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2 DE FEBRERO DE 2018 WORLD FORUM, THE HAGUE
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@munityonline Issue. 05
The 50th Annual Session of THIMUN The Hague. Friday Issue.
BEYONDTHE 50th Forecasting the Future of THIMUN And, sadly, that’s it - the end of THIMUN for another year. There is no doubt that the 50th anniversary has been a special and successful conference. From the King’s and Princess’ appearances, to the debating and MUNITY-creating in-between, THIMUN 2018 has reached new heights. THIMUN and, more broadly, MUN, has become a large part of the lives of the majority of students and advisors attending this conference. We have flown from the farthest corners of the world to meet here, in the rather damp and breezy Den Haag. Our work here is the start of something bigger: an aspiration to impact the world, and an inspiration for younger delegates at the start of their MUN career. By providing such a simulation of the UN, THIMUN hopes to instill in delegates a life-long desire to improve our global and local and relations. What is the future likely to hold for THIMUN? Expansion: The THIMUN Foundation has already gone global, with new conferences opening in Qatar and Uruguay. Additionally, through the affiliation programme, over 40 other conferences across the world have a relationship with the Foundation. When speaking to Co-Chair of the THIMUN Board, Mr. Alain Meidinger, he expressed an interest in taking THIMUN worldwide with a “THIMUN conference in Africa and/
or Central America.” Mr. Meidinger spoke of how the THIMUN Foundation has been in contact with the ambassador of El Salvador, who has expressed an interest in hosting a conference. THIMUN is already a highly diverse conference, with attendees travelling from over 100 different countries. The HELA delegation is a prime example of how schools with less resources and funding can still make it to THIMUN. Mitra Ashgari, who is representing Denmark in SDC1, stressed the importance of incorporating schools from areas of conflict and oppression as it “empowers the youth and provides leadership skills.” MUNITY: It makes sense that a growing conference comes with a growing press corps and paper. More reporters and pages will be needed to wholly cover all aspects of this enormous, prestigious conference. On the other hand, as print-media is on a slow decline, the daily MUNITY paper may move wholly online, as this year’s Managing Editor, Maya Mishra, said “MUNITY online may be small now, but it will continue to grow and eventually take over.” UN ties: As MUN becomes more mainstream, conference ties with UN officials are becoming more in depth. In 2001, the THIMUN Foundation was accredited as an NGO, associated with the UN’s Department of Public Information, and it’s likely that its influence will only increase further. Resolutions passed at this conference go on to be looked over by UN officials, and it is the voice of the youth that will find solutions to modern day issues which the current generation in power may be ignoring. Democratic reform: As many of the del-
2 DE FEBRERO DE 2018
By Ghalia Lemseffer
egates age and enter the working world, MUN will continue to play a great part in our lives; perhaps, for some of us the next step will be entering the UN itself. Our experience at THIMUN and other MUN conferences will most likely form our goals for the organisation. Currently, the UN does not allow votes, and the majority of its decisions are made during small meetings between the leaders of world superpowers. Mr. Simon Keable-Elliott, Royal Russell School’s Director of MUN and Advisory Board member, suggested that, perhaps, the new generation of ambassadors can flip this system on its head and form a more democratic and representative United Nations. Issues: It’s hard to tell whether the global situation is going to improve or worsen. In 50 years’ time, delegates may be debating land rights in space or, perhaps, global warming will take hold and expansive humanitarian efforts may have to be directed to newly flooded cities. To move forward and find solutions to complex issues, both at the UN and during MUN, we may wish to prioritise the most prevalent and current issues to be debated. To achieve our goals and truly impact the world, MUN and UN should be vehicles of change — by expanding upon and updating topics of debate, we may step closer to success. The next 50 years of THIMUN are likely to be full of exciting change that we will help to create. No one can truly predict what is to come, but whatever changes we encounter on a global sphere, MUN will continue to grow. By Max Shirley