GA3: A Committee to Remember

By Katerina Christodoulidou, Vasso Kourtoglou and Katerina Tsortanidou

Welcome to the Social and Humanitarian committee, a committee in which topics of Human Rights are discussed. The topic that was discussed refers to Child Sex Tourism which is a very crucial issue. The committee was very active and there was a long list of speakers. Especially the delegates of Libya and China made lots of points of information which helped the debate to gain interest and become fruitful.

Almost all of the countries suggested that measures should be taken such as increasing public awareness and asking for financial aid and NGOs to cooperate with each country’s governments. We have noticed there are some developed countries that haven’t suffered at all from Child Sex Tourism and others that have already taken some measures such as China but they weren’t sufficient enough.

The committee entertained a lot of time for unmoderated caucus and during this time the delegates made three alliances. The first one consisted of only developing countries whereas the two others consisted of developed countries.



We would also like to mention that DPRK made a very emotional and poetic speech. To make a long story short we find the social and humanitarian committee one of the most interesting ones and we are looking forward to finding out which the final resolutions will be.

Tension, determination! This is the Security Council

By Filippos Gortzis and Konstantinos Zarzavatsakis

First day in the Security Council and the standards are already high. The delegates strongly support their opinion with powerful speeches. We should mention the most distinguished ones, the delegate of Greenpeace, the delegate of France and the delegate of Togo. The delegates were so eager to start that they immediately asked to move to informal debate (lobbying).

The topic they decided to debate dealt with preserving the natural resources of Antarctica, and ensuring that the region would be used only for scientific research but certainly not for military purposes. After 50 minutes of lobbying, which included an extension of time as well, it ended up with the delegates forming strong and powerful alliances, such as China along with Togo and Pakistan.

Tention captured at the Security Council

Some very interesting clauses were introduced turning the debate into a heated discussion. Portugal, as the main submitter, suggested a clause which condemned the use of the Antarctic region for military purposes and weaponry tests. The clause represented most of the countries’ positions so the case ended with 9 votes in favor, 3 against and 1 abstain. Moving on to the second clause, the tensions got higher leading to a veto made by the U.S.A. Simultaneously, the delegate of Greenpeace, totally opposing the topic, influenced the other delegations against voting in favor of the clause. The clause was rejected. Last but not least, Portugal submitted another clause, supporting the eco-friendly exploitation of the natural resources of the continent. This case found France totally against it, while China and its allies voted for it. The voting procedure ended up with the clause being turned down. We are looking forward to tomorrow’s committee session, which is expected to be far more interesting.

EU Council of Ministers

By Maria Psichoula

When the committee session started, the chairs introduced themselves to all the delegates of the committee. Then, they informed the delegates about the basic rules of the MUN conference and in some way they analyzed the topics and rules of the committee. After that there was a challenging debate on the first topic of EU Council of Ministers committee.

There were speeches made by Austria, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxemburg, United Kingdom, France, Greece and Estonia. All these delegates mentioned some and although it was the first day of the ACMUN conference, the delegates didn’t seem to be anxious at all. Most delegates made speeches, points of information, interesting questions and statements. Some delegates invited other countries to join their country’s position on the subject. Generally, there was a nice atmosphere.

The delegates were not nervous and felt free to express their delegation position and opinion on the topic that the debated on. Then, it was time for the delegates to prepare resolutions for the topic that they were discussing. The truth is that most of the delegates of the committee were active. Everyone was prepared and ready for the topic that the delegations were arguing and debating on. Of course, when you see self-confident delegates who are willing to participate in their committee debate, you are sure that the EU Council of Ministers committee will be a success this year.

Let's Shape Europe!

By Marianna Papadimitriou and Christina Pasvanti-Gkioka

Imagine that you are in 1814, in Vienna’s Congress and you are supposed to determine your country’s borders. What would you do? Regarding the diplomats of the Historical Committee, they did everything they could in order to serve their state’s interests. After a brief summary of the topic by the president and the secretary of the Congress, each one of the representatives was called to introduce himself/herself. The main issue that was raised concerned the question of nationalism and whether a nation’s national identity should identify with its borders or not. However, various diplomats preferred to make other statements. Initially, Russia collided with UK and Papal States about the matter of the independence of Poland, whereas Spain and Sweden argued about the establishment of a type of monarchy combined with elements of democracy. Furthermore, there was a dispute regarding France’s penalties among France, Austria and Prussia.

As the session approached its end, an intense crisis on the Dutch invasion in Belgium took place. Even though it seemed that the majority of the diplomats would support Netherlands’ position, in the end, the house was divided.




In general, most of the representatives expressed a deep desire for stability and balance in the European continent. All of them have an aspiration of sustaining their grounds, they are ready to defend their territories and they definitely have the power to succeed in this. Now, the only thing that remains is to see them achieve this goal.

Tough decisions at the Legal Committee

By Anastasia Tsilia



Delegates at the Legal Committee (GA6)

At the suggestion of DR Congo, it was decided that the topic A, regarding the degree of Internet copyrights and censorship, would be given priority. After a lot of fruitful debate and discussion, two alliances were formed. The first one, which held the majority of delegations, was of the opinion that there should be censorship, mainly in order to cope with the problems of child pornography and other illegal actions, like piracy, which is a common concern on the Internet.

Very important delegations, such as France, Germany and the USA, supported this alliance.  Syria, who also supported this alliance, was attacked by many countries because it wanted to use censorship as a governmental weapon. Syria claimed they would use censorship to control political unrest in times of war.

Meanwhile, in the opposing alliance, countries like India stated that they wanted to recognize the basic right of the freedom of expression of ideas and opinions and as a result they could only support very mild censorship.

A lot of controversial opinions where heard about this topic and as a result this caused a fruitful debate which everyone wanted to extend. After a really long unmoderated caucus, two resolutions were finally given to the chair. The whole atmosphere was very positive and friendships seemed to be developing between delegates. Furthermore, everybody was really interested in the topic discussed and delegates participated as much as possible. Can’t wait to attend the discussion again!

 

Deforestation Debate: Prosperous and Fruitful

By George Foundos

 

It has only been one day since the ACMUN has started and the delegates in the Economic and Social committees are doing pretty well. All the delegates agreed to start with the second topic about deforestation and illegal logging. The delegate of Greenpeace started first with a dynamic speech presenting the benefits of using renewable sources or gathering nuts fruits and vegetables which are the real wealth of the rain forests. These suggestions would replace the harmful consequences of deforestation according to Greenpeace and would give the same profit to the companies. Then after two short but interesting speeches given by the delegates of Australia and France, Nicaragua gave a speech which brought interest in the audience saying that there should be environmental soldiers protecting the tropical forests.

Many delegates adopted this idea, including those from France, Greenpeace, and the Russian Federation, although the latter had some doubts about the chances of the plan’s success. The delegate of Libya was next and toned that countries like theirs need forest products but believe that there are other things too that rain forests can provide them with. Then Japan continued repeating that we can create the same goods that come from trees through other resources. The debate continued with France giving another speech and the Russian Federation asking a clever question: “There are older laws regarding illegal deforestation. Do you think we should make new laws or make the older ones more severe?”

“I believe that we should reform the already existing laws making them more strict and severe,” Answered the delegation of France.

After fruitful debate the delegation of the Russian Federation stated deforestation can’t be avoided completely but can be slowly decreased.

Concluding, the first day for ECOSOC was prosperous with a warming atmosphere and with France, Nicaragua, Russian Federation and Greenpeace being the most energetic and I believe that the best is yet to come! 

Interview of the Acting President of Anatolia Dr. Panos Vlachos

By Vasso Kourtoglou

What do you think about the Anatolia College Model United Nations?

I think that the Anatolia College Model United Nations is one of the most important and exciting opportunities our school offers to students. As I mentioned in my speech, earlier this morning, it is actually a program that looks at a student in a holistic way.  The students are engaged, inspired, and develop a number of skills like team work, persuasive writing and many other important things. Moreover, the students improve significantly their communication skills and become exposed to people from other countries which is one of the greatest initiatives. Also, Anatolia organizes it in a massive way. It allows a great number of people to participate when in other schools try to limit it and to excel it and they prepare it like a competition. These are great things about Anatolia and I am glad to see that students are responsive and faculty are really committed.

 

Do you believe that MUNs give students more skills to communicate better?

I think that this is one of the main features of this idea of the MUN, especially nowadays where in our society communication plays a very important role and now it is becoming more complicated because you need to have special skills to communicate with people, to be able to communicate at various different levels. It is by far a great tool to improve communication skills of students.

 

What do you think about the fact that more and more students join Model United Nations conferences every year?

I think that young people are looking at their lives and at their education in a different way, from a different point of view. Students often feel that this traditional setting of education may be boring to them. So, what they really want is to become engaged and that is why we see over all, especially in Anatolia College for example, the MUN and the ACSTAC conference, that students are attracted to these programs. They see these as an opportunity to do things that they really value and like. I believe this is true all over the world and education needs to adjust to this new way of how students are approaching learning, see you all run with it, and each year I see more and more student involvement and engagement to the MUN and that is for me what it is all about.

 

Before today, had you ever been involved in any other Model United Nations conference?

When I was a student, Model United Nations was not an option in Greece, so I was never involved as a student but I have known this conference for many years and especially the one we organize. Although, I have never participated in such a conference, I am quite aware of what the aim is and what we will accomplish through this conference.

Discussion Heats Up on GA2

By Joanna Denis, Athina Kalaitzi

The conference started with the chairs’ presentations. They welcomed the delegates and presented the rules. They spoke about formal and informal debate, points, motion and yields. Nicaragua motioned and recommended the first topic: Privatization. After the agreement from the other delegates, the conference started. Germany spoke first and talked about monopolies and big markets. Then the French delegate made clear that France is in favor of actions that will be good for the public.

According to France, privatization will help the public because it will improve the quality of the services, unemployment, health service and transportation service. Iran said yes to privatization but with measures and Nicaragua spoke from experience and explained that the United Nations should privatize nothing because many countries are in economic crisis and they cannot afford more mistakes.

After a great debate they voted. 26 countries voted for privatization and 20 opposed. Then privatization was discussed for 35 minutes with all the nations. At the same time the chairs announced the time remaining. As time ran out, the delegates tried to find a resolution. It was not so easy. Delegates discussed with each other to make a conclusion. Delegates of Chad, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia and China, and the United States of America talked about the effectiveness of privatization in today's economy and under which circumstances the privatization would have negative effects.

Meanwhile, 4 delegates, two for each block position, went to the prep room to prepare the resolutions that they strongly supported. Continuing, some more delegations wanted to take the floor in order to express their motions and of course answer every point of information. These delegations were Nigeria, Togo, Portugal, Austria, Libya and Senegal. Finally for the last 10 minutes Director Narin Ismail, asked that those who had not spoken so far to talk about the policy of each country. These delegations included Egypt and Finland, but also some others who had not participated so far.

8th ACMUN Conference Begins on a High Note

By Kelly Diolatzis, Angela Karathanasi, Domna Syropoulou

Vangelis Halatsis, the President of the General Assembly, announced the beginning of the 8th ACMUN conference, the first time Anatolia College has hosted a Model United Nations Conference affiliated with THIMUN.  Before the speeches of the special guests there was a role-call of the nations which are participating. After this procedure there was a magnificent performance of Anatolia’s Acapella choir. It was a really warm welcome for every participant. Afterwards, several people took the floor, including Deputy Secretary General Argyris Doumas, Mrs. Irina Taka Michaelides and Mr. Vasilis Stravaridis . After the inspiring lectures, the President yielded the floor to the Secretary General, Natalia Chantzi. Being a senior this year she began her speech by talking about her way through MUN and how this experience changed her life for the better. Immediately after the welcome speeches of the guests and the Secretariat, there was a short video about the committee’s topics of the 8th ACMUN conference. The opening ceremony ended with the hitting of the judge’s hammer by Vangelis Halatsis, which marked the beginning of this year’s conference.

Mariana Dimitrakopoulou

Oddysseas Drosos

Elinda Staikopoulou

Stella Kyranopoulou

Stella Banou

Stella Tsantekidou

Lazaros-Marios-Konstantinos Chalkias

Thanos Petkakis

Zacharias Papazachariou

Amalia Moula

Iliana Magra

Vaso Papadopoulou

Eva Kasapaki

Marialena Saraidari

Aliki Petsiava

Christiana Avarli

Christoforos Siakkas

Marina Moschoviti

But the journey never ends...

Their farewell MUN - Class of 2012

Achilleas Vrantzas

     It all began some years ago. Many ambitious students who wanted to start their MUN career. They served as delegates, chairs, directors, moderators and now as the organizing committee of the whole Anatolia College Model United Nations. Almost 20 people involved in the whole procedure will say goodbye to the school MUN editions as they are now graduating from Anatolia. Students from both Anatolia High Schools but from the IB program as well were also involved in the ACMUN for many years and we couldn’t help but wonder: what is it going to happen when they all leave?

     Certain students take part in the annual ACMUN leaving their own sign in it. For many years they have helped a lot in the procedure and now we have to say goodbye to them….

General Assembly <3

 by: Celia Tsapalou, Anny Miliara, Axilleas Vrantzas

        
         While the ACMUN draws to an end, the press team went to the General Assembly, which was held in Tracy Hall. All the country representatives gathered outside Tracy waiting to get inside in order to take their seats to begin the process. After a while, when the Administrative staff ushered them to their places, the General Assembly started. The secretariat prepared a resolution on the “Reconstruction of the UN”, which was addressed to all delegates of all the GA committees.

       Firstly, the president of the General Assembly read out the resolution and they proceeded to formal debate. A list of 15 ambassadors picked randomly to talk about the topic had been prepared and took some of the delegates by surprise! The delegation of DR of Congo took the floor to present their amendment, which proposed to strike clause 18, and it passed. Several similar opinions were heard by the numerous countries who took the floor. Afterwards, there was another motion to present an amendment which was overruled by the deputy director and they proceeded to moderated caucus.

      In general, the first hour was not a really active one, as the delegates were being rather noisy and not very eager to make points of information. We couldn’t help but notice that there were many inappropriate notes which contained flirty messages and compliments from one delegate to another!

   In the second hour, the amendments started to pullulate, as a lot of countries, such as Pakistan and Brazil, introduced one. It has to be mentioned that especially the ambassador of Brazil was really talkative, and he was eager to take the floor and express his points of view a number of times! Generally, the procedure was conducted harmonically and the delegates were really willing to make a fruitful debate and find far-reaching solutions to the issue.

     In the last hours, something really unexpected took place! The ambassador of Pakistan stated that they would actually resign from the UN, unless they were given a permanent seat in the Security Council. What is more, they also requested to expand their nuclear weaponry. Their demands were denied, and as a result, Pakistan declared its withdrawal from the UN. Negotiations between Pakistan and the secretary general will be made, in order for Pakistan to rejoin the UN on some conditions. Let’s hope for the best for the hours that remain! 

Awards yeahhhhh!!!

by Dimitris Giannopoulos

Many amendments,  a lot of debating and finally a bunch of clashes. The main submitter today was the delegation of China. This delegation was mainly referring to and arguing about the right that the citizens of Kosovo are free to decide whether they want to be independent or not, whether they want to belong to Serbia or not. But is this the main topic of the committee or not? Will the countries conclude somewhere? There are many possible solutions, but the countries don’t seem to agree on anything common. The Russian Federation though declares that it is upset with all the speeches. As you understand, it is not going to be an easy one. As the chairs mentioned, it was a committee that consisted of active delegates of which some were new and others had already experienced MUNs before. We can now move to the final part, which can somehow describe the last day in a MUN event; yes, I am talking about the funny awards each committee gives to the delegates. So here we have the awards of the Administrative and Budgetary committee:

1)      Hottest Male: Delegate of Spain

2)      Hottest Female: Delegate of Nigeria

3)      Mr & Mrs Committee: Delegates of Brazil & Canada

4)      Most Annoying Delegate: Delegate of Brazil

5)      Most likely to end up in prison: Delegate of Malta

6)      Most likely to end up in the UN: Delegate of Brazil

7)      Funniest Delegate: Delegate of Malta

8)      Best Dressed Delegate: Delegate of Poland

Tensions are high in the Security council!

Today as a dream team (and yes I mean both of us, Elina and Dimitris) we are attending the Security Council committee. The first one was being discussed for more than two hours and it finally passed! So many amendments, so many speeches, so many points of information! China and Russia were going to veto but in the end they seemed to be in a good mood, after yesterday’s exhausting conference. No speech, though, by the beautiful Colombian delegate, but a lot of note passing. Do not let us down! Delegates laugh and seem to enjoy every moment of ACMUN! The delegate of China isn’t satisfied as easily.  Does Germany form an “alliance” with Russia? That’s interesting. In the second clause discussed today the P-5 (the five countries that can veto) look like they are not going to end up with a good conclusion for all the delegations of the committee. Generally, a bunch of amendments passed while others did not. There was a lot of voting as well. The main question about all the clauses, amendments etc. is the following: Is China going to veto? Is the situation going to change tomorrow?

Chaos!!!

by: George Petkakis

This is the last day of the questioning and evidence collecting in the International Court of Justice. The atmosphere is tense and the heat is striking, as are the questions of the judges when addressing the advocates of the two countries. It’s Senegal against Belgium on the case of Hissen Habre, the former president of Chad (1982-1990) who authorized tens of thousands of political and other murders, of which the exact number is unknown. Habre overthrew Oueddei, President of Chad at that period of time, in a coup, while backed by the CIA. For the next 8 years, until his deposition, chaos and disorder ruled the country of Chad, murder was a plain sight and the public was excessively agitated. And after being overthrown twenty-one years ago, Habre hasn’t been put to trial yet. He is accused of several crimes, most of which violate Human Rights, and the trial is more than urgent. This is where the ICJ comes in. Belgium demands that Senegal releases Habre into its custody in order for a more unbiased trial to be conducted. Senegal refuses, as they believe that Habre should be put on trial in Senegal and his extraction is not at all necessary. The International Court of Justice is currently discussing, questioning, investigating and taking sides in order to reach a legitimate verdict on the matter. On the one hand, Senegal wishes to keep Habre and wait for funds in order to carry out the trial properly, funds which will probably come from the African Union or the European Union, or some combination thereof but not necessarily limited thereto. On the other hand, Belgium demands the extraction of Habre into Belgium, the Capital of the European Union in order to conduct the trial there. Senegal, however, refuses to give him in as they are waiting for funds provided either by the UN or the EU. The Judges don’t seem to be biased at all, even though they are asking more questions to Belgium than Senegal, but that is probably coincidental. The Court has had a very heated debate for the past days as the analysis and the thorough investigation of the evidence, the lengthy questioning of the witnesses has sparked and reignited the debate several times and has made the process time consuming but extremely productive and helpful to the final outcome. In general, the Judges, the Advocates and especially the Presidents of the ICJ were excellently dressed, something that promoted the idea of formal and serious debate throughout the conference. The ICJ as a whole showed great interest in the topic and there was mutual respect among the people that the Court consisted of. Apart from the misunderstandings that arose, such as the question of whether the Courts in Belgium have International Jurisdiction, something that the Advocates defending Senegal seemed not to be aware of, the debate was most fruitful and the entire court seemed satisfied and fulfilled just before the judges were about to make their final decision.

Controversial opinions create tension…

By Andriana Bouzaki

While I was walking to go to the top of the building (Art Room), I was scared. But when I got in the classroom, I saw that all delegates were participating and that helped me forget my anxiety and do my work. The social humanitarian and cultural committee calls upon every UN member state to reconsider its policies and privileges that have been given to LGBTs, which are homosexual relationships, marriage, and adopting children in a homosexual marriage. "Any kind of homosexual activity is not only a sin but also a crime against god in every religion and the words of god are stronger than the one’s of humans" , this was the opinion of some delegations as Pakistan. They discussed about adopting children by homosexual couples, some argued that should not exist under any circumstances. Some delegates argued that the nature of every human being is not created to have homosexual activity which might contribute to the transfer of HIV.  Although Italy, Germany, Australia, United States, Russian Federation and Colombia were against this resolution and they all believed that every human is free and homosexuality as an issue is not simple but completely legal to some countries, homosexual  individuals can marry and exist, they are humans with rights and those countries completely disagreed and cannot understand why people kill homosexuals. Estonia and Iceland felt the same way about this issue; they thought it was an interesting and controversial topic that is very important in our days. “We have to be friendly towards LGBT people and all the countries must support their rights as they are human! We have to make LGBT individuals equal with the others!” they both said in the interview. Furthermore, Peru was very headstrong and the only one who participated all the time by making many questions. The Netherlands, Syria, Colombia, Pakistan and Germany spoke a lot too. Although it was the last day, I believe they enjoy it! Hope people will go again to human rights committee and have a great time! *Girls don’t forget to wear flat shoes because walking all the way upstairs to the top of Macedonia Hall is not the easiest thing to do!

Helen Koliais, a friend from the past!

by: Achilleas Vrantzas

     Ladies and gentlemen: she is back! A genuinely happy person who brings happiness with her smile is back at ACMUN. Ms. Koliais was a teacher at Anatolia College and an MUN advisor for more than 10 years. I met her and asked her some questions about her overall experience at Anatolia.

     First of all, she thinks it is very pleasant to come back to school and meet all her past students. What makes her more excited is that she is not stressed, now that she does not have any responsibilities with the conference or her lessons. Ms. Koliais’ MUN journey started back in 1998 when she, along with Ms. Kastritsis, went to the DSAMUN in Athens. The very next year she took a group of students to the Harvard MUN in Boston, where a student of hers told her that “if we want to have MUN, we need to have a club in order to do it every year.” This was the time when the MUN started as a club at Anatolia. After that she was taking students to one or two MUNs per year and eventually in 2006 they started the Anatolia College Model United Nations.

     What she has learned after all these MUN experiences is geography! She represented countries that she had never heard of before so she had to find out more about each and she also learned a lot of new things from the various topics that they had to discuss for the MUNs. The exciting part is that when she started the MUN club there were only 4 students in the club when now there are more than 150. MUN has been an enjoyable journey for her, which has given her a lot of new knowledge and pleasure.

Interviewing the Director of the ACMUN, Mr. Pieter Derluyn

By Achilleas Vrantzas 

What is it like to be a first-time director of the ACMUN?

It is very exciting, very tiring as well, because when you are doing something for the first you think you have prepared everything really well, but there are things that happen at the moment right there, right then and you can’t actually prepare them and it is something that I need to let go of it sometimes. I feel like a week before the conference started, I was thinking “what will happen?”, I felt this insecurity. This week however I felt relaxed because I had accepted the fact that it is organized well. I am pleased with it.  Of course things can improve, but the most important thing was that this week I was relaxed.

How has being involved in various MUNs enabled you to learn about how students see the world?

I have been an advisor many times for MUNs and I have noticed that an advisor should never underestimate a student’s opinion, but he should also never underestimate a student’s interest. Sometimes I see students in the classroom and I am not sure if they are interested in what I have to say. Ok, I sometimes get carried away in classes as well, but I have noticed that in some cases when I really explain what is going on and I answer questions or we start debating on a topic then students are actually interested as long as they get a proper explanation. I think it is amazing that we tend to think that sometimes the students are not that interested when they actually are.

What do you think about ACMUN compared to other MUNs at which you have been an advisor?

Each MUN is different and I cannot judge our MUN to other MUNs because I am working from the inside now. I think our MUN is very well organized but I have the impression from other MUNs as well. Some MUNs are really well organized. I remember I was amazed with the Junior MUN this past November. They inspired me to make some changes as well to our MUN. I love also the Paris MUN because it is a huge MUN. There are so many MUNs that are really well organized. It is so hard to judge them because each MUN has a different style, a different format. The nice thing about the MUNs after going to different MUNs is that you take ideas for your own MUNs and you try to make something that pleases you.

Students benefit from the Model United Nations conferences. Do you think advisors benefit as well?

I think advisors do as well. As an advisor you look into things, you have to prepare students, you give them advice, so you find out a little bit more about the topic but the biggest benefit for me is seeing some students who are in a different environment less outspoken and all of a sudden in an MUN you see a boy or girl to flourish, to improve so much. You give a student the opportunity and they do not only take the opportunity and do something with it but they also excel with it. These things are some that when I get home I tell my family “Today that student did something that I would never expect it from them”. When you see students to put your advice to good use then there is nothing more an advisor could wish for.

What is the source of your own personal interest in MUNs?

The source of my interest in MUNs is international politics and history. I am a bit of a history buff, my students know that, they don’t always like it, I know but I feel like if you look into history, into politics, into geography, into economics, MUN combines all of them in one and you can actually teach all of these. Of course, I am not an economics teacher or a history teacher, but I have some knowledge about it and I can actually talk to students about it; this is what I like the most. Then students give me feedback and all of a sudden I get a new side of something because students somehow make connections that I have never made before and that is what excites me the most about it.

Interviewing the chair of the Historical Committee, Stella Kyranopoulou

By Magda Dimitriadou

What made you choose to become a chair in the Historical committee? 
I am an IB student and in the IB program I have taken several courses about history in which I am really interested. So my passion for history got combined with my passion for debate and historical committee was the ideal option. I chose to be a chair since I have tried the role of a delegate several times and I wanted a new experience.

Do you plan to develop the MUN career in University too? 
Yes I have been part of MUN for five years and I do not plan to leave it. MUN is a part of me and I would be very pleased to have the opportunity to practice it after I finish my academic career.

Have you considered choosing a career in the future relevant to MUN? 
Yes I want to study law and then International diplomacy.

In which universities do you aim studying?

I totally prefer Europe and I do not consider the U.S.A. as a choice.The most interesting choices I have considered so far is the Sorbonne University in France, or a wide variety of other universities in the U.K  

Administrative and Budgetary committee

In favor, against or abstention?

by Elpida Kazantzidou and Anastasia Gounda

The Administrative and Budgetary committee was separated in two alliances; one supporting Brazil’s resolution and the other one USA’s resolution on the topic of the review of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects. Although initially the two alliances were equally supported by the delegations, through the debate and the exchange of delegates’ ideas, Brazil’s resolution superiority as far as structure, content and efficiency are concerned, became obvious. Brazil’s core points were the ensuring of financial support for LEDCs for the realization of the operations as well as the raise of public awareness and tolerance concerning international friction. Overall, the debate procedure included thorough, analytical discussion, disputes and agreements, a lot of amendments and points of information. It must, also, be pointed out that despite a sudden technical problem with the computer, the delegates’ interest in participating in the debate was not lessened at all. Because ‘PEACEKEEPING IS A FULL TIME JOB!’, as the delegate of Brazil, Konstantinos Zves, stated, repeating George Clooney’s words.