natural lands (land use)
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Growth of world population (human population) a. Human population is rising too quickly b. Population growth made consumption of meat, cereals, diary increase rapidly c. Global water use increased as global population increase
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4.
Extinction of species a. Plant and animal going extinction at least 1000 times faster than the time before humans b. Amphibians are going extinct as much as 45000 times higher than the rate before humans c. The main reason is habitat loss – animals left without places to live as their habitats around the planet are being taken over and changed by humans d. Also pressures of invasive species and climate changes e. Human may be causing earth’s six mass extinction
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Declining insect population a. Insects are the lynchpins of many ecosystems. If they disappear, ecosystems everywhere will collapse.
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Impact of growth in livestock numbers a. Livestock numbers growing at 2.4% years (twice as fast as human population) b. Livestock now use 75% of world’s agricultural land and eat 34% of cereal crops c. Protein from chickens need 3 times, pork needs 9 times, and beef needs 32 times as much land as protein from soybeans d. Global livestock produce at least 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
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Global fertilizer use rapidly increase a. Nitrogen b. Potassium c. Phosphorus
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Drowning in plastic a. Plastics production increased 20-fold since 1964 b. 8 million tons of plastics go into the sea each year c. Single use drinks bottles are the most common plastic washed up on shorelines d. All plastic bottles are 100% recyclable but 90% of bottles aren’t recycled
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Deforestation a. 18 million acres of forest land lost each year
10. Sustainable development a. In September 2015, the General Assembly of UN adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, containing 17 Sustainable Development goals. b. This provides a roadmap for building a sustainable and equitable world. 11. What can we do? a. Care – care people, care about environment b. Eat, spend, and behave as if you care about our planet – try meatless mondays, repair, recycle, repurpose, reduce food/water waste c. Donate what you can and volunteer your time and talents to support the SDG’s d. Spread awareness of the SDG’s and the cost of inaction e. Encourage your government to strongly support the SDG’s f. Be the change you want to see in the world
Ⅲ. Q&A Q1: GMO is the one of the biggest issue around the world. So what is your opinion about the GMO? A1: You have to realize that GMO is being monopolized. The biggest GMO Company is Monsanto. Of course Monsanto wants to use GMO. For example, if I am farmer, when I grow something I can take a seed and next grow it. If I use GMO, I need to buy seeds from Monsanto. So it is not a good idea for the solution of reducing sum because it makes extra costs. Also you don’t know the true impact of GMOs. Ⅳ. Self-reflection Since I was young, I have been very interested in the natural environment and plants and animals. So I did a lot of related activities and I looked up a lot of data. Before the lecture, I was very excited to hear about SDG. The lecture gave me a detailed understanding of how much the United Nations is trying to protect the Earth, and after seeing these efforts at the United Nations, I thought I wanted to work for the U.N. to protect the Earth's environment later. Most of all, the mindset and thoughts of the person who gave this talk were so impressive that I thought I should do a lot of effort to protect the Earth. So I made a promise to myself to use a mug or tumbler instead of a plastic cup and not to use a vinyl product as much as possible. Also I will try to change my eating habits by eating less meat and gradually change to vegetables.
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YOUHA LEE, SUWON ACADEMY OF WORLD LANGUAGES
I thought the core curriculum system in Columbia University was the very idea for us humans to develop. The core curriculum system includes Literature Humanities, Cotemporary Civilization, and many more. The two subjects I just mentioned were what got my attention. I believe develop is always a crucial factor in human life. Develop helps us to form a better, mature ego and in the long run, form a better society which is created and maintained by humans. There is also a theory named Eudaimonic life in happiness which argues that developing yourself is true happiness. So I believe the core curriculum helps us to develop and find true happiness as humans. Literature Humanities were about reading books and debating about it in class. This got my attention because I love debating and talking with many people with books. Since I came to Suwon Academy of World Languages, the school system required students including me to read many books and debate, talk, write reports, and take pop quiz which started making me love classes with books. The idea of getting the chance to listen to many different perspectives with the same book helped me to learn a lot and not only did it form my own perspectives but also helped me to shape them in a better way. Observing a book with so many different views rather than just one leads to having a larger range of thinking ability about things in the world. That is why I would love to take the class – if I were given the chance – and is a way for humans to develop by improving their views of seeing things in the world. Cotemporary Civilization were about reading books mostly regarding philosophy – Aristotle, Plato, Demosthenes, Sophocles, etc. This got me interested because one of my new hobbies is studying philosophy. The background of this new hobby is again the way of our school education. In social studies class, the first semester required students to read the book written by Aristotle, the second semester, the book ‘Justice: What’s the right thing to do?’ In class, as many of you might expect, it was indeed a challenging class for everyone and at first that led me to hate this class. Then, what made me to love this class and love philosophy? Thinking deeply alone with the book! When I started studying the book by listening to lectures regarding it in YouTube and organizing my opinions, all of this ‘progress’ started to be so much fun for me. And there it is, my new hobby, studying philosophy. And reading book about philosophy and doing that in class will develop us humans by increasing common sense about philosophy which, again, helps our range of thinking to be larger. I mentioned two subjects to conclude in the same way, larger range of thinking ability. I believe this ability is very important for us humans as humans are the only animals that can think and debate and talk about each other’s thoughts. To wrap up, the chance to tour Columbia University and listen to curriculums at Columbia was another great opportunity for me to learn about the big world and get me motivated to achieve my dream, helping children with empathy in the field.
“YALE DAY: Global Exchange Program” – Voices asking for a better world for everyone 1. Protest a. The first movement
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Protest: a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something. That’s what the dictionary states but protest isn’t a word that can be described with just one perspective and meaning. It’s about expressing our voices to call for attention for issues around the world that is real for some but ignored and considered a waste of time to many, which is our rights, freedom of expression, a powerful weapon to change the world and make a better world for everyone. It’s about taking an action against what’s already established and fighting for a more equitable world. In the earlier years of the twentieth century, when people started to acknowledge protest as direct political action, they phrased protests into protest demonstration, protest strike, and protest movement, etc. Protest march, for instance, was first used in 1913 to describe Gandhi’s objection against restrictions forcing the Indian population of South Africa, considered as the first civil disobedience campaign having a huge impact in the history. Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in India educated in England. He went to South Africa in early 1893 to practice law under a one-year contract but only to find himself subjected to racism and laws in South Africa that restricted the rights of Indian laborers. Gandhi later recalled one defining moment, himself being removed from a first-class railway compartment and thrown off a train that helped him decide to fight for the rights that should have been ensured to people without any discrimination but was rather being insulted, as an Indian and as a human being. After his contract expired, he decided to remain in South Africa and start a campaign fighting the legislation that blocked the Indians from the rights to vote. He formed the Natal Indian Congress letting people know internationally how the life of Indians in South Africa was, life with an obstacle against them, so hard for them to overcome. In 1906, the Transvaal government tried to further restrict the Indians, and so was Gandhi’s first campaign organized, Satyagraha, civil disobedience. The fight was continued for seven years, marking their every meaningful step in the history till today giving people a good model of protest. At last, after seven years, a negotiation, compromise agreement, was made with the South African government. The first civil act of disobedience ever in history coming to a close, both successfully and meaningfully. Through this campaign, Gandhi has helped the Indians to have their rights which were supposed to be ensured to them the moment they have entered our world, the Earth. By regaining their rights, Indians could have their lives, their own lives and have hope and dreams. Not only did it affect the Indians but also the whole world. Encouraging people inadvertently that they can also speak up and raise their voice of disapproval and make a change whether it is small or big. I believe this is what protest means so much to the world. It changes a town, a country, and even the whole world by just one small voice reaching out for the right thing that was brave and had the courage and this is not something only some people have. Every single person has the courage and the voice inside. It’s just the choice you choose to make.
b. How can we harness protest? – my opinion English Statesman Edmund Burke said: ‘All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.’ So we do need to do something to make a change. And protest has played an important role, highlighting the ability of ordinary citizens making their disapproval heard. This type of activism is crucial for creating the groundwork for change. That being said, to harness such thing should also be considered in the long run. How can we harness protest? There are many perspectives to this. Songs, the way we do it, timing, media, people, and so many more than we could think of. I thought ‘Justice: What’s the right thing to do? – chapter 8,’ the idea of ‘telos' in politics argued by Aristotle was relevant to this because I believe understanding the purpose of protest by acknowledging that protest is part of politics is what makes protest stronger. Justice is teleogical. That is the first idea of Aristotle’s political philosophy, giving each person his due or what he deserves. In the book, it gives us an example. It states that the best flute should go to the best flute player. Why? Think about what the purpose of the best flute is. It is to be played well. And who would be the most suitable person to that purpose, the telos? The best flute player. That is what the telos is about. It’s about who deserves what. Now, it is important that we differentiate utilitarianism in this case. In the perspective of utilitarianism, by giving the best flute to the best player, since it will make beautiful music, and make everyone happy, the greatest good for the greatest number. But Aristotle’s reasoning is another perspective, the telos. Aristotle argues that politics should grow good citizens and in the long run provide a good life to them. When it comes to the politics, the telos becomes complicated compared to the purpose of universities or flute. The purpose of universities is limited to education and flute limited to music. But can politics be limited to such term? Can we decide what the purpose is for politics? People in our generation tend to think that politics are opened to diverse purposes. Isn’t that why we are able to choose what to advocate as politics’ purpose and goal during certain times through voting? To state the purpose of politics seems to take away the freedom to choose by themselves as citizens. Furthermore, it has the risk of putting people with values that not everybody can share. Not stating the telos of politics involves the belief of freedom of individuals.
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However, that’s not how Aristotle thought. Like the first sentence, he stated the purpose of politics as providing good life for the citizens. I don’t agree with the telos theory fully because it is true that it restricts freedom of individuals like Kant and Rawls’ objections. Yet, when I read the part where it talked about the telos of politics, I was fascinated. I was impressed by the new perspective of politics. I always thought politics was something so far away from me and something I wouldn’t get interested in. I thought for a moment. Restricting citizens by gender, race, income, and isolating people. Is this providing good life to the citizens? If you look carefully of the sentence above, isn’t most of it the causes of protest? That leads us to a conclusion that protest happens to provide good life to citizens including themselves and comply with the telos of politics. It is true that some protests can be one-sided and only asking for their benefits. But we cannot deny the fact that protest has made many meaningful changes throughout the history It is important that we participate in actions like protesting. And protesting is indeed part of the politics because politics are part of the nation and the nation doesn’t exist without citizens who have their rights to express their feelings and opinions, participate in politics. I think understanding the telos of politics – providing good life to citizens, develop as human beings – will help us understand the purpose of protesting better and harness them more effectively. Engaging in politics such as protest means you care about the society and the people in it and you’re willing to make a change. To care about things is what really matters.
2. Perspectives of protest a. Make Your Move, daily protest - Professor Mirakhor What is a protest? An act of change, a voice of disapproval, connecting to people who are on the same page, gender violence, against something that is already established, sympathize with consensus, expressing, consumption, etc. Those were some of the answers given by other students all around the world from the Global Exchange Program. The question reminded me of the protest that occurred in South Korea a few years ago that brought down our president because of her previous actions. With that thought in my head, I answered: “I think a protest is an act of finding justice.” Then she asked, how? Some answers from the students were influence, critical thinking, a clear goal, leadership, many people, etc. She told us that our generation doesn’t wait for a leader to protest and take action. She gave us the “metoo campaign” as an example. Many people participating in it but no leader. It’s different in our generation. This campaign’s platform mainly took place in social media, helping it spread fast and leaving a huge impact wherever it took place. This campaign informed people of the issue happening, helped the victims feel that they are not alone, helped in taking the proper action against the perpetrator, and warning people. As a follow-up question, she asked what does it mean to be political or social? Are they both two separate parts? This question came up after an answer to the question about the “metoo campaign” in their own countries. The answer was “My country tends to focus more on political action than social. So the “metoo campaign” wasn’t progressed a lot in our country.” That’s when the professor asked the question. “Both parts can affect both parts. It’s just the difference with which part affecting first.”, answered one student. Completely on the same page. Most of the students including me answered the relationship between those two parts couldn’t be separated. Through this seminar, learning that not only the purpose of the purpose but also the message you’re trying to tell the people is also very crucial was the most impressive idea to me. In the application (1-b) for this program, my theme was that knowing the purpose of a protest is what harnesses protesting and hearing that the message is more important, I couldn’t just sit there and nod my head like others. Thoughts, many thoughts were crumbling inside my head. One of Aristotle’s argument, telos, was mentioned in my application to bring up the topic of the purpose of politics which I connected with the purpose and importance of protesting, which I believed was part of politics. Since politics are part of the nation and society which cannot exist without citizens, indeed an action like protesting should be strengthened. So I thought understanding how protest is important by relating purpose of politics and the telos theory would motivate people more effectively and harness protest. Yet, professor Mirakhor had a different perspective. She said that the message you are trying to tell the others is very important. But above all, she said, the action you make is the most crucial factor in protesting. The way you act was considered very important by professor Mirakhor. She suggested that we should all consider daily protest. She said progressing daily protest means you care constantly about how the society runs. How does it work? Expressing that you are uncomfortable with the saying. Sounds very simple but not that easy. When one hears “daily protest”, it seems so far away and makes you think that it has to be something big and very meaningful. First, every little movement we make is all very meaningful. Second, like professor Mirakhor said all it means is that you constantly ‘care’
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about the society. That’s what matters. Caring about the society means you are willing to make the change and be the change. The fact that your attention is in how the society runs and you’re constantly caring about by standing up to sayings that put you in uncomfortable situations was the key point of the seminar with professor Mirakhor.
b. Why does protest happen in a democratic society? – Professor Stanley Professor Stanley’s first question thrown to us was the title above, why does protest happen in countries with democracy? To understand the question, to understand what democratic society truly means, I would like to start off with a short historical background told by Professor Stanley. It goes all the way back to World War Two. Hitler was an anti-democratic man because he wasn’t an advocate for equality. Democratic society meant equality and he wouldn’t go after such thing which made it a trickier environment for people at that time to protest and have their voice heard. Professor Stanley gave an important message here: “we are already in a world with a commitment of equality unlike people during World War Two. All we need to do is increase the value we choose to accept.” When he asked the question, there were two answers that took much of the conference. One student said the cause of protest in a democratic society was the invisibility of issues. People not knowing about what’s happening. Professor Stanley gave us an example. Perhaps most people would say the race that is most shot by the police is black but rather it is the indigenous people. But do people know that? No. It’s invisible. Another student said it was the importance of caring, knowing about what’s the problem but not caring about it, a matter of valuing things differently. In a world with capitalism and such a busy society which makes people become more and more of an individual than a group society, has played a major role in changing the values we humans should have accepted. A protest is a very controversial action. It can intend for the good or even the other way around. It could gather people together but also can separate them even from their loved ones. Something that has both very strong sides. Because of this, people tend to be afraid to speak up and take action against something although they might know what’s the problem or someone can even just block you from knowing what is wrong in the first place. Due to this reality, it is again our job to change this reality. Protests are what changes the world we live in, our reality. It takes time to make that change but once it’s made, it moves on very quickly. Therefore, to have the courage and speak up will be essential. One student asked, “When do you think protest would end?” Professor Stanley answered, “Should they? I think there is no need for protests to end.” That was it. Very short but very strong and deep. When I heard this answer at that moment I was just amazed at his clear and short answer and nothing more, but when I came to my house and thought about the whole seminar again, this answer couldn’t be more fascinating. Repeated many times above, protest equals change, change for a better world. In order to develop and make the world a better place for everyone, can it be possible without making changes? Just the same system, people, perspectives, etc. I don’t think so. I think it is impossible. So to change, to be the change is very crucial for the world to develop and that leads us to the conclusion of this question. To protest isn’t something that should end but continue on. Something that is much needed in our society.
c. Decentralize! Sustain! – March for Our Lives, Charlie Mirsky Not one more – the mission statement of March for our lives. They couldn’t stand any more of people being killed by gun violence. Waiting for their loved ones to come back from their school but never to come back. Leaving a scar in their hearts so hard to be cured, perhaps that may last forever. No places for the young to be safe to grow up. Gun violence doesn’t just kill people. Whether you were directly shot or not, people left behind and people around go through many moments with suffering for the loss. After the tragedy in Parkland, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students were so willing to ensure that this kind of tragedy will never happen again in their school. Throughout our lives, we continue to witness many tragedies happening. Yet, our politicians haven’t made an actual move. Students in Parkland and many young leaders are fighting for direct action to be taken to combat this catastrophe. Many people gathered together and formed the largest global protest in history reminding us that the power of the youth is always ready and putting their efforts for change. They will not stop until they see the change that should have been made. March For Our Lives was established by Adam Alhanti, Dylan Baierlein, John Barnitt, Alfonso Calderon, Sarah Chadwick, Jaclyn Corin, Matt Deitsch, Ryan Deitsch, Sam Deitsch, Brendan Duff, Emma
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González, Chris Grady, David Hogg, Lauren Hogg, Cameron Kasky, Kirsten McConnell, Charlie Mirsky, Diego Pfieffer, Delaney Tarr, Bradley Thornton, Kevin Trejos, Sofie Whitney, Daniel Williams, and Alex Wind. The lecturer emphasized that sustain should be most prioritized by decentralizing and knowing that each and every job is important in protest especially not forgetting people behind the stage. He stressed that being by themselves may not be that powerful. He equaled power with numbers and that it should be used effectively. Nails arranged in the shape of a rectangle like a nail bed versus nail lined up from top to down. The latter would be more powerful, wouldn’t it? Go right through things. That was an example given by Charlie, our lecturer which made it so much easier for us to understand. Making it effective is also a very crucial factor. Just numbers? Definitely not. That is just a bunch of people. Moreover, he described people who didn’t work together when being politically active, naïve, and people not knowing or understanding the way of taking actions. You can tell by now that he is very into working together when protesting. He suggests that sustain is very important in protest and that is possible by knowing the importance of working altogether. He told us that he had learned it the hard way. I was very interested in this perspective. I personally think working together is always important and should be kept in mind, something not only accounted in protesting. Two is better than one and three is better than two. Performance can be made only when there are people working behind the stage supporting you and making the stage available for you to perform. Remembering and thanking those people should always come into consideration. Be together and remember each and every job is important – ‘sustain!’
3. Conclusion a. Summary, Reflection The chance to meet students around the globe and discuss together with professors at Yale University was an opportunity that I would never forget. I would like to emphasize that protest is an action for change and the mind that you constantly care about the society is very important in our world regardless of race, gender, and age. I really am not much of a politics person. I always thought politics was something very aggressive and serious. After, reading the book, Justice what’s the right thing to do, I at least got kind of interested in politic philosophy. That’s the reason why I got interested in applying for the global exchange program. I think that was a great choice since I learned many new perspectives of politics, which reminded me again the importance of having diverse views. Having the chance to listen to many different situations in each country was a very valuable experience for me. It really meant a lot to me since the person I wanted to be was someone who could be there for children in need, which requires not sympathy but empathy – understanding their situation, need and observing things in many different views. During seminars and workshops, I was amazed at how one topic can be thought and questioned in so many different ways. The true meaning of daily protest, the question of protest in a democratic society, the curiosity of when protest would end, and to work together and sustain were the topics I really enjoyed. To be ready to speak up, to understand the idea of equality, the importance of change and the true meaning of protest, etc. I have learned so much, I would call them even life lessons with just one topic. Again, I am thankful for this Global Exchange Program and having the chance to meet so many people around the world and chat with them and have seminars with Yale university professors was another great time for me to develop both as a student and a human living in this world. Bibliography
1. Geoff Nunberg. “The Syntax of Resistance”, Fresh Air commentary, 11 March 2002, http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~nunber g/protest.html
2. History.com editors. “Gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience”, HISTORY, 21 August 2018 https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gandhis-first-act-of-civil-disobedience
3. Pastor Fritz Foltz. “Lesson11: Aristotle’s Justice (Sandel, chapter 8)”, Frontlinestudy, 24 April 2013 https://frontlinestudy.com/christian-ethics/lesson-11-aristotles-justice-sandel-chapter-8/
4. Michael J. Sandel. “Justice what’s the right thing to do?”, p.286-287 (Korean published book) 5. Michael J. Sandel. “Justice what’s the right thing to do?”, p.280-281 (Korean published book) 6. Mission Statement, ‘March for our lives’, https://marchforourlives.com/mission-statement/
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“UN CAREERS – United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)” There were six lectures during UN Training in New York. All very meaningful and amazing experiences. Yet. This lecture given by Arasu Jambukeswaran from the UNFPA was the most impressive lecture for me. The quote I loved the most from his lecture was, “Are you willing to go where others don’t want to go?” Compound areas are usually where people are needing help but we tend to be afraid to go to those areas. But if we don’t go, how would they live? Don’t they have the same human rights as we do? We need to understand ‘their’ needs. We shouldn’t decide their needs, they should. They are the ones suffering in their situation. That is why he also emphasized the need for hiring people from the South more and more is essential. The lecturer said, “Look at the globe. North and South. Where are donors usually from? North. Where do people in need usually live? South.” To be there for people in need, it’s important that we understand their situation. If people in need are mostly populated in the South, people in the South are the ones that really know what’s going on and knows the situation. Same for the need to increase the number of local workers in the field. Arasu J. showed us a picture and asked us what was missing in it. We all started to look at the picture carefully. Then, one of our 13th UN Training Hope to the Future Association student called out, “Women?” That was it. Women were missing in the picture. He explained that it was because of their culture. Foreigners, especially men coming to their town formed an uncomfortable environment for the women in the town. They were not interacting. To be there for them in need, interacting with them and understanding them should be the first step but made it very difficult for that to be progressed. He highlighted that this is the reason we should acknowledge the importance of recruiting more local workers in the field. Understanding their culture and the situation they are currently in should be considered more than you think as if not, it can backfire – perspective difference. This actually provided me a whole new view. The importance of recruiting people from the local and the South, something I would have never thought that deeply if not for this lecture. “ Care about what you do. That is where you are going to be successful.” said Arasu J. “Things you care about are what you are passionate about and where you’ll do things with good intention” This motivated me more to be the person I wanted to be. I hope to work in the field and help children in need. Arasu J. said ‘in the field’ meant getting down and being dirty. I wish to be the person getting down where children are having hardship and be in their situation together and encourage and love them to have the hope to get their lives going on. I suppose the most important perspective in this kind of working field is empathy. Not with sympathy but with empathy. Not just feeling sorry but understanding why we are sorry. For instance, for Arasu J., he had the experience of working for three months in a place, 35 degrees with no A/C. He said that this was the kind of situation we have to get used to and overcome, but for the people living there, it’s their daily life. He pointed out the significance of experience, seeing for yourself what’s happening and know what you’re working for. Through experience, I believe, is the most effective way to truly understand them. After his lecture, I asked him: “What do you think is the difference between working with sympathy and empathy in the field?” He said, “Well, sympathy is just feeling sorry. Empathy is understanding the ‘why’.” That’s when he gave us the example of the 35 degrees with no A/C experience. After hearing that, I could feel more motivated to be the person with empathy. Be the person that can always be there, crying together, and laughing together.
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YOONSUNG LEE, CHEONCHEON MIDDLE SCHOOL
January 14th, I arrived at New York. After I had launch, we visited Columbia University. In there, a enrolled student of Columbia University introduced his school. He’s name is Koo sungmo who is in second grade. He is major in mathematics for statistics. I saw lots of university’s building. They are famous for humanities. Therefore, they have many literature things like library. There was very amazing. They have many library, dormitory for first grade, and different building for major. I was very tired but this university is one of the small university in New York. Also, the university has various statues. I didn’t know what does it want to describe, but when he explained it I can notice what does it was. He talking about Columbia University’s curriculum and what is good for ready the university in abroad. I had never think about my university is in abroad, but if I can do my English better, I can think about my future. This is my first time to visit America. Although this is the first time, I went to popular university, and taking with Korean international student is very special experiences. I want this experience makes me developed.
HYUNJUN LEE, MUNSU MIDDLE SCHOOL
I visited Colombia Univ. It was my first time of visiting oversea and America Univ. When I saw there, I thought that is smaller than other, but I heard, which one has other campus and building another where. There are 3 dorms, 5 library, and special classroom and so on. We saw campus, enter one class room for listening some information about the Univ. If you apply that Univ., apply with SAT or ACT. They want to all of students know everything. So students should listen more than 9 lecture for graduated. They don’t have medical college, but they have lecture for advance to medical college. I didn’t know about the Colombia Univ., but now, I know that as Colombia students and how to prepare go to foreign university.
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In the early morning, with my exhausted mind, I couldn’t even boost up my biorhythm. Asked whether I had a tour ticket or not, I realized I didn’t. My peers and I asked a staff and luckily got a permission to join it. We visited the Yale University with a guide. The campus was pretty classy and huge. It was more energizing than I thought. Covered with the snow. The branches of trees on the square looked even beautiful. It reminded me the Hogwarts School scenes in Harry Potter movies and some buildings looked like a really old castle. I walked past 2 statues and the guide told me one thing that it would give me luck if I touched the tip of the toe. So I tried, and I made it. Interestingly, the part I gave a touch turned to gold color and I thought that’s because many people touched so it was worn out. Finally, I entered the Yale library, there were so many kinds of books filled in the bookshelves around the place. I couldn’t look up some popular books because I was running out of time. Taking a glance, some bibles were sophisticatedly decorated in the structure. If I’d had more time, I would have wandered around the whole campus. Just an-hour campus tour left me some feelings of what would be more in other buildings and how students reside in the dorm. Nonetheless, I’m grateful for allowing me a chance to visit the campus and giving me an unforgettable memory. Once again, not knowing much about the place, I was astonished and amazed by this tour. It was a perfect piece of artwork.
“My First Tour to the States” Preparing for the baggage and documents, I couldn’t sleep well the day before departure. Until I reached the Incheon airport, I had to start my journey from Ulsan. Excited and nervous about my first flight trip, I checked in my baggage and got my boarding pass. My parents were even more worried than I was. I met some mates of our trip and got on board. Upon departure, I worried about flight turbulence and airplane crashes, but the exciting moment of flying made me refreshed. Soon, I adapted to move around on the flying airplane and my worries were gone. It was 2 pm in New York and found my bags in the baggage claim area. The first meal in New York was ironically soft tofu soup with rice. In NY!! Korean food at first?? I was so disappointed of it. The taste was not bad but not what I wanted. There was a campus tour in the evening, so we moved to Columbia University. The school was not that small since the buildings were spread all around the city and the best thing of this school was the location. Good locations could give students more time to enjoy the city and outdoor activities. After that, I ate barbequed pork ribs for dinner. The food kept making me disappointed. The food was too salty for me. I bet I drank few tons of water at that night. The next morning, our first destination was the UN council building. It was perfectly secured, and the building was like a confidential place. We took 3 lectures about the career jobs and SDGs and during the lectures, the speech made me seriously consider the contamination of our planet. On the last day of the UN council tour, I recognized there were 3 more councils except for the original one. I couldn’t even imagine how significant their efforts are to process each resolution. What’s more, I was glad to visit some unknown councils. Through this tour, I could learn more about the history of UN and their efforts towards our nations. After finishing the day, I lay down on the bed and the hotel was so cozy and comfortable. With no doubt, the best place ever in the world was the hotel. I had Kebab for dinner but it was like a handful of salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The Kebab I ate was not a real Kebab and it was like a bowl of fried rice with veggies and meat on the side. The rice was like salt and the meat was also like salt. If I were a frequent customer of the restaurant, I could even complain about their saltiness and what would happen if people eat them. The food in New York kept disappointing me. Come on… I didn’t want to admit that was not the whole food New Yorkers ate. Coming out of the hotel, I went to Yale University to proceed the MUN. Before heading to the campus, we stopped by an art gallery and looked around the exhibits. The only one thing I could recognize was a piece drawn by Rodin. What I was so disappointed was the Korean education and its destruction since we had no knowledge about famous artworks but only drew creative pictures of our own. And after opening speck of YMUN, we ate Shake-Shake burger for supper. It was different from McDonald’s. Anyway, it was an amazing experience and every day made me thrilled in the morning. Even though it was my first flight trip, the first was the best experience ever and I loved my trip to the states.
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JUNGWOO LIM, DONGSUNG HIGH SCHOOL
On 14th January 2019, I visited the Columbia College to look around the campus and to listen to the lecture by a Korean upper-classman named Koo Sung Mo. He brought us around the school and introduced us to all of the significant buildings within the campus. The most memorable building that I loved most was the ‘School of Engineering and Applied science.’ Although it was not the fanciest or the tallest building among the structures, the fact that it keeps classrooms that are not in use to everyone who needs them has really inspired me. Also, its antique and well-patterned wall structure has left a strong impression on me. The atmosphere inside was tranquil and the temperature inside was warm despite the freezing weather outdoors. We all sat down in the cozy classroom and he started his lecture by first introducing the school using slides. He mentioned not only the lessons and the lectures that are provided in the college but also extra stuff such as adapting to an American school as an international student, school fees, financial support and many more. He gave both advantages and disadvantages of the school and has told us to use the tips when applying to foreign colleges. At the end of the lecture, there was a Q&A session. Many students have asked him considering their concerns over entering a college and he gave recommendations on either their volunteer work or school grades. In a nutshell, he reminded us that doing our best both in and out of the school was really important and told us that we will reap what we sow in the end. Before the lecture, I was only looking forward to entering a Korean college. However, the tour and Koo’s talk about foreign colleges changed my thoughts towards them. I decided to research more about the things needed to enter foreign colleges and the education systems of each nations.
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JANE CHUN, CHUNG NAM SAMSUNG ACADEMY
YMUN is the largest MUN I've ever done. Students from all over the world presented their ideas and solutions to world issues at various committees. It was a big competition, so I wanted to do well. As an NGO (Amnesty International), not a delegate of the country, I could have only claimed that education to protect violent extremism and international water management is urgent to protect human rights, which left me a lot of regrets. To be honest, I was more upset to see that Korean students went through racial discrimination in the committee, rather than having failed to achieve what I wanted in this big competition. My friends as a delegate of nearly had no chance to speak out, and were ridiculed while they were speaking out as an ambassador of a country. It wasn't an attitude that MUN participants from all over the world should have. If the world wide MUN, YMUN pairs and participants were to show this attitude, it was questionable what the U.N. representatives would look like at the actual UN conference. We complained to the YMUN staffs, and the chairs are disqualified as next year's chair. We all have equal positions and human rights in order to solve world problems, and I have no doubt that racism in this critical position is unacceptable and should be corrected. The reason why we're here as YMUN's delegates is to protect the 17 goals of the SDG, and above all, to create an equal world.
YUJEONG JUNG, DONGSAN CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
Today we visited Columbia University and met Sungmo Ku and did campus tour with him. Different with my expectation, Columbia University was not big. The most impressive thing was student’s dormitory. He said there are three dorm for freshman and each dorm has specific characteristic. One of them, in that dorm live students who are studying hard. And
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another dorm, students live there who wants many friends so every Thursday in their dorm they held on party. Unfortunately I forgot last dorm’s feature. And Sungmo Ku introduce Columbia University’s special curriculum. I cannot remember exact context but I think that curriculum may very helpful for Columbia students. And also I saw international affair which is major that learn international relationship or politics or something like that. Because the major is what I wanted to go, so it was very impressive for me. I visited US, six month ago, and that time, I also visited Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Penn. Each university has each advantage and feature. Contract with that university that I already visited, Columbia was very small. Anyway that university is known as very good and hard to admit. However, the point that I felt envy is in that university most of students like studying and has diversity in race, idea, or experience. Visiting university made me have enthusiasm to study and hard.
After opening ceremony the first committee session was started. I was Denmark at ECOFIN. When chair call first Roll call, I should have to go to get plan card but I made a mistake so I went to get plan card when chair called another country. I felt shame but this mistake make YMUN more special to me. YMUN is my first model united nations so everything is interesting and fresh for me. Especially watching discussion or listening others idea or speech is really impressive. They had ingenious idea and that made me realize I was living in very small space and living with small mind. The next day, Yale Day was included so we did campus tour and took lecture about ‘genocide’. And we continued committee session with same topic like yesterday, cryptocurrency and regulation. The third day we ended the first topic which deal with cryptocurrency and moved on to the next topic, Development economics and poverty trap. Unfortunately we did not have much time, although I was more interested in this topic, we did not discuss it in depth. I hope I were in real United Nations someday and I dream my idea and my work will be used to help other people.
JIWU CHUNG, YEOUIDO MIDDLE SCHOOL
Today we went to the Columbia University. Columbia University is in New York. It was established in 1754. It was not big as I thought, but the campus was really beautiful. There was a guide that is a student of the Columbia University. His name was 구성모. He toured us the campus and explained all the buildings there. There were so many beautiful buildings and statues. The guide said that the garden turns beautiful when spring comes. I was a little bit disappointed for not getting to see the garden. There were buildings that were still in constructions. I pretty excited to see them when they are done! When the tour was finished, we went to the university and the guide/student of the Columbia University gave us a speech. It was about the good and bad parts about the university. He also talked about the curriculum that the Columbia University offers. It was fascinating. I have never thought about going to Columbia University, but after getting a tour, i was interested to the university. I really want to thank the guide for touring us!!
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My First Model UN - The fifth day of the camp, the Model UN started. That day, we went to the campus of Yale and went to the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was held in the main hall of Yale. Because the director of Harry Potter got the idea of Hagwat’s hall from the hall of Yale and one other university, so the hall really looked alike with the hall of Hagwat. When the opening ceremony started, several people came out and delivered great speeches. I really loved it. When my committee started to walk to the committee room, I started to shiver because I was so nervous. But I kept telling myself that it was okay, so my nervousness got better. When we started the committee and the chair opened the speaker’s list, I raised my placard. I delivered my speech very calmly even though I was very nervous. Rest of the committee, I gave my best. But because it was my first time in Model UN, I’m a bit disappointed. I think I could do better next time. But making friends and having meals with them and talking with them was a big fun to me. Even Though it was a hardship for me, I really learned a lot from this Model UN. I really want to come back next year and get a better result. A Tour in a Yale Campus - Before we started the committee, I and my friends went for a tour in Yale. Of course, because Yale campus is so huge, we couldn’t look around the whole campus. I was a bit disappointed because we couldn’t look all around but the part of the campus that we toured was so beautiful I forgot about the fact that I was disappointed. First we went to a visitor center to put our name in the list. We went there and waited about 1 hour. The tourist’s name was James. The most interesting part was the library. I knew that the Yale’s library was huge and beautiful but when I actually saw it was gorgeous. There was a huge glace wall that was containing all the old books. And there was this ancient bible that was displayed, and our tourist told us that there’s only 4 sets of this book in the world. The experience that I had was so unusual and precious so I’m really thankful. I hope I go to Yale someday.
CHANG HYUN CHI, DAEJEON FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
Visiting Columbia University for the first time of my life was indeed a very fresh experience to me. I was always curious about Columbia University since it was the university located at the heart of New York, Manhattan. Thanks to the Hope to the Future organization, I was able to have a chance to meet a Columbian student and look around the campus with him. The university’s campus reminded me of Korea University, as the two campuses were very similar. Its atmosphere was somewhat antique and mysterious, making me feel somewhat exited and thrilled. The Columbian student, Sung Moo Koo, introduced all buildings within the campus and after that, we had a Q&A time with him. However, before doing so, he briefly introduced the attracting points of the university. The feature that attracted me the most was the core curriculum, which was a feature that only Columbia University had. Core curriculum meant that the university required quite a lot of mandatory classes to the students. If said in a good way, the University is wishing that its students can have the opportunity to grow their skills in a multilateral way, so that they could look at the world with a more thorough insight.
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Moreover, we also learned about the history of the university. Established in 1754, Columbia University is the oldest institution for higher education in New York. Not only it is the oldest institution, it is also considered one of the finest universities in the world. Numerous famous publications often mentioned Columbia University as one of the top ten universities in the world. Moreover, Columbia University was originally named King’s College, and was changed into Columbia University in 1784. The second thing that interested me was that 16 percent of Columbian students were international students. Amongst the international students, about 200 students were Korean. This was a very important matter to me since if I go to Columbia University, it would be very hard for me to get used to a new environment. However, if there are many Korean students, it would help me out a lot with the life in the US. The last thing that caught my attention was that the food in Columbia was excellent. This was a very important thing to me and the other students since eating was a critical factor in resolving stress that we get from campus life. According to Sung Moo Koo, Columbia University had four dining halls for the students and it was chosen the best school with dining halls in 2018. Moreover, even if I get sick of the food inside the university, I could go outside the campus and eat whatever I want since New York is full of delicious things. To wrap up, visiting Columbia University was an unforgettable experience for me and I was able to get a lot of new information about the university. These new facts about the university kind of enlightened me, making me rethink about Columbia University.
Nancy Pelosi once said, “Do not underestimate your opponent, but do not overestimate them, either.� This is the phrase that clearly explains my trip to New Haven. About a week ago, I headed toward New York with thirty other students as to participate in UN education programs and Yale Model United Nations. After the precious time in the UN headquarters, I and my friends went to New Haven, as to participate in Yale MUN. I think I both underestimated and overestimated this conference. I knew that this will be totally different from MUNs that I have experienced in the past, as Yale MUN was one of the biggest international MUN in the world, where numerous veterans compete for awards. However, in one side, I think I kind of underestimated the conference, thinking that I would possibly get an award without preparing much. Well, the result was miserable. I was totally outmatched by the other participants in my committee. As my committee was Security Council, one of the three special crisis committees which delegates were selected based on their extra essays, the delegates were all elites, leaving me in a very harsh environment. However, I could not reverse the things that I already committed. Even though I did not do enough research and my debating skills were not as good as other participant, I did my best. Although I did not do well with the first topic, as I was not used to the parliamentary procedure that is used in American MUN, I did quite good in the second topic, suggesting constructive solutions and writing directives with other delegates. The most special thing about my committee, I think, was that we did an extra crisis session in the midnight when all the other delegates went back to their hotels. Although this was very tiring, I think I learned a lot from this experience and had an opportunity to be closer with the delegates. At the end of the conference, of course, I did not get an award. However, I am sure that I achieved something that was much more valuable than just a single award. I got 30 new friends who all had distinctive characteristics, debate skills and new abilities that I would never have experienced back in Korea, and last but not least, a lesson to never underestimate anything.
About a week ago, I headed toward New York with thirty other students as to participate in UN education programs and Yale Model United Nations. Hearing lectures presented by famous UN employees was an experience that I could never forget. They gave us different lectures about different topics. Arasu Jambukeswaran from UNFPA talked about careers. Donald Lee, a UN retiree, talked about Sustainable Development Goals, which are the most fundamental goals that the United Nations strive for. Hamid Rashid, from DESA' s Economic Affairs Division, spoke on Gender Equality. Ariel Alexovich, also of DESA, spoke on Climate Change. Hideki Matsuno from ODA, spoke on Disarmament. Last but not least, Chul Joo Park, the Deputy Ambassador of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke on the system of United Nations and what Korea, as the member of the UN, is performing in the international society. Although all the lectures were fabulous, among the lectures, what interested and impressed me the most was the lecture presented by Chul Joo Park, the Korean Ambassador.
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Ever since I was a middle school student, my dream was to work in an international organization, and United Nations was the biggest and most powerful international organization in the world, which made it the place where I wanted to work the most. Hearing about the UN system from experts was indeed a very precious experience to me. I was able to learn things that I did not know before and I was also able to get opinions about refugee issues from the ambassador. He claimed that although it is true that refugee issue is a very sensitive issue all over the world and it isn’t different in the Korean territory. However, he also argued that Korea is doing its best to solve the refugee issue in its territory, not to mention the Yemen refugee issue that once put Korea into a serious controversy. Moreover, I asked a question regarding peace building to the ambassador, asking for his opinion on it and how Korea should approach to this issue. He answered that peace building is indeed an important factor in securing world peace and that the United Nations is also realizing its importance, acknowledging the roles of Peace Building Commission, supporting them in a full scale. I learned a lot of things from the lecture but the most important thing that I achieved is that there are so many things in the world that I still do not know and this motivated and encouraged me to study harder, so that I could fulfill my dream as an international organization employee.
BRIAN HYUNWOO CHI, DAEWON FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
Columbia is well known for being one of the most famous universities of the world. As an Ivy-League school, the campus of Columbia has its own history and legacy. As soon I walked into campus, I was able to sense the environment of Columbia. It was a bit different from the environment that I sensed in many different universities back home. At Columbia, the environment was filled with happiness. Everyone on campus seemed to be happy and they seemed to be very energetic, compared to the schools in Korea, where everyone was tired of the severe competition within its peers. The campus seemed to be very small in size, but it was full with everything that it needs. The buildings were there for every courses and curriculums, and it was new to me on how diverse classes can be at Columbia. Out of those many buildings, the one that caught my interest was the building for the department of law and justice. Although we did not have the chance to look inside, seeing the outside was enough for us to get the notion that this is an environment where students can be motivated to study hard. The library was especially amazing, where all the things were neatly organized. Being in a small- sized school had its own benefits. The first benefit was regarding the commuting time. Because the school was very close together, students didn’t have to walk long distances, and that would be a benefit for sure. Another benefit that was to be seen at the campus of Columbia was regarding the dorms. Most of the students at Columbia, 95% to be exact, lived on campus. Our tour guide proudly told us that Columbia is one of the very few schools that offer a 4-year dorm life for students. This may be seen as a small thing, but to me it was a very big matter. The school environment and the atmosphere where students can cooperate and live together is one of the biggest reason why I want to study abroad. To me, providing an environment where most students lived in dorms came as a merit. A merit specifically about the increase of interaction between students. Just like any other Ivy-League school, Columbia has students coming from all over the world. By exchanging ideas and thoughts coming from their one-of a kind background would be able to make students more tolerating differences, and this will help them to be a global-level leader of the future. Providing an environment where student can study who he/she desires, that’s the kind of ideal form of university that I can think of. In this standard, the University of Columbia was perfect for me. I thought that having structural support for
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students so that they can chose their own major after sophomore second semester would be extremely helpful for students. A lot of experience that is the most fundamental basis of education. Columbia’s sprit of diversity and experience will be able to achieve these goals in their best. Overall, the University of Columbia was great in every way that I could possibly think of.
Model United Nations, in my perspective, is all about interactions. Being able to interact with other delegates and being able to receive promising results is the core essence of Model United Nations. In this standard, Yale Model UN was the best Model UN for me. Since students from all around the world gather and compete their knowledge, it was intense and hard but was also a one-of a kind experience. My committee was the Ad-Hoc committee. Not to brag, being an Ad-Hoc delegate was hard even before the actual Model UN started. We sent essays to check if we were capable and after this process was done, the highest achieving 13 delegates were chosen as the member of the Ad-Hoc committee. The way of the flow for us was completely different from other committees. We didn’t know the topic until session started. Also, it was new to see that there were 5 chairs in the 13-delegate committee, when there are about 2~3chairs for a 50delegate committee. All of this was new, but it a lot of fun and made me be into every situation. We went back in time, 1945 at Cairo in order to discuss the World War 2. The whole feeling that I was able to change history was new, and made me thrilled throughout the sessions. As representing Turkey, I was able to observe World War 2 in the perspective of another nation. Also, discussing about the New world’s order after the world, this time in China’s perspective was also interesting, since World War 2 ended by using atomic bombs in Germany, not Japan. Overall, the Yale Model UN was an everlasting experience for me. I had a chance to exchange ideas with other students from all around the world, and I was able to make new friends who are all different from one another. Although all members of the AdHoc committee was seniors, they became friends and a mentor for me, and age gap became an exclusive benefit that I had during the conference. Having interaction with the world that is the form virtual education that I can think of. To me, Yale Model UN was absolutely perfect.
GEONWOO CHOI, ANYANG FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
Today, I went to Columbia University. Columbia University adopted its current name in 1896, and moved to its current location in 1897. Columbia University is an Ivy League private university in New York City, New York, the United States. Columbia University is located in Manhattan, New York, so it has easy access to wide-ranging international political and economic information. The U.N. headquarters in New York, the center of international politics, and Wall Street, the center of global economic finance, are approaching the campus, and media companies, art, music and cultural centers, which affect the world, surround the campus. A senior Ku sung mo introduced the Columbia University Campus. Senior is second grade now. I was very surprised, since the campus was little small. According to senior, Columbia University is a small university and there are many buildings outside of the campus because it is currently expanding. Columbia University is given a Pulitzer Prize every year, and it also produces the largest number of Nobel Prize winners after Harvard, including graduates and professors. Columbia University is said to have a liberal arts course that is essential for graduation.
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In Columbia University, there are two big statue. One is alma mater, and the other is belleropone taming Pegasus. The library building is not using now, and that building is now using during the events. Real library is across that building, and the plato, aristole, buzil, their name is carved on the library. The big advantage of the Columbia University is dormitory. First grade’s Dormitory is in the campus. However, Tuition fee of the Columbia University is little expensive. So if our family’s financial is not good, To go Columbia University is difficult thing. This experience is very good, but cold.
This YMUN was actually a new challenge for me. It is my first time to participate in a Model U.N. competition held abroad, and second time to experience Model U.N., but my experience was not a competition and big. In that sense, this competition meant a lot to me. First of all, it would be very natural to be able to meet and talk to various people. During the YMUN, we shared our thoughts with each other from all over the world, and it was even more meaningful to talk to many people with our thoughts. Before YMUN, I was very nervous and worried about how to proceed with the conversation. Moreover, when I first started the topic, I was not good at MUN, so it was hard to keep up with the process and speed. So, in the first topic, there was a limit to being signatories. But fortunately, as time went by, I gradually became accustomed to speed, and by the time I started the second topic, I was able to melt into people as usual. As a result, we were able to successfully write a resolution on the second. This experience led me to think that it would be better to step up and try than to be afraid. Of course, it may not be easy to stand up and experience and challenge myself, but it was especially good that this experience helped me grow up and do such a thing. If I have a friend who is afraid to come forward and challenge, it was a valuable experience that made I decide to give advice and help.
“Ariel Alexovich, also of DESA, speaking on Climate Change” Her lecture was a very interesting topic. Because the Earth is currently facing climate change. The temperature of the Earth is increasing day by day, and heads of country often gather to discuss the issue. According to her story, poverty decreased from 46 percent in 1990 to 27 percent in 2012. And also, World GDP grew 75% 1990 – 2010. But, Gap between rich and poor increased by 20%. And 884 million people lack access to clean water. CO2 emissions increased by 38% from 1990 to 2009. She said biodiversity loss, Desertification, ocean degradation, ozone depletion, Air pollution, water scarcity is the Major environmental threats. Climate impacts can hit close to home. UN negotiates a way forward: Paris Agreement and Assesses the science: IPCC reports. The IPCC Global Warming of 1.5’C report confirms that the world has already warmed by 1’C due to human activity. Assists countries in implementing adaptation and mitigation plans. And she said ‘Every purchase, decision makes matters. Those are more powerful than you think. ‘Lazy person’s guide to save the world is ‘sofa superstar’, ‘Household Hero’, ‘Neighborhood nice guy’. And before she finished her lecture, she went over to question and answer, showing a simple video from UNDESA called Break up with plastic in YouTube. Because climate change is a global issue, I think everyone is interested and curious. Q&A time to find answers to what we wondered about these issues has been a considerable help. “Hideki Matsuno from ODA speaking on Disarmament” Hideki Matsuno talked to us about the Conventional arms issue and Nuclear weapon. He said that Nuclear. Chemical biological weapon is related to terrorism. Also, he said that killer robots are emerging as new problems all over the world. His office is very small and has 60 to 70 employees. Headquarter is in New York, and small office is in Swiss. The New agenda 2018: afford by current by general disarmament, arms control area. Conventional arms area progress. His lecture gave me quite a lot of thought. I think my interest in disarmament was also part of it. It was a very valuable opportunity because it was a rare opportunity to ask questions what I wondered usual and get answers to them. I ask him “ What do you think of as a way to prevent crime as conventional weapons are prevalent around the world and crime rates are rising naturally? “ However, He said he was new here, so it was a bit disappointing that I couldn't get a detailed answer.
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MYOUNG JUN CHOI, AKITA MINAMI HIGH SCHOOL
From January 16 to 19, 2019, I had the opportunity to participate in a model UN held in Yale University. Having been my first time ever to be participating in a model UN, I was actually nervous and was also curious about the system of it. From the advance classes that were held in Korea, I had acknowledged that containing plentiful information and knowledge was the key to be successful in this kind of debate. That being said, I determined to achieve information about numerous countries and about their historical background related to the topic of my committee. I had to search more than one country’s opinions about the issue because in my committee, which is the CSD, I was honorably chosen as a delegate representing The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is a part of the NGO. My delegation’s goal was slightly different from the other delegates’ who represented their country because I had to be cautious about the benefits of the whole world, rather than focusing on the benefits of particular regions. Every committee has two topics and ours were about the effectiveness of the Carbon Pricing System, and the possibility of GMOs being the solution of combating global hunger. Both were seemingly difficult topics to discuss with, and I had difficulty comprehending most of the information that I had gathered previously preparing for the model UN. At the model UN, I was first shocked with the number of participants of each committee. My committee was part of the ECOSOC, which is said to be a mid-sized committee of about 60~80 people. I didn’t know at first, but I found out that not every delegate can give an opening speech and talk about their opinions about the topic, so I found that the delegates’ strong desire to express their own opinion and to speak in front of people was tested in this type of committee. As I had mentioned previously in my passage, this has been my first Model UN. So, to get adjusted with it, I tried to understand and read the atmosphere and how the system works. I think it took me longer than others to get familiar with it because I had never ever had that kind of experience in my entire life even in school. At the first day, even though I was stunned with everything that was happening around me, I managed to talk twice in front of people during the moderated caucus. Having known that I wouldn’t get an opportunity to express my opinions unless I show my desire, I caught the opportunity to do the opening speech, and talk about what my delegation thinks the problem is. I personally believe that my speech had made the delegates lend an ear toward my speech because I had received numerous notes from numerous countries saying that they were interested in my opinion of the topic. I was actually quite surprised with the note passing system during the Model UN. Note passing was wild during the conference, and I realized that most of the delegates representing the developed countries got many proposals, while the delegates representing developing countries received less than that of the delegates from the developed countries. Looking back at the first day, I have about two things that I regret. First, is about the note passing. Having not known the system, I only replied to the notes that were given to me. If I had passed notes to the delegates who had the similar opinion as I had, I think I would have had more support from many different countries. Second, is the attitude I gave during my speech. From a young age, I had participated in various English speeches and presentation competitions, so I thought I had
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no trouble in speaking English in front of others. However, because I had been nervous most of the time, I spoke quite quickly and with a small voice during my speech, and been looking down at the paper I wrote most of the time when I was talking. I realize now that I didn’t have much experience in giving my opinion about something in English on the spot. Because of that, after coming back to my high school, I am focusing on increasing my speaking ability by doing English debates more and more often. Nonetheless, the most critical problem that I had was when the un-moderated caucus had begun. I had been working hard to find a group which had a similar solution to the problem as I to become one of the sponsors of the resolution. The first step to find a group where I belong was quite easy. From both topics, I was able to lean my ear towards many delegates’ perspective about the topic and managed to increase the number of delegates supporting our idea. However, the second step which is to be a part of the sponsor was much more difficult than I had expected. Even though, I think I have done the speeches as well as the other delegates, it was hard for me to catch up with the conversation that was happening in most of the blocks. The vocabularies they had been using, and the circumstances that they were concerning about was honestly a little difficult for me to understand. I think I asked questions more to the other delegates rather than expressing my ideas towards them. While I had been trying hard getting used to it, the resolution papers were the toughest. First, I was stunned at how many delegates had already written their resolution papers during the preparation beforehand. So, during the second un-mod, the working papers had mostly been finished. I thought that was a wise way to make working papers more efficiently during the un-mod. Second, I couldn’t quite comprehend the vocabularies that are used in the working papers. Although, I had the privilege to amend the working papers, I couldn’t amend a lot because of lack of understanding. Also, because of that, I think I lost a little bit of confidence inside me after the first un-moderated caucus. That is the most regretful thing to me after finishing the whole experience. Although I managed to show my opinions during the moderated caucus, I gave less and less opinions as time goes by, and had trouble getting used to the un-mod. However, from this experience, I had learned that I lack in enthusiasm to speak to others, and more importantly, have fewer vocabularies than other delegates who were in the same committee. As I mentioned in my earlier sentences, I would like to increase those skills by proactively contributing to different kinds of English debates and hope to be a part of Y-MUN next year and come back with a better result than this year.
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Everything I had learned was a completely new experience which helped me broaden my perspective. Having participating in this UN training program, I have had many precious lessons that I’ve learned in the past 10 days. First, I found out that the desire to speak about your opinions freely in front of others is highly important. Having several classes at the UN headquarters, and by participating in Y-MUN, I felt I lack in expressing myself. At the UN headquarters,
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I regret that I’ve asked only a few questions to the speaker. During Y-MUN, I regret that I couldn’t give my thoughts about the topic as much as the other delegates did during the un-moderated caucus. I personally think this is because I have not been used to asking questions to others even school and because I’ve never actually participated in this kind of program. From this experience, I would like to contribute to different kinds of debate, to increase my enthusiasm in numerous categories. Second is the importance of increasing one’s vocabularies. Since I had been having education in a public school in Japan, I didn’t have problems regarding my English vocabulary skills. However, in this experience, I sometimes had difficulty in understanding the words other delegates had been using, which was a new experience. Although I may understand the partial words of the other delegates, I sometimes couldn’t understand what their main intention was. From that, I personally thought that not to be left behind, I should start watching more TED videos and start reading English newspapers. By doing that, my goal is to not just increase the amount of words which I can comprehend, but also increase the vocabularies that I can choose from when I tend to talk in front of others. In order to do that, I believe joining Advanced English classes can help me improve my English. Thirdly, is the importance of having a past experience. Although, it was a new experience for me and it had been slightly difficult to overcome some of the process, my previous practices has actually helped me in this program. Our school is one of the “Super Global High schools” in Japan, and every year, we do a research on world hunger and suggest a solution regarding the matters and give a presentation about it. I had never thought that this would have any practical use in my future, but had actually made me accustomed to speaking in front of others in English rather than before, and had helped a lot with knowledge in my committee. My committee was the Committee on Sustainable Development and our topic was the possibility of Genetic Modified Organisms being the solution of global hunger. Because the topic was related with the school activity that I have participated in the past, I was able to speak in front of others. Steve Jobs use to say that “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” From this experience, I hope to participate in classes held by the Hope to the Future Foundation or other educational classes that would help me connect my dots for my future. As an overall impression, I was just glad to be part of this training program and was happy to make many friends during the process. What I found out is that the ones who I have interacted in this program are the people who are going to change the world in the near future. It was just an honor to meet them and have this experience and I hope to be a part of them who works for a better future regarding the Sustainable Development Goals.
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EUNSEO CHOE, HANKUK ACADEMY OF FOREIGN STUDIES
It was my first time to visit university outside Korea. When we arrived at Columbia University, I could not recognize the school. It looked like an ancient castle. It looked like Hogwarts at Harry Potter too. It was kind of fresh shock to me. Prior to this experience, I could never think that school seem like castles that are easy to see in History textbook. However, after the campus tour, I learned that interior inside the campus was modern and unique that it makes people go into the building and make them want to work in the building. I was fascinated to Columbia University that I decide to study hard to visit Columbia University again not as a visitor but as a student or professor. Since I prepare university in Korea, I do not know much about foreign universities, such as how to get admissions, what to prepare for the admissions, what we exactly learn from there. Tour guide, after the Columbia University tour, answered every questions we asked. I could learn that even though I am preparing the universities in Korea, if I prepare what foreign universities require for admission, it would be beneficial to me.
I felt sad a little because of the cold weather. I was not able to see many people doing activities such as reading books, studying, or sleeping in campus. Every pictures describing Columbia University, many students were enjoying the campus. Next time if I can visit the campus again, I want to visit in summer or spring.
“YALE DAY – Global Exchange Program” HAFS (Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies) camp is a place where students can learn English through diverse activities such as mock trial, debate, pop culture quiz, sports activity and the like. While debating, we could learn cooperation, and how to communicate with peers in English effectively. I participated in the school club activity this semester. We could analyze certain social phenomenon socially, statistically, and psychologically. I looked into the topic “Why are there so many gender problems?” and I learned about various policies of gender equality all over the world and other LGBT, transgender problems in a global scale. Recognizing the worldwide inequality in education made me deeply consider the reason why there are considerable amount of individuals lacking opportunity of education, to help solving this problem, I participated in fundraising activity as a member of Daewon Impact, the school newspaper club, at school. We sold old books in order to make money for children who lack the chances of education instead of merely making an appeal for funds.
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Interest in appropriate technology and fair trade led me to make a school club dealing with the topics. We designed products that apply the conditions of appropriate technology and we got to realize the circumstances of the third world, also in order to promote fair trade, I created poster, picket and promoted fair trade at school festival. Being a member in club exhibition named RUBY (Rise up Be a Young leader), I acquired how to cooperate with others well. In exhibition, I was a supporter for a club named K-BAT which is a club that handles appropriate technology, I could learn the necessity of appropriate technology there for the first time, and also looking other booths by different club inspired me to perform diverse activities in the future. Spanish Honor Society, which is a school club that gave me substantial amount of great experiences, such as fundraising for nations that need supports writing an article in Spanish, translating K-pop song to Spanish, participating in Spanish week which aims promoting Spanish and its culture to students at school. All of these activities helped me raise global insight. When I first heard about this program, I felt a fresh shock. Because I have never had chance to talk about and ask my question about leadership and current issues such as gender issues with experts in those kinds of area. Also, being a student in South Korea, I do not have sufficient opportunity to communicate with foreigners especially individuals who are academically distinguished upon the topic which I am interested in such as gender equality, women rights, and the like. I believe this program will develop my thoughts on human rights and gender problems. What do you think makes a protest powerful? According to Merriam Webster dictionary, protest refers to an event at which people gather together to show strong disapproval about something. I believe that in order to successfully protest, there are three factors to undergo or to fulfill, cooperation, citizenship, and clear method to resolve the problem. I will specify these factors in the following paragraphs. To begin with, solidarity is one of main elements in successful protest. Because, as it is mentioned above as definition, fundamentally, protest is operated under certain circumstance, individuals who share identical thoughts should gather together. Take South Korea’s candlelight rally for example. In 2016, the relationship between Korean president and her shadow ruler was revealed. Naturally, it was a hot potato for a while. In turn Koreans operated a huge rally using candlelight because they demanded the president’s removal. This event has praised by diverse foreign presses. Cooperation underlies reasons why this event got positive reactions from international presses. They praised citizen’s unison. Furthermore, I believe citizenship is a key factor in successful challenge. Because I believe that individuals recognizing the problem in social phenomenon and forming group that can oppose the matter and operate activities that is against it is highly regarded as a citizen. In addition, citizenship emphasizes ability for ordinary citizens to make their disapproval heard and it is crucial in that it prepares groundwork for the change that citizens want. Citizenship can reassure the public either. For example, South Korea’s candlelight rally that I mentioned above was operated peacefully. Peaceful atmosphere of rally comforted the public in that there was no bloodshed. Moreover, clear formulation of how to solve the problem, in other words, what protestors want at the end and the way to get there needs to be clear if individual have desire to protest successfully. Protests usually contain big issues and demand plan for how to achieve the goal, solving the problem finally. Therefore, clarifying the methods of resolving the problem may be a chief component of triumphant protest. To exemplify with South Korean’s candlelight rally one more time, all of the members participating in a challenge had identical goals, to remove status of president from her. Intrinsically, performing a protest with a clear goal can make the consequence flourishing. To sum up, clearing up the solution of challenge, citizenship, and bond of citizens are significant elements of thriving protest. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/protest, http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/protest, https://www.baypath.edu/news/bay-path-university-blogs/post/the-purpose-of-protest-and-what-makes-a-protesteffective/ )
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JIHOON HAN, CORNERSTONE COLLEGIATE ACADEMY OF SEOUL
When I was in freshmen, I didn’t know how hard the high school life is. I thought that I’m having a plenty of time to prepare for college application and admission. But in fact, I didn’t. As I grow up and as my grade becomes high, I faced the reality and realized the urgency to study more. GPA, SAT, AP extracurricular activities, and so on… Nothing was easy. Everything required huge efforts and things became harder and harder as time goes by. It was really tough for me to study AP while preparing for SAT and also GPA. Therefore, I started to respect the students who are studying in the universities, like Ivy League, after finishing all of those tough courses. Columbia University, which is included in Ivy League, is one of the most famous and prestigious universities in the Unites States. Annually, many students apply to Columbia, but only few of them are accepted. Therefore, it was unforgettable experience for me to tour this campus because it was the first college that I’m touring. Although the weather was very cold, beautiful buildings and structures made me to overcome the coldness. Not like the buildings in my country, those in Columbia University were different. Really different. They weren’t just building but something that make people to be humble. They made me to wonder about the history of those buildings and every details in the structures seemed like the heritage. Through having a meeting with Columbia university student, I could know about the core curriculums of Columbia University and I liked them. Moreover, since I really care about the quality of food, I was really happy to know that the food in Columbia is really great. I could find some reasons that I have to study more by touring Columbia University and I think it was really great experience for me.
Since Yale MUN is a very prestigious conference with a long history, I heard that many cerebral students come there to win a prize. Therefore, the scale of the conference was at a different level from other MUN conferences. For instance, while about 300 students attended Yale MUN Korea, more than 1000 students from diverse countries attended Yale MUN. Moreover, there were so many committees including specialized committees that I have never seen before. We used Yale University's buildings and classrooms, which Yale students use to have a lecture, for the conference. Since the campus was really huge like a town, it took a long time to go to the building where my committee was designated. However, I liked it because I could have time to look around and feel how Yale University looks like. Since it was a late night and the air was fresh and cold, I felt like I became a student of Yale who studied at campus until the late night. My committee of YMUN XLV was SOCHUM: social, humanitarian, and cultural committee. Since I was usually interested in the human-rights related issues, I was excited that I was designated in SOCHUM. However, not only excitement but also dreadness coexisted in my mind. Since it was my second MUN experience, I worried and doubted how I can do great among those cerebral and intelligent students. I thought I am not suitable for this big world that I have never been to. However, my teacher and parents said “Don’t worry. You can do it. Even if you cannot say anything, there will be so many
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things that you will learn from it, and those will help you to be improved.” By regaining confidence from these comments, I could overcome the dreadness and realized that confidence and braveness, rather than English skills, are the most important thing that I have to have for the MUN conference. SOCHUM’s two topic was youth development and mental health. While we were doing the first topic: youth development, I received many notes from other delegations after my opening speech. Since it was the first time to receive notes, I was so happy and excited. However, I couldn't make enough speeches. Although I raised my placard steadily, chairs promoted delegations who did not speak yet to approach the podium and therefore, I could do only two speech during the moderated caucus. I was sad, but I agreed on to that method because I also thought that domination made by some delegations is not fair. I think they were a very nice chair because they gave opportunities and power to the minorities, which is the exact thing that the UN should do. On the second topic, I decided to more participate in unmoderated caucus rather than a moderated caucus. The reason why I made this decision was to persuade other delegations to join in our bloc’s resolution and moreover, to hear the voices of the delegations who are not participating in. By visiting the secluded delegations, I could hear their voices and opinions. That made me feel more satisfied than making many speeches in front of the chairs and delegations because that was not the action that I made to attract the chairs’ attention but to help the delegations showing their opinions and letting their voice heard. Here are two of the most important things that I learned from this conference. First, the difference between ‘aim’ and ‘purpose.’ I learned that receiving an award can be the aim of the conference but should not be the purpose of the conference. The reason why the award should not be the purpose of the conference is because the meaning of the conference might be distorted when every delegation attends the conference to receive an award. We should not forget that justification for the existence of this conference is being more aware of international issues and helping the United Nations to make a better world. Second, help minorities and isolated people. While I was helping the delegations to express their opinions, I could feel worthy because they appreciated me of listening to their opinion. I helped them to know the process, step by step, and they said they could participate more because of me at the end of the conference. Since they showed me excellent ideas, I introduced those ideas to the committee with honoring those delegations. Therefore, I could realize that a more fruitful outcome can be made if we more cooperate. This enlightenment made me realize the importance of cooperation and also gave me a passion for doing more service and helping more minorities and marginalized people. It is hard to explain everything that I learned from it because there are also insensible things that I just absorbed. However, it is apparent that they made me become more mature and also made me love ‘MUN.’ I will continuously attend MUN conference, and I believe that there will be more things that I can learn from it. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me this precious opportunity.
When I first entered to the United Nations headquarter, I couldn’t believe that I’m standing at the place where the whole world gives attention. Since I was really interested in the United Nations, at that time, it felt like a dream for me. How can I imagine myself standing at the UN headquarter? However, after I passed security and entered the building, I could realize that this is real. By standing at that place, I began to honor people who are working for the world’s peace and development because I could feel their efforts. All the components making up the United Nations headquarter building such as floor, wall, door, ceiling, made me to be humble and solemn. Above all, I really favored topics of lectures that we had. Every topic was helpful and exciting for me. Moreover, since we were in a small room, not in a huge lecture hall, we could ask various questions and get specific answers to face to face and also could feel their feeling and passion. They answered our questions very specifically and friendly. Their thorough explanations and personal anecdotes in the United Nations helped me to resolve curiosity and also amplified my interest in the United Nations. Lecture from UNFPA, Officer Arasu Jambukeswaran, was really helpful for me because his mentions like “Do what they want, not what you want to do.” gave me a clear vision how to help people residing in developing countries. Moreover, also for marginalized and disadvantaged people, I realized that the services we have done and doing should be fulfilled from their point of view, not from our point of view.
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Lecture about SDGs, from Donald Lee, helped me to have a thorough concept about what are SDGs and how to achieve SDGs not only as a nation but also as an individual. I could memorize each SDGs, and that made me feel like I’m coworking with UN for creating a better world. Lecture about climate change from DESA’s Ariel Alexovich made me to realize how serious the problem is and also how can I contribute to the works of minimizing environment deterioration and contamination. Since I was in DISEC committee in previous MUN, lecture about disarmament from DESA’s Hideki Matsuno was comparatively easy for me to understand and absorb. Although conducting research and writing position paper about disarmament was very hard and tedious at that time, I felt worth and great by having this lecture. Knowledge was not the sole thing that I learned from having these lectures. By writing a report about the lecture with my team members, I could learn about cooperation and communication skills. Moreover, by only using English and writing in English, I could be more fluent in English, and that gave me more confidence. I still cannot believe that I went to the UN headquarter and had a meeting with UN officers. However, for me, now it’s evident that this experience would be one of the most important turning points in my life. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me this precious opportunity.
EUNJI HWANG, JEONBUK FOREIGN LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL
This MUN experience will be very unforgettable. I participated in the contest once in Korea, so it was better than my first time, but I still had fear. On the first day, I moved to the hotel to take a reception for the overseas participant. I saw many white friends who were considerably taller than me, and I saw many Asians, Chinese, Japanese, and so on. They looked more elderly than me, surprised, and everyone seemed confident. The opening ceremony and after the first committee session were the biggest shock from that time on, everyone has become very sociable. It didn't seem like they first met each other, and they had much fun talking to each other, I just remember going quietly. When we arrived, we sat in the room, and everyone was noisy, not like a competition, and above all, unlike the Korean MUN, it was very cozy atmosphere. In the case of Korea, in an extremely composed and controlled atmosphere, all sits down in front of signs with their country and prepares for the contest. The rules are important and most competitions are held in a tense atmosphere. Funnily, students delivered jokes with the chairperson in YMUN, and they freely conducted the competition without being tied to the rules.
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At first, I felt so small and a little scary I couldn't speak much and just listened. I regret it a lot when I think about it later, but I tried saying it a lot on the second and third days. The competition was very fast, team-oriented, and the resolution had been prepared at home. This was also a bit interesting, and I felt that preparation was very thorough. Especially, I was able to take a free stand because I took the NGO instead of the country in this competition, but it was so neutral that other countries viewed it positively however it was powerful to speak because it was lighter than countries with heavy weight but it was a good experience to me.In conclusion, I learned how much I was a frog in a well through this competition, and I felt strongly I needed more effort and practice to make my dream. It would be worthier to encounter more people, communicate with them, and keep an eye on global issues. I think it was an opportunity to work hard towards my dream again.
INGUN HWANG, HANEUL ACADEMY
Attending college is now considered as an obligatory process of a student to become an adult. Discrimination between attenders and non-attenders clearly exists, and it is not too much to say that students who skipped university will reach a certain point where their effort and output cannot be compensated with rewards, due to social biases. Although this phenomenon is a drawback of college-focused society, it cannot be the purpose of why students enter universities. The original purpose of university is to provide students with deepened inquiry and content of academic studies. Passing down knowledge and using it for the society and goodwill are directions that college can possibly provide. In this context, the Columbia University I went today served its role of nurturing global talent with specific curriculums. With the guide of Columbia University’s student Koo Sungmoo, I and my friends toured the university. The college has core curriculums that include both liberal arts and natural sciences. Students must invest significant amount of time to graduate. These mandatory courses are regarded as harsh, painstaking tasks for Columbians, but the university strongly requires the items to be accomplished since all of them are necessary for social life. Here I was able to understand the college’s distinction on its academic course composition by thinking more about their students and benefit for the society. Also, I heard that many students stage a demonstration in front of the library of Columbia University. Their topics vary from small conflicts to social issues, but no one tries to break up the protest unless it physically damages other citizens. It is hard to associate demonstration inside a university, but the Columbian students do it actively, thanks to the college’s liberate thought and students’ assertive drive. Becoming aware of social issues and academic knowledge needs hard effort. I learned that faculty members and students here have enthusiasm on issues around them, and the Columbia University is doing their best to support their students. It was a great experience to visit here, and I am looking forward to coming here again.
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For Yale Day, I listened to a lecture about populism’s origin to solution. The lecturer started his talk by mentioning join of China and Asian economies to international markets. It enabled a free access to the world markets of low-income country. One of its key outcomes was international redistribution of wealth, and the second was income redistribution within countries, where gains from globalization in rich countries are accumulated in the higher ladder of income distribution. According to Ricardo's the logic of comparative advantage, rich countries produced products with high value by highskilled labor, whereas developing countries produced ones with low value. This phenomenon brought an idea that trade with low-income economies destroy rich countries’ economy, since it causes unemployment to low-skilled labor in rich countries. The evidence lies in a reduction of US manufacture industry because of Chinese imports. In a projected effect of robots in 2015 to 2025, employment rate decreased 0.54% and lower wage growth is estimated between 0.75 and 1%. Therefore, trade is responsible for at least 25% of manufacturing job losses. This so called ‘Free trade backlash’ resulted a rise of populism. It blames globalization for income stagnation and status loss; a sort of anti-elite movement where individuals who lost faith in political establishment, incompetent, not trustful. Its followers are therefore open to charismatic leaders. There are two types of populism. The first one comes from countries that receive significant inflow of immigrants from distant cultures, mostly right wing parties. It associates migration to employment loss and fiscal costs. The second one is from countries that are exposed to financial constraints because of international integration, mostly from left wing parties. Highly indebted countries implement austerity policy in exchange for financial help from international organizations. The integration of two types is from Italy and United States, where political conflict situation exists between political parties. The problem of populism stems from polarization and anti- globalization, inhibiting the development of preferred liberalistic world atmosphere. Solutions for mitigating populism include putting more emphasis on compensation policy: higher taxes on trade winners, more spending on trade losers. In overall, through the lecture I was able to grasp the way an English lecture is delivered. I really loved the passion of audiences actively asking questions to the lecturer. For me, Yale Day was full of learning that I was deeply involved with.
Ariel Alexovich is from UNDESA, and she talked about present conditions of climate change and how to resolve it. Her speech started with a simple introduction of what DESA does. DESA stands for ‘Department of Economic and Social Affairs’, and the committee accounts for substantial part of UN’s actual work. Its task mainly deals with governments to follow up for implementing actions, and DESA also suggests reports in the high level political forum. Issue about climate change was much worse than I thought. From 1990 to 2010, the world GDP grew 75 percent, but the gap between rich and poor also increased by 20 percent. Other data include: 884 million people have lack access to clean water, 2.6 billion people don't have access to basic sanitation, carbon dioxide emission has increased by 38%, and twothirds of natural services declined. The statistics clearly demonstrates that major environmental threats such as desertification, deforestation, and coral bleaching are strangling the earth. Victims of climate change, especially women and children, are migrating from their hometown to strange, dangerous places. Solutions for fighting climate change include using renewable energy like wind and solar power. In this aspect, UNDP is currently granting different organizations to work on developing alternative energy projects. Negotiation for a way forward, just like the Paris Agreement in 2015, should be achieved too. Assessing the science by writing IPCC reports and assisting countries to implement adaptation and mitigation plans and achieving global compact with private sectors to adopt sustainable technologies are other resolutions. In a personal aspect, the key principle one should keep in mind is that for every purchase, decision matters. The UNDP provides ‘Lazy person's guide to saving the world,’ containing measures one can work with. Ms. Ariel stressed that SDGs are not a marketing exercise, but making countries act for real. The UN’s goal is building a global community for solving global issues and relieving discriminations on many different social parts. Thanks to some people who are realizing this issue seriously, humanity is preparing a countermeasure to fight against climate change and save the planet. However, I’ve learned that still, a lot of people are not aware of its seriousness. Participation from more diverse agents like companies and institutions is required. For example, companies can utilize sustainable production through CSR. Her lecture about climate change made me think a lot about what must be done to solve the issue, and I would love to participate another one similar with this one.
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Staffs Reflections
Minjoo Choi, Intern at Education Department Hope to the Future Association “One of the biggest things I have learned through this program is how to act when unexpected incidents occur.”
When I look back to the moment when I started the intern at Hope to the Future Association (HFA), it just seems like a dream. Because I have never worked for a company or any part time job. Therefore, every experience was new, especially the environment of a non-governmental organization. Looking back when I started writing a resume and a cover letter, I knew I could do great job in HFA with my experience in UNAI ASPIRE. But it was my deception. Every knowledge I know about United Nations, Model United Nations and Global Citizenship Education were useful in understanding why we are doing these in HFA. However, knowledge was not everything, the actual person that was needed for an intern was the person who could deal with unexpected situations. And one of the biggest things I have learned through this internship is how to act when unexpected incidents occur. Not only that but also I have learned basic business skills such as how to answer phone calls and how to send business emails. Those basic business skills were I would have not known if I have not done internship at HFA. Also, I was a bit introverted when I started intern, but I can say that I have gained confidence through this internship. The experience as moderator in ‘Bugil Academy’s Global Citizenship Education Completion Ceremony’ was totally new. Normally I would not be a moderator in any kind of event, but with some mistakes I have gained confidence through this experience. Also, I have gained a habit of taking notes. Before the intern, I did not know the importance of taking notes. But as I work at HFA, I noticed that there are so many things to remember in order to work efficiently. As I gained the habit of taking notes, I realized that I should verify the progress of the ongoing program again and again. Not only verification is important for the progress of the program but also verification of every little thing I do at HFA was important. Before working as an intern, I had a habit of impatience but as I got used to work, I realized verification of every work I do is most important in every aspect of work. Moreover, I became a multi-tasker as I have done internship in HFA. Before then, I would never listened to someone when I concentrate on my own work. But since I have done so many different types of work all at once, I have gained a confidence, especially when I had to deal with 32 students at the Yale Model United Nations (YMUN). Additionaly, I had a chance of marketing which included promoting on and offline. I posted photos of every schedules on HFA homepage and facebook. And made educational materials for the 32 students and sent to all students including their parents. So when I send the email, it should be precise but at the same time it should have been understandable with enough information. And through the 13th UN Headquarter Program at New York, I was able to learn about world issues by listening to the lectures from UN experts. If it were not for Ariel Alexovich from DESA, I would not have learned how to approach to people who do not recognize the importance of not using plastic for the climate change. Since I have known easy approachable video called ‘Break Up with Plastic’, I will try to share it with many people on the facebook and let people know the importance of not using plastic.
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Also, there are some regrets that I should have done but have not done throughout the internship period, such as organizing a forum. Since I have organized forum as a students, I had aspiration to start planning of the forum. However, I do believe that I would have a chance by participating as university staff at the forum. So I am looking forward to this despite the fact that I am finishing the internship. In addition, throughout the internship at HFA I kept on asking to myself what I should do for my future career. And through this internship, I decided I would like to work for Non-governmental organization in the field of international development cooperation (IDC). Therefore, when I go back to school I would like to take the course called Understanding International Development Cooperation by Professor Kwak, in order to understand the field of IDC. And later in the 2 nd semester of my senior year, I would like use my experience in HFA and if I have a chance, I would like to apply for another intern in the field of IDC. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the staff at Hope to the Future Association for all the opportunities that I would not have experience if it were not HFA. I wish the experience is not all and hope to keep in touch with each other in all different kinds of way.
Sue-Ah Lee Hankuk University of Foreign Studies “ I was especially moved by how he really tried to reach out to the people and the environment that were really in need.”
Before the journey to the United Nations and Yale University began, feelings of fear and concern took up a large portion inside me. Despite the fact that this trip was one that would spark up the hearts of anyone who earned the chance to participate, I was unsure of my abilities and was scared that I might not be competent enough for the job as a college staff. However, the warm assistance and guidance of my seniors and colleagues, and the passion that our willing students showed us was enough to give me the courage I didn’t have before, and gave me strength to work harder than I first planned to. Unlike my former misconception that my only role on this trip would be helping, teaching, leading and assisting, I earned unexpected help and assistance that was beyond measure. Thanks to the amazing leadership shown by my blessed companions, I always knew where to go and how to carry on. And more than anything else, I was taught so many valuable lessons through the UN training program and was able to enrich my knowledge. Thanks to the UN training program, I learned how the United Nations operate, what kind of efforts the United Nations make to create a better world, and how it cooperates with its member states to do so. Furthermore, I was given the extreme opportunity of participating in lectures that one would not be able to easily take elsewhere. These lectures were given by officials from well-known associations such as UNFPA, UN DESA and UN ODA. One lecture especially caught my attention and inspired me greatly, and it was given by Arasu Jambukeswaran from UNFPA on ‘careers at the United Nations’. Out of all the impressive information he presented to us, I was especially moved by how he really tried to reach out to the people and the environment that were really in need. I could see that he truly tried to understand the difficulties of people that were in the dark with lacking support. One verbal phrase spoken by Mr. Jambukeswaran that still makes my heart beat was “Do what they truly need you to do, not what you want to do”. For a person whose dream is to be a global aid worker, this phrase lit up my eyes and came to me as a big shock. It helped me to really contemplate the essence and true meaning of global issues and the aid they need. We mustn’t come to conclusions based only on our thoughts one step away, but rather take a big step forward toward those in the shadows, break their barriers with sincere attention, truly listen to the stories they must tell and deeply ponder what they need us to do to help them out into the light.
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Minhun Bang Intern at Education Department Hope to the Future Association “Training Program at the UN Headquarters in New York gave me many new experiences and insights.�
This time the T.P. has given me many new experiences and insights. This was the first fun and worrying experience teaching freshmen and educating UN experts. While going to America, I thought about what to do. Looking at my busy schedule for 10 days, I wondered if I could do well without making mistakes. When I arrived at JFK airport, I took the students out of the airport to check their numbers, and took the bus to eat. The day was very short as the schedule passed earlier than expected. First, I heard the introduction of a senior who went to Columbia University. He explained the building interestingly and kindly through the various facilities of the school. And I borrowed a classroom and explained about the whole class and crisis and had a question and answer session. As I listened to the lecture, I took pictures of the students who were concentrating. And the second schedule was given for two days by speakers from the United Nations Headquarters through UN career, sustainable development goals, women, climate change and finance minister. The most memorable lecture I've ever heard was the sustainable development goal. These days, the environment is being destroyed to such a degree that the problem of environmental pollution becomes serious. The destruction of the marine ecosystem is killing many fish as the ocean pollution from speculative plastic worsens. After listening to the lecture, I felt that I should refrain from using plastic. I went to the Yale Museum for the third time after finishing my lecture schedule at the U.N. headquarters. It was the coolest and most meaningful tour of all time. I didn't know anything about art, but I became interested in art through my trip to the Yale Museum of Art .After completing a tour of the Yale Museum, there was a schedule for Yale MUN I went on a school trip to Yale and waited for the students to finish. I took a rest taking pictures at various places. The size of the schools is very different from that of Korean schools and impressive everywhere they go. It was a short time of 8 nights and 10 days. If I have a chance, I want to experience it again.
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Organization Overview Hope to the Future Association
www.hopetofuture.org
Status
NGO Representative at the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI)
Program
Youth Education Programs and Sponsor Programs supporting the United Nations and its works, Global Citizenship Education Development, and Sustainable Development Goals(SDGS) in both domestic and international level
Website
www.hopetofuture.org
Email Contact
webmaster@hopetofuture.org +82-2-6952-1616
Hope to the Future Association (HFA) is a non-profit organization registered under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. HFA has acquired the status of an associated NGO with UNDPI in June 2014. HFA is also registered as an official member of United Nations Academic Impact Korea. HFA is deeply committed to supporting youth around the world. Our core value is sustainable support, voluntary participation, international partnerships, and empowering youth.
Main Programs (1) UN Headquarters Training Program in New York and Geneva Youth UN Training held at the UN Headquarters in Geneva and New York Attending Lectures by UN High Officials and International Organization Experts such as the Secretary-General of UNEP and the President of General Assembly Build Professional Knowledge on the SDGs and Global Issues that the UN mainly deals with Discussion with the UN Ambassadors from the UN member states. (2) International Model United Nations - ’YMUN & YMUN Korea’ On February 2018, Hope to the Future Association and the Yale MUN Secretariat signed an official MoU and agreed to a collaborative partnership on organizing YMUN Korea Participating in International MUN Competitions as the Selected Korean Representatives and Delegation of Hope to the Future Association Attending Prior MUN Training by UN Ambassadors and experts from International Organizations (3) SDGs English Contest - ‘Global Leadership Excellence Challenge (GLEC)’ English Speech and Essay Competition under the theme of SDGs and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Participants: Elementary 5th Grade – University Students from domestic and abroad (4) Donation Campaign for Children in Africa - ‘Container of Hope’ Sending 40ft long container filled with translated English books, shoes, school supplies gathered from donation campaigns raised by students
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Cooperation Organization Group Programmes Unit, Visitors Services, United Nations Department of Global Communications Hope to the Future Association has acquired the status of an ‘Associated NGO with the United Nations Department of Global Communications.’ With kind cooperation and support of the DGC Group Programmes Unit, HFA is able to organize a diversified and a high-quality UN Training curriculum the Korean Youth every year. The Visitor Centre provides UN Expert briefings and guided tours to the visitors from around the world. https://visit.un.org/
The Department of Global Communications, previously known as the Department of Public Information (DPI), was established in 1946, by General Assembly resolution 13 (I), to promote global awareness and understanding of the work of the United Nations.
Yale International Relations Association,
https://www.yira.org/
After the political turbulence of the 1960s, a group of Yale students came together seeking to promote a better understanding of global affairs. As a result, in 1969, the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA) was founded. The Yale International Relations Association strives to foster conversation about international relations on campus and beyond through conferences, classes, travel, publications, and speaker and social events. We aim to create an inclusive, diverse, and accessible educational space for students, providing resources that enrich public speaking, leadership, critical analysis, and problem-solving abilities so members may best apply their passion for international relations and give back to the world. With consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council as well as hundreds of members hailing from more than 30 countries and pursuing virtually all courses of study, YIRA is the largest undergraduate student organization at Yale and serves as the voice of international relations on campus. Through its unique and ambitious constituent programs, YIRA aims to foster debate about international affairs. We pride ourselves in the diversity of our members and the students we educate, as well as our educational programming that highlights different geographical regions, cultural upbringings, and social perspectives often overlooked in the field. As one of the most active undergraduate organizations, YIRA offers a variety of ways to get involved and join our great community of students.
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ⓒ HOPE TO THE FUTURE ASSOCIATION 2019. All Rights Reserved. All images included in this report are copyrighted to Hope to the Future Association, except for particular images noted with references on the pages. Materials can be freely used for informational purposes only.
Produced by the Education Program Department
Production Director : Jung A Chelsea Pyun (chelsea@hopetofuture.org) Production Assistants : Minjoo Choi (KyungHee University) : Yoonjee Choi (Seoul Women’s University) : Jieun OH (KyungHee University) : Minhun Bang (Gangnam University) Publish Date
19 February, 2019
Publisher
Hope to the Future Association
Address Telephone
4F Dana Bldg, Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 06125 +82-2-6952-1616
Fax
+82-2-538-5928
Website
www.hopetofuture.org
www.facebook.com/hopetothefuture
webmaster@hopetofuture.org
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2019 FINAL REPORT New York UN Headquarters Training & YMUN Korean Delegation
Hope to the Future Association supports Sustatinable Development Goals.
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Hope to the Future Association (HFA) is a non-profit organization registered under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. HFA has acquired the status of an associated NGO with UNDPI in June 2014. HFA is deeply committed to supporting youth around the world. Our core value is sustainable support, voluntary participation, international partnerships, and empowering youth. www.hopetofuture.org
13 Jan - 22 Jan 2019
제 45회 예일대학교 국제 모의 유엔 한국대표단 결과보고서
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RT STAFFS Jin-Hoan Chung / President Eun Chung Lee / Team Leader Jung A Pyun / Production Director Minjoo Choi / Program Assistant Minhun Bang / Program Assistant Cover Photo Reference : www.un.org