olive branch model united nations newsletter (june 2013) - "jro-mun revolutionizes security...

7/28/2019 Olive Branch Model United Nations Newsletter (June 2013) - "jrO-MUN Revolutionizes Security Council Debate"

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ONLINE EDITIONJUNE 2013VOL. I IssUE V

In late aprIl, North Koreainvaded South Korea, threaten-ing the world with nuclear warunless the international com-

munity lifted all sanctions. Of course, this only happened ina Security Council conferenceroom in Taiwan at TASMUN(a junior conference hosted by the Taipei American School),but for the passionate middleschool delegates who were par-ticipating in the simulation, theatmosphere certainly felt as in-tense as a real Security Councilcrisis.

The bulk of the nations pre-sent - excluding the P5 - wereMiddle Eastern, since the two

jrO-MUN Rvolutonzs ScurtyCouncl Dbt

6/9O-MUN Asia

6/16

uniO-MUN Debate

6/22

O-MUN Global Debate

6/29

O-MUN Americas/Europe

6/30

O-MUN Middle East/Africa

Online MUN:

By Rohan sinha

T Vson bnd t QtrLdrsp Confrnc

The OLiVe BRaNChMODeL UNiTeD NaTiONS NeWSLeTTeR

page 10Passing The Olive Branch

page 7Point of Order

page 9 Analogies

InSIDetHIS eDItIOn:

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but toelicit it, for the greatness is there already.” - John Buchan.

FOr tHree DayS In Septem-

ber, the student executive teamwill be working hard to elicitthe greatness of the MUN andFilm leaders attending the Qa-tar Leadership conference.

Leadership is an extremely vital quality that might wellbe in every single one of us; it

page 6Resource Corner

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 5

9/26 – 9/28

Qatar Leadership Conference

Upcoming Dates:

ConfrncClndr

Back In September, KFCand I taught MUN workshopsat the Qatar Leadership Con-ference and at schools aroundthe Middle East region. Lastmonth, we were invited back tothe Middle East to teach “MUNTraining Camps” in Jordan andQatar. Between camps, we hadone-in-a-lifetime experiencesseeing Petra and the GolanHeights. And along the way,we discovered why a part of the Middle East is called “thePromised Land.”

Jordan: Te A-mini-MUN

Conerence at Amman Bac-calaureate School

In Jordan, KFC and I workedwith the MUN program at Am-man Baccalaureate School, ledby advisor Peter Carrigan. Wehelped ABS students preparefor their inaugural A-mini-MUN, a one-day local confer-ence designed to introducedelegates to MUN, which wasorganized by student leader Jude Shammout.

Prior to the conference, KFCand I worked with ABS’ 8thgrader students on resolutionwriting and lobbying. We alsoworked with ABS’ 9th, 10th,

Continued on page 2

By Naer Atiyah

Junior O-MUN, the middle school version of Online Model United Nations, is the latest global project designed to make MUN debate accessible to students in the Middle East. Here, a chair sets up

the O-MUN interface for a Security Council simulation.

Reflections from O-MUN’s SGBy McKenna Tucker

BuIlDIng O-MUN with Lisafrom the ground-up has beenan experience that has changedmy life. From standing at thefrontlines of international af-fairs with global youth on adaily basis, to the leadershipcapacities I’ve been able to ex-plore and hone, to traveling toTHIMUN with O-MUN’s pre-mier delegation, to the friend-ships I’ve made along the way,this journey has been one forwhich I will eternally attribute

SG McKenna Tucker representing O-MUN

is one that can used in both,MUN related activities and reallife. It doesn’t matter what type

of leadership one aims to devel-op--the QLC’s most prominentgoal is to provide the people

that attend the conference withthe necessary information and

skill that would allow them toexcel in the fields that they areinterested in.

One might ask, however,

what people do in the Lead-ership Conference and whatmakes it so different fromregular MUN conferences? In

essence QLC basically consists

of a wide range of workshopsconducted by up to 100 speak-ers from different ages and cul-tural backgrounds discussingdistinct topics. These themesrange from learning how towrite a resolution, all the way

up to applying to universities,and back down to shootingyour first short film. The ses-sions are not restricted to pre-senters “teaching” something intheir workshops, but instead,

From Clfornto Qtr

MUN students at the Amman Baccalaureate School listen toBest-Delegate co-Founder KFC present a lesson

Continued on page 9

By Ryan Villanueva



JUNE 2013 THE OLIVE BRANCH

REGIONAL NEWS

jrO-MUN, cont.

Te Olive BranchKevin Felix Chan and Ryan Villanueva , Best

Delegate Co-FoundersLisa Martin , Online Model United Nations

Director/Co-Founder Cameron Janzen , Head of THIMUN Qatar Founded in January 2013

Jullian Bao , Lead Editor Ashley Inman , Best Delegate Media AssociateStaf Writers/Contributors: Nasser Atiyah,

Kim Bishop, Yehya El Zawahry, Sarra Hamid, Numair Mujeeb, Rohan Sinha, Noor El

topics for the conventional debate hadbeen the situation in Syria and the con-

flict between Iran and Israel. This poseda problem: few east Asian nations werepresent in the committee.

However, through Junior OnlineModel United Nations (jrO-MUN)special envoys representing North andSouth Korea, Japan, and other countrieswere brought in virtually to participatein the debate of the crisis resolution.These virtual delegates were from theAmerican Community School in Am-man, Jordan, Ibn Khaldoon NationalSchool in Manama, Bahrain, and DubaiInternational Academy in the UnitedArab Emirates.

Delegates in the physical commit-

tee room were ecstatic to be collabo-rating with delegates half-way aroundthe world via Blackboard Collaborate’sweb conferencing tools; indeed, someof the virtual delegates were from coun-tries the face-to-face delegates had beenrepresenting at the conference. Whilefor many participants this was a firstglimpse into the world of online MUNdebate, some of the students from Tai-pei and Amman had collaborated in pre- vious jrO-MUN Global Debates and hadeven met in person at MY-MUNOFS,Overseas Family School’s middle schoolconference in Singapore a few monthsearlier. Together, they grappled withtheir options for responding to theNorth Korean threat.

The delegate of Guatemala, in a des-perate bid to avoid nuclear war, suggest-ed the SC should cede South Korea toNorth Korea; however, France, Moroc-co, PRC, UK, Iran, and Israel lined up

with Points of Information to dissuadethe Council from taking such extremeaction. Nevertheless, after receiving abrief lesson on the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) from thechair, delegates unanimously agreed toprioritize avoiding a nuclear catastro-phe, ultimately constructing a peacefulresolution calling for a ceasefire.

The delegate of Morocco, SeamusBoyle, reflected on his SC crisis experi-ence, saying, “It was a great way to close

the conference, as by writing our ownresolution on the spot, it really gave us asense of what MUN is all about: solvingthe world’s issues. We were able to really bring the inner delegate out in all of us.”The delegate of the United Kingdom,Harris Chen, shared a similar opinion:“Many of [us] thought it was really coolto have people from other places debat-

ing with us.”These middle school delegates, many

of them new to MUN, are particularly appreciative of the way jrO-MUN isdemocratizing the MUN experience.They recognize that jrO-MUN bringsan authentic experience of internationaldiplomacy to their fingertips. They may have to wait their turn while older stu-dents take up travel team positions andhave their overseas adventures, but junior delegates no longer have to wait

for a genuinely globe-spanning MUNdebate. In fact, because jrO-MUN isdesigned specifically for middle schooldelegates, the program can take furthersteps to support and empower youngerstudents with guided MUN conferencepreparation. In addition to hosting on-line debates, experienced MUN studentleaders give tutorials on essential MUN

skills such as composing and deliveringopening speeches. Furthermore, via thesocial learning platform, Edmodo, jrO-MUN Assistants help delegates throughthe process of researching, writingcountry position statements, collabora-tively composing resolutions, preparingarguments and anticipating counter-ar-guments, and finally through lobbyingand the culminating debate. The jrO-MUN program enjoys all the advantagesof Online MUN, but it is perhaps evenmore relevant to these younger del-egates that they do not need to worry about monetary or logistical burdens.

Alan Tsai, who participated in theTASMUN conference, beat the wait-ing list to sign up for the very next

jrO-MUN debate, which was held onMonday, March 20. He describes jrO-MUN this way: “So, it’s like a new highdefinition television. You don’t know itexisted, but when you do, it’s awesome,and you can’t live without it. It’s notonly fair, as all ‘channels’ are availableto everyone, and everyone can work onresolutions,but also an excellent way toenhance your experience. Furthermore,it’s just amazing when you consider thatone moment you were sitting at home,and the next, you’re part of the UnitedNations, representing a nation, alongwith students from three other conti-nents. It’s an experience that nobody should miss.”

By following the example set by Dubai International Model United Na-tion’s Security Council and throughmerging the physical with the virtual, jrO-MUN is also internationalizing tra-ditional MUN.

discussions, seminars and reflectionson personal experiences are all other

approaches that workshops can take inorder to communicate their messages.Generally, the workshops presentedenhance the five concepts of skill build-ing, community and service, organiza-tion, film/media studies, teaching andconceptual learning which the confer-ence revolves around. The diversity of workshops results in making this a very beneficial experience to everyone thatchooses to attend, whether they be a

Communty nd Srvc Trp to Sr LnkBy Noor El Talma

aS part of their commitment to com-munity and service learning, a group of eleventh graders from Qatar Academy recently travelled to Sri Lanka to sup-port their community development

project.Initiated by students involved in the

Qatar Academy MUN program in 2009,the community and service program hasbeen making significant improvementsin the lives of the residents of Eravur.QA supports over 250 students to at-tend educational programmes in theevenings focusing on English languageand information technology. In the past,QA students have helped raised funds torun the Eravur project as well as to builda two-storey block school.

Throughout the academic year, Qa-tar Academy students do a variety of activities to raise awareness and funds

for the project. The highlight of eachyear is when a group of students travelto Sri Lanka and visit the community and people that they have working withover the past year. One of the studentparticipants, Noor El-Talmas, recallsthe instant connection made betweenstudents from the two communities.

“The opportunity to meet the Eravurcommunity was an unforgettable expe-rience. Despite this being our first time

to meet them, the village embraced uswith open arms. They showed us love,respect and uttermost care. What makesthe project exceptional and unique isthat Eravur was home from the very first day; they welcomed us as a family,as one of them. If there is anyone to be

thanked, it is the people of Eravur andtheir ongoing efforts and accomplish-ments in establishing a social supportprogram.”

One of the activities students wereinvolved in during the trip was teachingEnglish lessons the local students. AlaaIbrahim noted, “We went to Sri Lankato teach kids, but instead they taught us.They taught us how to look at the worldin a different way and how it is impor-tant to see what others offer and give us.We might be different on the outsidebut we are the same in the inside.”

Students also contributed to the com-munity by conducting a number of wa-

ter quality test in the community; like-wise, Qatar Academy students taughtthe local high schools students how toconduct the tests so that water test-ing could be on-going. Students raisedfunds in order to provide the commu-nity with the equipment needed to con-duct the ongoing tests. Science teacherMike McKnight stated, “Not only didstudents complete the requirements of an integrated science project, they also

tried to solve a real community issue,they saw how different people livedwithin the community, they taught lo-cal students how to carry out the sametests and finally but not least developedan enduring bond with the community and its students. It is an experience they

will not forget.”Azza Abdullah explained, “Their

faith, aspiration and perseverance in lifeis inspiring. If I could only describe toyou the looks on their faces while mere-ly speaking with us, I’ve never had any-one treat me like that or react as such tome. It really does hit you hard; especially how willing they were to give despite

their limited possessions. They high-lighted the importance of selflessness. Itwas fascinating how different yet simi-lar our priorities were.”

Visiting the project, in which many of the participating students have beensupporting for years, made students re-

alize the impact their actions, can haveon a community said Shakeer Ahmed.“Coming from Bangladesh, I had be-come used to the images we so often seetoday of disparity. But this project hastaught me the beauty of hope and hap-piness. I have learnt to see things in adifferent light, and have become moremoved to try and create a change.”

teacher, a student or even a presenter.This year’s student executive team,

consisting of Nasser Atiyah, ShakeerAhmad and Jamal Al Ani of Qatar Acad-emy, Jawaher Al-Hajri of the AmericanSchool of Doha, Ryian Alam of DohaCollege and Leeven Trindade of thePark House English School. We havebeen working hard to provide a year de-fining experience for everyone involvedand hope you can join us. Nobody shouldleave QLC 2013 as the same leader, stu-dent or coordinator as they came in.

QLC, cont.

jrO-MUN, like its high school counterpart, fosters collaboration and builds communication skills right from the computer screen

Talmas, Shambhavi Tiwari, McKennaTucker




By shambhavi Tiwari

Montly Rport from Jordn

REGIONAL NEWS

Many peOple have wondered why some students are intimidated by Mod-el United Nations or are unmotivatedto join, while others that have newly

joined or are experienced in Model UNseem to really both enjoy it and loveit. Here is my own explanation of why I was inclined to not join MUN in thebeginning, and how I felt after I have joined.

I am generally a busy student with nota lot of time on my hands. It’s either do-ing assignments, working on projects,completing homework, studying for theupcoming test or exam, doing side hob-bies, etc. I generally saw MUN as a placewhere people interested in internationalpolitics, political sciences, and publicspeaking would go to practice and dowhat they enjoy because they have some

time on their hands that they can put togood use.My problem with that in the begin-

ning was that I was not willing to putin the extra effort to research a country and its topic in a specific United Nationscommittee that I knew nothing about;after that, I would get sent off to a con-ference where I felt I would have beenhumiliated. I essentially saw no gain outof it except the usual reason that peoplewould try to give you such as ‘it looksgood on a college application.’ Yet Iwas just not motivated enough to join

My MUN StoryBy Yehya El Zawahry

although students and teachers encour-aged me to join several times.

Halfway through the year after dis-cussing MUN in a more detailed mannerwith people, I finally had the thought to join, and hence I did. A few days after

I joined, I realized that this organiza-tion is not how I used to think about inthe past at all. Initially, I found out thatas long as you know what you are sup-posed to do and how to do it, you’ll beperfectly fine. The only requirement isto just organize your time in advance,and do some research. Secondly, youlearn many different things that the av-erage Joe wouldn’t really know about,and that is very useful information thatcan be used and secondary knowledgeor something to help you in social sci-ences. The third thing that I realizedafter my first conference is that as longas you have a good general idea of your

country stance and topic, and that youhave your ideas organized, the debatingand speaking art should not be difficultat all.

At this present time, I find myself not being able to avoid being engagedwith politics or the UN in general. Inow find it extremely interesting andworth spending time on because yourealize how much fun and informationyou gain from it, and it helps a lot inlife when coming to discuss politics orwhen coming to debate. It has raised my self esteem highly, which was a major

improvement to my personality, sincespeaking in front of people was a majorissue. Likewise, it has allowed me to gaina big large amount of information oninternational relations and the UN. Yetthe main reason why my thoughts on it

have changed so much is mainly due tothe conference itself, which is when my eyes really opened up to what MUN isall about; a great place where delegatesmeet to debate and negotiate topics inorder to find a solution for it collective-ly. This is coming from someone whothought that the Security Council was a

Jordan’s AMINI-MUN was a hugesuccess. AMINI-MUN, targeting MUN-ers of younger grades, is a part of theMUN program of the Amman Bac-calaureate School. Its presidents andchairs are also involved in the upcom-ing AMMUN; hence, they have a broadknowledge base and are quite experi-enced. AMINI was divided into twoforums: General Assembly and GeneralAssembly B. The assemblies discusseda wide array of topics, including topicsabout the human rights of the Palestin-ian population as well as nuclear disar-mament in the Middle East. Delegates,though young, were keen to participateunder the watchful eyes of their chairsand presidents.

Additionally, delegates found ithelpful to practice for the upcomingAMMUN conference by familiariz-ing themselves with AMMUN rulesof procedure, which follows the THI-MUN rules of procedure. Delegateswere aware of when they made minormistakes in their speeches (such as us-ing personal pronouns) and often cor-rected themselves, which strengthens

my belief that they memorized the rulesof procedures before attending the con-ference! It was a pleasure to see that del-egates at such young ages were able tomaturely and confidently debate issuesof global importance, with thorough

branch of the United States governmentand that the General Assembly was anon-governmental organization 1 weekprior to joining MUN, and then duringhis first conference he won the best del-egate award.

This is essentially my story of why Iwas inclined to not join MUN in the be-ginning, and how joining it and goingto a conference completely changed my entire perspective. The main thing is tohave general knowledge of your country and what you are talking about; every-thing that follows is simple.

My Chat with the Secretary General ofThiMUN Qtr

By sarra Hamid

aMOng tHe excitement of the highly-anticipated THIMUN Qatar conference,the role that receives the most limelightis the prestigious role of Secretary-Gen-eral, which this year will be occupiedby Wessam Kanes, a MUN regular whoworked her way from humble begin-nings as a delegate, to the top.

We sat down with Wessam for a littlechat about some of her interests. “I liketo listen to Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles,Queen, Led Zeppelin, I could go on. Al-most any rock music between the ‘50’sand ‘80’s.” However, her love for debate sur-passes her love for classic rock, “I’vealways had this drive to find solutionsto the some of the world’s most press-ing issues through the Model UN for-mat of debate. It has and always will bethe platform that enables me to pushboundaries, challenge myself, as well as view world issues from multiple per-spectives.”

Wessam stresses the positive effectsthat extracurriculars had on her debateskills, “Being a delegate was one of themost rewarding experiences of my highschool career. It allowed me to harnessmy passion for debate by developingmy public speaking and communica-tion skills. It also helped me to evolveas an independent and articulate voiceand has equipped me with the necessary skills to serve as Secretary-General.”

Her passion for debating sprungmainly from her interest in global is-sues, “I started keeping up with whatwas happening in the world at a youngage and I always try my best to keep my-self updated with current events.”

Yehya in action at a MUN conference

resolutions, valid points of information,and logical amendments. It was evidentthat these delegates had received excel-lent training from their chairs. I wouldlike to laud the AMMUN team for sucha well-organized conference!

As Secretary General, Wessam dis-cussed her approach to the 2014 THI-MUN conference values, “In any MUNconference, a level of professionalismneeds to be maintained. But that doesn’tmean that people can’t have fun andmake the conference a memorable ex-perience.”

Wessam plans on approaching herduties with a completely positive atti-tude. “I am optimistic about the confer-ence and the experience that it will re-ward all of it’s participants with.”

Despite the major responsibilities upahead, Wessam expressed her enthusi-asm for THIMUN Qatar 2014, stating

“I’m very excited about what I’ll be do-ing for the months up ahead, I have anexcellent team to work with, and I’mconfident about the future outcome.” Catch Wessam in action as Secretary-General in this year’s THIMUN Qatarconference, “It will be a memorable andrewarding experience for all.”

With AMINI-MUN and AMMUN on the calendar, MUNers in Jordan prepare for an exciting finish to their debate season




tHe SecOnD annual Qatar MUN and

Film Leadership conference recently re-leased their preliminary presenters list.Over 50 different speakers from aroundthe world will be presenting at the con-ference this year making this conferencea must attend event for any MUN direc-tor.

The leadership conference is co-host-ed by Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, NorthwesternUniversity in Qatar, and THIMUN Qa-tar. The conference has two main goals,to provide quality workshops in orderto support high school students andteachers ability to organize successfulMUN and Film studies and to provide

an annual meeting place for MUN andFilm leaders to exchange ideas and develop partnerships.

The conference program will fea-tures educational, diplomatic and MUNleaders from the United States, Canada,Germany, the United Kingdom, Nether-lands, Germany, Somali, Israel, Jordan,Oman, UAE, Qatar, Singapore, Taiwan,and China. Please see the THIMUN Qa-tar website or the Best Delegate websitefor more a complete listing. The regis-tration deadline for the conference is June 30th.

Featured Presenters

Carl Wilkens was doing humani-tarian work with his young family inRwanda when the genocide that even-tually took over 800,000 lives waslaunched in April of 1994. Carl refusedto leave though thousands of expatri-ates evacuated and the United Nationspulled out most of its troops. He wasthe only American to remain in Kigali,the capital city. In order to bring food,water, and medicine to orphans trappedaround the city, he built relationshipswith those involved in the slaughter. Hisactions saved the lives of hundreds. Fornine years now, Carl has been speaking

in schools on nearly every continent. In2008, he and his wife Teresa foundedWorld outside My Shoes, an education-al nonprofit organization committed toraising awareness about genocide andintolerance. To learn more, please go towww.worldoutsidemyshoes.org.

Wilma Derksen is a powerful advo-cate regarding the need for forgivenesswithin leaders and society. Since theabduction and murder of her daughterCandace in 1984, Wilma has influencedstudents around the world by tellingher story. She has worked with support

Prlmnry lst of Qtr LdrspConfrnc Prsntrs Rlsd

By Cameron Janzen group of survivors of homicide, organ-izing dialogues between victims and in-mates in prison, and addressing victims’

needs for restorative justice conferences.

Dr. Rodney Sharkey is a native of Dublin, Ireland where he studied litera-ture at University College Dublin (B.A.and M.A.) and Trinity College (Ph.D.).Having taught at Trinity, Dublin City University, and the University of Limer-ick, he relocated to Cyprus where he lec-tured at Eastern Mediterranean Univer-sity for seven years. His specialized fieldsof interest are in Anglo-Irish literature,critical theory, performance dynamicsand popular culture. He publishes regu-larly in journals such as Modern Culture

Reviews, Journal of Beckett Studies,Perspectives on Evil and Human Wick-edness and Reconstruction and he pro-duces and directs theatrical and musicalevents, such as “Hair” (2001), “Catas-trophe” (2002), “Glengarry Glen Ross”(2004) and “Baggage” (2005). He was thecurator and director of the hugely suc-cessful Inscriptions in the Sand confer-ence and arts festival, which became anannual event in Cyprus between 2002and 2005. Impressed by the vision anddynamism he has encountered at Qa-tar Foundation, he is very pleased to beteaching writing, through literature, inthe Pre-medical Program at Weill-Cor-

nell Medical College Qatar.

Sarah Hübner raised in German andEnglish, is a passionate teacher and the-atre practitioner. She obtained her BA,MA and PGCE in Devised Theatre andModern Languages at 4 universities inthe U.K. and the U.S. In 2012 she alsocompleted several educational coursesat Harvard University in the U.S. Overthe past 12 years, she has toured withtwo of her own theatre companies inEurope and she worked on interdisci-plinary projects with artist networks

such as Spacewalk and Tango Beats.Teaching theatre workshops to peopleof all ages has always been part of her

practice. In 2007 she started teachingfull-time in Secondary Education. Since2010 she has been acting and workingwith Munich’s English speaking Thea-tre Company, Entity Theatre and sheis also a co-founder of Munich’s mostsuccessful English speaking theatre im-provisation group Bake This.

Dr. odd Kent is the Assistant Dean

for Academic Affairs and a member of the political science faculty at TexasA&M University at Qatar. Todd for-merly served as the Liberal Arts Pro-gram Chair. He has an extensive back-ground in public opinion research andpolitical consulting, and regularly provides political analysis for Al JazeeraEnglish. His academic research interestsinclude presidential foreign policy deci-sion-making, political risk-taking andthe relationship between religion andinternational relations.

Alain Meidinger serves as the co-

chair of THIMUN Foundation Board,one of the largest MUN organizationsin the world. He has a Master’s Degreein History and Geography from theUniversity of Bordeaux, France andis currently a History and Geography Teacher at Lycée français in The Hague,Netherlands. Alain is also Chairpersonof the French MUN in The Hague and isa member of the Lions Club Den HaagUniversal, Netherlands.

Benjamin Bottor is passionateabout telling the stories that have notbeen told, through the medium of film.He is a filmmaker and film teacher orig-inally from California, but now resides

in Switzerland where he works at theInternational School of Geneva. Ben- jamin completed his first film in 2011,

and is now writing and in pre-produc-tion for a film set in the Middle East.He works closely with MUNs, Interna-tional Organizations and NGOs to bringstories from around the world to life.

David Burton is the Founder andManaging Director of Burton Con-sultancy, a company that specializes intraining, facilitating, consulting andbusiness coaching. Born in Brisbane,Australia, he has lived in England, Ja-pan, USA, and for the last eight yearsin Doha, Qatar. He has spent his careerdedicated to adult learning and manage-

ment development around the world.His formal training is in educationwhere he graduated from Griffith Uni- versity. Burton Consultancy was cre-ated to meet the needs of companies andorganizations in the region that requireworld-class training and consulting butwith a local focus.

David Williams is the Founder andformer Chairman of the THIMUNFoundation. He is now a retired teacherand serves on the THIMUN Founda-tion Advisory Board as well as on theO-MUN Board of Directors.

Dr. Eugene Geis, is one of the authorsof MUN-E and the creator of Mode-lUNEducation.com and TheMUNiver-sity.com. His personal experience witheducation, social dynamics, and inter-personal skills led him to the formula-tion of a Social & Emotional Intelligenceinstruction strategy that is being taughtto executives and CEOs throughout theworld to increase the productivity of business relationships between employ-ees and B2B.

Liina Baardsen works as Curriculum

Manager in the Diploma Programmedevelopment team at the InternationalBaccalaureate Organization. She leadsthe curriculum review of IBDP subjectsGlobal Politics, Economics and Busi-ness Management. Before joining theIBO, Liina worked as DP Coordinatorand Economics and Theory of Knowl-edge teacher in Norway. Her prior workexperiences include strategy work at alarge Northern European media compa-ny called Sanoma and the managementconsultancy McKinsey & Company.Liina holds an MA in Philosophy fromVictoria University, Wellington and aBA (Hons.) in Philosophy, Politics andEconomics from Oxford University. Shehails from Finland.

REGIONAL NEWS

http://www.worldoutsidemyshoes.org/






REGIONAL NEWS

Nvr Too Young: Wy MUN s Ncssry nMddl Yrs Many wOulD think that MiddleYears students are too young to graspthe diverse topics found in debate atModel UN conferences. Through expe-rience, I have discovered that not only are students in Middle Years capable,they are eager to participate fully in theexperience. Since the Middle Years So-cial Studies curriculum in Canada revolves around World Geography and

Ancient Societies, implementing worldissues and current events into class wasa natural extension from the routine of textbooks, powerpoints and lectures.

Integrating MUN into the regularclassroom studies has been instrumen-tal to the growth of the program at theschool. Students are eager to participateknowing exactly what they will be ex-pected to do and it is quickly becomingone of the most anticipated events forMiddle Years students at Heritage. If critical thinking and issue based analysiswas not already a part of daily study forHeritage students, the jump to learningthese skills for MUN would have been adrastic leap. Instead, with regular im-plementation and discussion of compli-cated issues in class, our young studentsquickly latched onto the ideology of MUN and were exhilarated by the op-portunity to debate.

Implementing a Middle Years MUNprogram is not as instantaneous asit would be in a High School setting.Many students in High School have al-ready obtained the skills necessary tobe effective in MUN. Middle Yearsstudents require more guidance. It hasto begin with the daily introductionof a world issue in class. First, presentthe issue and have the students discussin pairs. Then, students can expand

the discussion in small groups. Havethem develop as many ideas as to whatthe issue actually is before moving intoa larger group setting. After a coupleof weeks, this process becomes secondnature. It forces them to think broadly about topics and without fear that theiridea will be pushed away because in thisformat, there are no right or wrong an-swers. This process empowers youngstudents to speak their minds and chal-lenges them to think beyond the class-

room walls. This year, all Middle Yearsstudents were required to participate inan internal MUN “conference”. This in-ternal conference closely mimicked anactual conference experience. All thepractice that the students had done inclass quickly surged into reality for them

as they got to participate in somethingthat “only the older kids get,” and by morning break the phrase, “this is awe-some!” began ringing through the halls.

By having these discussions in class,younger students are entering HighSchool with an intense desire to partici-pate in larger forums. The classroomis no longer big enough for them andthey want to spread their ideas to largergroups. This is where MUN confer-ences come into play. These students

are now old enough to branch out intolarger groups and are adequately pre-pared by the time they begin their firstconference. Our school, while still hav-ing a very young MUN program is be-ginning to excel because these studentsdo not view MUN as an extracurricular

activity. Nor do they view MUN as aclassroom activity. These students view MUN as an extension of themselves.Having been taught to think critically about the issues in our world today hashad them view the news and currentevents from a different perspective. Itis for this reason, that regardless of how young a Grade 7 student may seem, thatMUN and world issues will continueto be practiced in classrooms at Herit-age. It is these students that will enter

High School and beyond with the abil-ity to put themselves in another person’sshoes and seriously reflect on what they had originally thought to be ideal. It isthese students that are going to make adifference in the world they live in, bothin the present and in the future.

Middle school MUN delegates participate in a conference

By Kim Bihop

as the launching pad of my aspirationsand career.

This journey has not been easy, but ithas been incredible, and it has certainly been worth it. Before I write my finalwords in my role as 2012-2013 Secre-tary General & Assistant Director of the

Americas and Europe, I want to briefly outline my own experience from theearly stages of O-MUN’s foundation towhere it is now—not as some reminis-cent rumination, but as an affirmationof what you can do for yourself if youseek leadership in this organization.

Rewind the clock to the late summerof 2011. I had met Lisa Martin back in8th grade, when I first got involved inan MUN program. Now I was a highschool student, just barely beginning my sophomore year, and in my inbox onemorning was an email from her titled“Time to talk.” She was starting up anonline MUN initiative, where students

anywhere and everywhere could get involved, and wanted me to join a teamshe was coordinating to help build it.This team consisted of seven university students, a few key adults, and me, thehigh school newbie whose MUN andleadership experience paled in compari-son to that of my new colleagues.

If you could have seen O-MUN at thatstage of its life, you probably wouldn’tbe able to recognize it. We had no Fa-cebook communities, no behind-the-scenes Dropboxes and Skype groups andGoogle Docs and Titanpads, no website,

no Mighty Bell research sites—not evena PowerPoint deck. O-MUN was just aninfant at that point.

I started out as a chat moderator—a terrified, trembling chat moderatorwho felt like a little floundering fish in abig pond. For our first debate, we had a

room full of delegates Lisa had recruited,all eager to witness what this idea of anonline MUN was all about. But since wedidn’t have a PowerPoint deck, I jumpedin to make one on the spot five minutesbefore roll call began—the basis for thedecks you see at our debates today. Insuch instances, I quickly recognized thepower of initiative.

Lisa promoted me to Student Leadin Community Development. Again,at this point, we had no community,so this basically meant scrounging upa community from scratch. I ended upcompletely overseeing this aspect of O-MUN’s development, and again because

of the initiative I took, I eventually gotto chair my first debate.I bombed it, absolutely bombed it. I

remember wanting to beat my head upagainst my desk after I finished that de-bate; I had studied like a madwoman,but my lack of MUN experience exposeditself nonetheless. I didn’t let it dauntme though, and long-story-short, stoodas much as possible at the frontlines of building this organization until I becamean Assistant Director. A high school As-sistant Director…not quite convention,I know, but most of our university stu-

dents were trickling off with the insan-ity of their own schedules, and O-MUNwas on the brink of massive expansionthat demanded unrelenting resolve andcommitment, something I certainly brought to the table.

I understood the power behind Lisa’s

vision for O-MUN—democratizing theavailability of MUN for thousands of students, directors, and schools in allcorners of the globe—so I rememberabsolutely refusing to let O-MUN slipbetween my fingers. I was in a college-prep school with an average of 40 examsand graded assignments per week, andfor years I had worked 15 hour days, noholidays or weekends, and 4am morn-ings, but I was too in love with O-MUNto let it slip. That’s why, after about ayear and a half later of this, Lisa askedme to serve as O-MUN’s first Secretary General.

I tell this story because it’s a testimony

that, if you desire leadership, you canmake it happen for yourself. This pro-gram we have created is abundant withopportunities for personal empower-ment—for you, as a student, to experi-ence and learn first-hand what it takesto be a leader so that, in your future,you’re well-equipped and confident inother endeavors you undertake. If thisis something you are actively seekingin O-MUN, this is something you willfind, as I have.

As I pass the torch to our next Sec-retary General, Maryam Al-Ammari,

I want to congratulate her on her new position. Maryam: You and your teamhave the incredible prospect before youto drive the vision of O-MUN to new heights and to unfurl this opportunity for thousands of more students andschools across the globe. The momen-

tous growth of this upcoming year willnecessitate a powerful and visionary leader, one who can inspire and compelher team, and I’m excited to see how youinject your own ideas and ambitions intothis unique role. Just remember that if there are ever times of uncertainty, per-ceived failures, challenges, or struggles,it probably means you’re on the verge of a breakthrough. You and your team willbe fantastic!

Last but most importantly, I wantto personally thank some staggeringly indomitable and inspiring individualswith whom I have had the privilege towork. To my entire O-MUN family: it

has been an absolute honor to work withyou. THANK YOU for the time, effort,and commitment you have dedicated toextending the vision of an online MUNprogram to the world.

To the 2013-2014 Executive Leader-ship Team: I pass the torch to you, andwish you all the best in every step youtake in the upcoming year.

Sincerely,McKenna Marie TuckerO-MUN Secretary General and Assistant Director, 2012-2013

Reflections from O-MUN’s SG, cont.




EDUCATION/STRATEGY

ThiMUN Luncs t MUNiSDtbs Srvc

Rsourc Cornr: UNiSPaL tHe ISSue OF Palestine is a populartopic in many MUN conferences. It isone topic that most MUNers have someunderstanding due to regular coveragein news media and easy access to re-

sources. UNISPAL is the one stop shopfor resources on this issue. With over30,000 text documents, links to supple-mentary materials, and huge map col-lection, this resource should be knownby an MUN delegate that is planning ondebating this issue.

The United Nations InformationSystem on the Question of Palestine(UNISPAL) was established and is be-ing developed by the Division for Pales-tinian Rights. The main collection con-tains the texts of current and historicalUnited Nations material concerning thequestion of Palestine and other issuesrelated to the Middle East situation and

the search for peace.There are over 30,000 text documentsin the UNISPAL Documents Collection.They are browsable by Date, Entity,Subject, Symbols, Title, Type, and arefully searchable. You can also easily finddocuments by using the navigation bar.The navigation bar allows you to find

key documents by UN organs or type of document (see below).

For example, click on the Security Council tab and the database will giveyou access to all UN Security Councilresolutions related to the issue of Pal-estine. You are then given the option

to sort according to type of document,date, or subject.

For the beginner researcher, thehome page offers UNISPAL-Select . Thissection contains the most importantUnited Nations documents on the Ques-tion of Palestine and Middle East peaceefforts. It allows the delegate to quickly refer to the key documents over the 70years.

Using the UNISPAL Supplement featuregives the user access to key documentsfrom non-UN agencies. Once againthere is a search feature that allows youto quickly find documents. For example,click on the subject index and the site

provides the users with key categorieswhich are further indexed by date.While the volume of information

available on the site may be intimidat-ing to a first time user, this is a goodresource for any delegate serious aboutbeing prepared to debate the issue of Palestine.

Want The Olive Branch delivered straight to

your inbox? Click hereto sign up, or visitbestdelegate.com/model-un-middle-

east/!

By Cameron Janzen

The navigation bar allows for easy access to documents. Examples include key resolutions issued by UN organs.

(Left) Examples of categories featured on the UNISPAL website

ype o Resources: ElectronicPurpose: Research on topics relatedto Palestine. Easy searching featuresallows the site to be used by all usersCost: Free!Website: http://unispal.un.org/un-ispal.nsf/udc.htm

UNISPAL logo

In nOveMBer 2013, two THIMUN-affiliated conferences will become thefirst to manage conference registrationand data management using the new THIMUN database application, MU-NIS.

MUNIS (Model United Nations In-formation System) is a custom-madedatabase application designed by longtime THIMUN supporter Jochen Ver-meulen. In 2012, the THIMUN Foun-dation commissioned Mr. Vermeulen tobuild a database to help with the opera-tions of its three MUN conferences. Af-ter successfully using the system in eachof its three conferences, the THIMUNBoard recently decided to begin offering

this service to other conferences aroundthe world. Offering the MUNIS is seenas way of continuing the tradition of THIMUN providing support to partnerschools and programs. The goal of theservice is provide a powerful confer-ence organizational tool that eases theadministrative burden on teacher andstudent organizers.

MUNISH (Model United Nation In-ternational School of the Hague) andDCMUN (Doha College Model UnitedNations) agreed to trial the database forTHIMUN and will be using the systemduring their MUN conferences in No- vember.

There will be a full time IT staff member working to support this new service. Abhay Valiyaveettil has recently

By Cameron Janzenbeen hired to provide training and of-fering support services for conferenceswho want to use the system. With adedicated staff member to support theservice, even schools or conferenceswithout extensive IT support systemswill be able to use the service.

For a nominal registration fee, inter-ested conferences will be able to havea online registration system, financialmanagement tools such automatic in- voicing, automation of conference ma-terials (such as badges, certificates, androll sheets), email services, and the abil-ity to conduct demographic analysis.

If you are interested in getting moreinformation about the MUNIS system,please contact any of the THIMUNFoundation offices.

ThiMUN O-MUN Ntonl ProgrmsComng to t Mddl est

O-Mun is expanding its debating pro-grams at the national level here in theMiddle East, with three new programsin the works for the 2013-2014 schoolyear. Hayah International School inCairo, the Friend’s School in Ramallah,

and Amman Baccalaureate School willbe starting online debate’s programs forEgypt, Palestine, and Jordan, respec-tively.

Anyone with a little experience inO-MUN will see the immediate simi-

larities. The platform, the rules and pro-cedures, and even many of the modera-tors will be the same. But these nationalprograms, being run under the auspicesof one school, will focus on expand-ing online debating into communitiesand to new students in their respectivecountries. As such, the National Pro-

gram initiative will become an increas-ingly important tool to make Model UNmore accessible to students throughoutthe region. The region’s best debatersare likely living in areas and going toschools where Model UN is not an op-

tion open to them. THIMUN O-MUNNational Programs hopes to changethat.

THIMUN O-MUN anticipates fur-ther programs in Qatar, Saudi Arabiaand Israel in the coming months. If

your school would like to take up thechallenge of pioneering a THIMUN O-MUN National Program in your coun-try, please feel free to contact O-MUNDirector, Lisa Martin, for more infor-mation.

By Lia Martin

http://forms.aweber.com/form/84/340096384.htm






http://www.bestdelegate.com/model-un-middle-east/




http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/udc.htm













EDUCATION/STRATEGY

time for the wrong reasons can distractand dilute your core messages and ob- jectives. 2. Secure the support o yourteacher colleagues. Conference plan-ning and implementation can be a drainon resources. With a number of staff

members contributing to the successof the conference you will be amazedat how much more can be achieved.Ultimately everyone will benefit froma successful event outcome. 3. Maximize the event on allronts. Get your school’s public rela-tions department involved, have thePTA run a concession stand, have thecommunity and service program or-ganize a charity drive. MUN confer-ence should be a community buildingevent. Think of how individual de-partments or individual members of staff could take link into the event insome way.

4. Don’t assume i you are plan-ning a small low key conerencethat the time and eort involvedwill be signifcantly less. Research,planning and implementation all stillneed to be thoroughly covered. Eventhe smallest conference needs to berun professionally in order to secure apositive outcome for students. 5. Build a timeline. If your confer-ence does not have a critical planninglist, construct one. Construct the vari-ous aspects of the conference and placethem on a calendar timeline. A lot of

Pont of OrdrBy Cameron Janzen

May anD June are the months typi-cally when MUN directors set theircalendars for the following schoolyear. Internal calendars are created,conference dates are arranged, and se-

lection of our student executive teamsmakes the end of the school year a busy time for the MUN director. I have al-ways been a big fan of David Letter-man’s Top 10 lists. While I won’t at-tempt to be humorous, I have createda list of the 10 organization points forconference managers taken from vari-ous web sites:

1. Budget accurately. Costs caneasily escalate under the best of cir-cumstances so detailed requirementsneed to built in at the earliest stage pos-sible. Schools and conferences operate

on limited budgets. As there is usu-ally new student leadership each yearat MUN conferences, there is a oftendesire to make the current conference“different” or “special”. These types of requests can often put a lot stress ona budget and can result in conferencesgoing over budget or spending largepercentage of the budget one item(“We just want to have a special stu-dent officer dinner this year”). ‘Wow factor’ additions to your conferenceneed to be fully evaluated. Extra ideasand options introduced at the wrong

items will need to be coordinated. Peo-ple don’t register for a conference untilthey know the entire draft conferenceprogram and issues. You need to releaseyour conference information packagewell before you ask schools to register. Iattend a conference where the MUN or-

ganizer was upset at the lack of prepara-tion by the delegates yet the conferencehad only released the issues three weeksbefore the conference. It shouldn’t bea surprise the 15-16 years came to theconference ill-prepared to debate fourcomplex world issues from a perspectivedifferent than their own. 6. Quality , not quantity. It is far bet-ter to have fewer delegates and fewercommittees that are of good quality thanto have lots of average ones. Don’t betempted to think that numerical growthis a sign of success. 7. Lead the event with passion,enthusiasm, and pride in what you

have planned. I always find it inter-esting listening to delegates talk abouttheir own conference while attendinganother Model UN conference. Mostoften the delegate will comment how much better their conference is in someaspect. I don’t believe delegates are try-ing to be overly negative; instead, theresimply is a tremendous pride and own-ership that students have in planningtheir own MUN conferences. Be proudof your conference and inspire your or-ganizing team to be proud of their workas well.

8. Selection o the venue is criti-cal. Most MUN conferences occurin the host school. Basic understand-ing of the physical limitations of theclassroom size is often not applied tothe size of the committee. It is not un-common to see a classroom, in which

the school imposes a class size limit of 24 students, stuffed with significantly more delegates at an MUN conference.The room quickly becomes stuffy andthe delegates are irritable and start giv-ing their student officers a hard time.Don’t ask your student officers to workin conditions that you as the teacherwould not be happy to work in on adaily basis. 9. Vet your Key Note Speaker.Some of my worst experiences asan MUN conference organizer havehappened with the key note speaker.There are two parts to this title Key-note and Speaker. Don’t automatically

go for the person that is most qualifiedon the subject matter or has a largepublic image. They should also be aninteresting speaker who can deliver aspeech relevant to young people. 10. Was it a success? Finally, gath-er and measure the feedback. All themoney and time you have spent put-ting on a successful conference needsto be recouped. Take the time to speakto the attendees and gauge their honestopinion about what worked and whatdidn’t. Spend time after the conferencedebriefing and reflecting.

THIMUN Qatar and Best Delegate

Middle East Model United Nations Training Tour

THIMUN Qatar and Best Delegate will be teaching Introduction to Model United Nations

Workshops at schools throughout the Middle East from September 26 to October 7.

Each workshop is three hours long and focuses on the most important MUN skills, including…

Understanding rules of procedure and the flow of debate,

Giving successful speeches with structure and confidence,

Writing resolutions and lobbying effectively,

Researching and writing policy statements in an organized way, and,

And we can customize workshops to meet the specific needs of your program.

Workshops will be led by THIMUN Qatar and Best Delegate staff, including Best Delegate co-

founders Ryan Villanueva and Kevin Felix Chan. Graduates of Yale University and UCLA with

over 24 years of combined MUN experience, Ryan and Kevin are two of the world’s leading

experts on Model United Nations who deliver MUN training around the world.

Participating delegates will be asked to pay a 50 Qatari Riyal participation fee with schools

committing to a minimum of 10 participants. If you would like to reserve a training session at

your school, please contact [email protected] or contact us by at 974-4454-2014.

Learn MUN from the Experts!




One OF tHe key strategies in prepar-ing MUNers for debate and resolutionwriting is to develop an understand-

ing of the spectrum of opinion aboutthe topic being debated. Once delegatesunderstand the basic opposing views of the issue, they can better determine onwhich side and to what extent their as-signed nation supports one of the twomain views. Each month, OpposingViews will outline a debate taken fromthe website Debatabase. With hundredsof debates outlined in an easy to use for-mat, this is a great resource for MUN-ers. This month’s opposing view willfocus on the idea that: The United Na-tions should support the developmentof English as a global language.

BackgroundIn the 20th century, English became

a global language; it is the language of trade, diplomacy and the Internet. Eng-lish has 400 million mother-tonguespeakers in the world, and another 700million second-tongue speakers. Therehave been many dominant languagesbefore in history. However, these lan-guages have always been the languageof the elite. English is both much morewidespread geographically and is not just an elite language so is having amuch bigger effect and is in a much bet-ter position to become a single languagefor everyone. But is the marginaliza-

tion of other regional languages, a goodthing? The advance of English is resistedwithin many cultures who see languageas an essential component of identity aswell as a key tool for accessing the histo-ry and literatures of individual peoples,yet others believe one global languagewould be useful. Should everyone betaught English as to make the languagethe only one globally?

Points or Developing aUniversal Language:

Point: A Global language is necessary ina globalized world.

The world is becoming increasingly more and more globalized and a com-mon language of communication is nec-essary to help this continue. Countriesare more interdependent than ever andwith the advances that we have seen intechnology in the last few decades, com-munication is instantaneous. For us tobe able to effectively communicate, es-pecially within fields such as interna-tional trade and economics, as well as di-plomacy, a common working languageis key. McDonalds for example havealmost thirty three thousand branchesin almost every country in the worldwithin such big global companies com-munication is essential. Not surprisingly these multi-national companies increas-ingly opt for English as their corporatelanguage regardless of where the com-pany originally comes from, for example Japanese based Rakuten made Englishits company language from 2012.

It would not be impractical to have eve-ryone learn English.

The United Nations already has universal education high up the priority list.The second millennium developmentgoal is to achieve universal primary edu-cation and to ‘ensure that, by 2015, chil-dren everywhere, boys and girls alike,will be able to complete a full course of

Opposng Vws: a UnvrslLngug for t World?

primary schooling’. Universal schoolingis the key to teaching a global language.This does not mean that children will be

forced to learn a global language, but be-cause of the utility of the language mostwill want to when they are given the op-portunity. The global spread of Englishencourages non-native speakers to learna second language; English. WithoutEnglish, a second language would only slightly increase the number of peopleyou could communicate with. WithEnglish there is a stronger incentive tolearn the single language that will dra-matically improve your ability to com-municate with others around the world.

Language extinction does not meancommunication extinction.

Most of the world’s seven thousandlanguages will no longer be spoken by the end of this century. So what? TheEconomist recently reported that 200African languages have recently diedand another 300 are endangered. InSoutheast Asia, another 145 are on the verge of disappearing. Should we moan,resist, or say “Good riddance?”

Any loss can seem threatening, andso the knee-jerk reaction to warningsabout languages is an urge to conservethem. But what’s to be alarmed about?The disappearance of a language is notlike, say, a local crop failure that augursstarvation. In other words, if some ob-scure language ceases to be spoken, it is

not as if millions or even dozens of peo-ple will be unable to talk. All it means isthat the people who would have spokenthat language will speak a different lan-guage.

Fewer languages makes economic sense.Translation is very expensive, but

while there is no common language alsonecessary. All sorts of documents haveto be translated into several languageseven within countries. The EuropeanUnion is the big example of this withall documents needing to be translatedinto every member state’s language. Thetotal bill for the EU in translation fees

was €800 million in 2004, that’s €2 percitizen. With a global language this willbe cheaper and quicker as well as reduc-ing the potential for misunderstanding.

Is this worth spending billions of dollars in a futile effort to keep vari-ous language tongues alive? The worldonly needs 2 or 3 languages, not seventhousand. In fact, the future I foresee isthat there would be two or three worldlanguages, such as English and Chinese

(Mandarin), and every child wouldlearn both. Hence everyone would bemultilingual.

Points against Developing aUniversal Language:

A Global language is neither necessarynor easy.

The world today demonstrates thatglobalization can occur even without aglobal language. McDonalds has obvi-ously not been hindered by having tospeak different languages in differentcountries. As a company that employspeople on low wages and is based ona franchise system there is no need foremployees to be able to speak a globallanguage to be able to serve their local

customers. Meanwhile in internationalrelations, speaking a guest country’slanguage is generally seen as good man-ners; even from tourists. It will be dif-ficult and impractical to make everyonelearn the same language. Picking justone language disadvantages those whoselanguages are replaced especially if they are unable or unwilling to use the new language. It would be extremely difficultand expensive to teach everyone the new language, especially when literacy levels,even in their own language are very low in some countries. Those without goodenough language skills may find it hardto get a job at all, thereby disadvantag-ing those without access to good educa-tion, something that is seen in countrieswhere knowledge of English is becom-ing essential, such as Spain.

Having a single language is a slipperyslope to a decline in reedom o thought.

A single language reduces the free-dom of thought. In George Orwell’s1984 Orwell has placed an essay at theback of the book explaining the novel’sconcept of Newspeak, a single languageformed by the novel’s dystopian govern-ment in order to eradicate free-thoughtand what is known in Newspeak as‘crimethink’. To force everyone to learna single language is a ‘slippery-slope’ to-

wards this type of language, as culturalidentity would be the first thing that islost and then maybe free-thought wouldeventually go with it.

Local language and culture would de-cline signifcantly.

Language is the primary form of cul-tural recognition, and if this were todisappear then culturally every nationwith its own language would lose thebiggest recognition of its cultural iden-tity. Many nations do not like this formof ‘cultural genocide’ and actively rebelagainst it (such as France who try andlimit the amount of English loan wordsthat creep into its language). This willhappen because once there is a globallanguage the language of instructionwill be, in many places, predominantly

that global language; that usually in turnis the language people become most flu-ent in. Multi-linguals are likely to only have a more impressive command of one language. There would be pressurefor that language to be the global lan-guage and once local languages are lesswell-spoken than that language, therewill be little point in learning them any longer so they are likely to decline anddisappear.

Promotion o a single language wouldbe in contrast to the mission o Te United

Nations.The official languages used at the

United Nations are: Arabic; Chinese;English; French; Russian and Spanish.Any language can be adopted as an of-ficial language of the United Nationsif the majority of the 192 UN membercountries must agree to make the lan-guage official. For any United Nationsagency to begin actively promoting onelanguage would be in contrast to officialUN policy and the spirit of internation-alism.

ConclusionFor a complete version, you can read

the entire debate and access more re-sources on the topic here.

EDUCATION/STRATEGY

ALPHATRADTRANSLATIONS

“In the 20 th century, English became a global language; it is the language of trade,diplomacy and the Internet.”

http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/culture/house-believes-global-language






EDUCATION/STRATEGY

anyOne wHO HaS spent any timeat a Model UN conference willquickly note the use of analogies indebate. Some delegates use analogiesas a tactic for adding clarity to theirspeaking points, and other delegatesuse analogies as tactic to stimu-late interest in themselves. Eitherway, original Model UN metaphorscan make any speech, idea, or evendelegate memorable. Below is thismonth’s collection of analogies thatI have accumulated from recent con-

ferences — I hope you enjoy them!

“This resolution is like duct tape:the solution to all problems.”

This resolution is like a black hole:it just sucks.”

“The resolution is like getting ahug from Lord Voldemort: awk-ward, painful and humiliating.”

“This resolution is like a pair of baggy trousers: it falls down at every opportunity.”

“This resolution is like a drivethrough at McDonalds: quick and ef-ficient — it gets the job done quickly!”

“This resolution is like SpongeBobSquarepants; it makes you smile, butif you look closely, it’s full of holes.”

“There are some resolutions thatmiss the bus and others that catchthe bus, but this particular resolutiondrives the bus!”

“This resolution is like chocolatecake: it looks great, but has no nutri-

tional value.”

That wraps up this month’s col-lection of analogies! Be sure to sendyour favorite analogies to me [email protected], and Iwill be sure to include them in thenext issue.

Mtpors:“Model UNis like a...”

By Numair Mujeeb

and 11th grade students on officer train-ing and chairing. We asked students toidentify what distinguishes good chairsfrom bad chairs, and we focused on how to be professional and deliver a high-quality MUN experience. We asked stu-dents to see themselves as teachers plac-

ing themselves in the service of fellow students.

KFC and I opened the A-mini-MUNconference as keynote speakers. KFCspoke on the Importance of the Unit-ed Nations, presenting the history andstructure of the UN. KFC also described

the UN’s work and major successes inPeace & Security, Human Rights, andSustainable Development.

I spoke about MUN at US Univer-sities, as many of the delegates in at-tendance wanted to go to college in the

States. I described how university-levelMUN is very different in the US; formany college students, MUN is a com-petitive sport and committees can be very creative, sometimes having noth-ing to do with the UN or even modern-day international affairs. Jaws droppedwhen I described the “Paradise Lost”committee at Yale’s college conference,where angels and demons, chaired by Jesus and Lucifer, debated the natureof mankind and battled for the souls of Biblical civilizations.

The all-day conference went very well and served as a great introductionto MUN for delegates, as well as good

practice for chairs and student officers.Other local schools were in attendanceand teachers had opportunities to dis-cuss best practices for their MUN pro-grams and brainstorm ways for buildingMUN in the country.

Qatar: Te MUN raining Campat Qatar Academy

In Qatar, KFC an taught an MUNTraining Camp at Qatar Academy, ledby THIMUN Qatar Director Cameron Janzen. We worked with students fromaround Doha, including students fromQatar Academy, Qatar Canadian School,and Qatar Academy Sidra.

The camp was three days long, and onthe first day, we worked with studentson understanding the rules of proce-dure, resolution writing, and lobbying.We also worked with students on how to organize their public speeches so as tomake maximum impact given the shortspeaking times that are typical of MUNconferences.

On the second day, we introducedstudents to college-level research meth-ods, including how to compile researchbinders and write policy statements andposition papers. We also gave an over- view of the United Nations, includingits history and structure, as well as how

the UN is funded and how solutions inMUN should be funded (hint: it’s notthrough NGOs!). We went through ex-ercises on “framing,” critical thinking,and how to use Socratic questioningto improve ideas and resolutions. Andwe assigned countries and prepared

students for the topic of our own mini-MUN conference, the non-proliferationof nuclear weapons.

The third day was an all-day MUNconference. Students put into practicethe lessons and skills that we taughtthem over the past 2 days. Many started

organizing their opening speeches ac-cording to the structure they learned onthe first day, and that made a dramaticimprovement in their public speaking.Students also used our critical thinkingframework to ask pointed questions,identify possible weaknesses in resolu-tions, and draw up potential improve-ments.

Te Promised Land: Petra and theGolan Heights

Between our camps in Jordan andQatar, KFC and I had a chance to travelaround the Jordan and experience the

From Clforn to Qtr, cont.region’s beauty, both natural and man-made — and at many times, a mix of both.

Our first major sight was Petra. Many readers might know Petra from the fi-nal scenes of “Indiana Jones and the LastCrusade,” where Harrison Ford and

Sean Connery find the Holy Grail in theValley of the Crescent Moon. Well wedidn’t find the Grail, but we did discovera sprawling desert canyon where Bi-ble-era civilizations carved out a homeamong the barren rock and sand.

We also met up with Lisa Martin, Ex-ecutive Director of Online Model Unit-ed Nations, which recently became thefourth branch of THIMUN. Lisa tookus up to the north of Jordan, where ourlocal guide took us past military check-points up to the border. In one sweeping view, we could see the Golan Heights,Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.We stood on a hill overlooking the Sea

of Galilee, with the town of Nazarethin distance, and right next to us, a cavewhere Jesus hid from persecution. Ourguide took us down to the Jordan River,and we came to appreciate the impor-tance of water to the region, and the po-tential for conflict over it.

Driving through Jordan, I was mes-merized by the beauty of the region. I’venever seen the sun break through theclouds and shine upon sloping cities and verdant valleys in the way it does there,as if the heavens were opening and Godwas reaching down to mankind. I cansee now why they call it the PromisedLand.

And I think there’s a lot of promisefor Model United Nations in the Mid-dle East. From working with differentschools and students throughout theregion, to seeing the rise of conferenceslike A-mini-MUN, to the sweeping sup-port of THIMUN Qatar, and the revo-lutionary vision of O-MUN, there is somuch promise for what Model UnitedNations can do for students across theMiddle East and around the world.

Students at the ABS are taught various techniques for use in conferences

MUN in Jordan: Exploring the culture behind the country

http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_3/[email protected]






Pssng The Olive Branch SInce January 2013, our missionhas been to communicate the eventsand achievements of Model UNcommunity members in the Mid-

Kevin Felix Chan, Best Delegate

dle East. In our new series, we ask thatreaders contribute photos of themselvesreading the newsletter in different loca-tions, and then submit these pictures to

Ryan Villanueva, Best Delegate

if you would lk to dvrts your

confrnc n The Olive Branch, pls snd

your d to [email protected]

or [email protected]!

us for publication. Your picture can beseen by hundreds of readers across theregion! Send us a snapshot of yourself read-

ing the newsletter, whether you’re athome or traveling abroad! Photos willbe featured in each upcoming editionof The Olive Branch .


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tHe enD of the school year is also atime of thank-you and good byes. MUNconferences are only possible because of the dedication and commitment fromteacher volunteers. The organizers of The Olive Branch would like to thankthe individuals below for the countlesshours of support and work with youngpeople. We wish you all the best in thenext chapter of your life.

Linda Dubock

Anyone associated with the THIMUNFoundation knows the tremendous im-pact Linda has had. She has served as

the head of the MUN club at her school,served on the THIMUN Board, includ-ing serving as Chairperson. She has vis-ited countless number of schools andMUN conferences around the world of-fering workshops or conducting affili-ation visits. She has been instrumentalin the expansion of the THIMUN firstto Singapore and then to Qatar. Despiteher many accomplishments, Linda wasalways at her best when engaging oneon one with the delegates. Her love of teaching and interacting with studentsis what inspired her to volunteer hertime and energy. The moment thatsummarizes Linda the best for me oc-

curred during the 2012 Qatar Leader-ship conference. During an open paneldiscussion a young lady from Saudi Ara-bia rose to ask a question and insteadthanked Linda and the THIMUN Foun-dation. She stated she didn’t know if the THIMUN Foundation realized how much it meant to young girls in the re-gion to have the opportunity to engagein MUN. She wanted to sincerely thankLinda for all that she done to make thishappen. It was the best compliment thatanyone could pay Linda. We wish youall the best.

Mike Bowe

Mike Bowe has been an active vol-unteer for the Qatar Academy ModelUN club for the past seven years. Hehas served as the deputy club director

a Tnk You to Our Mddl est MUNOrgnzrs

and supervised numerous internationalModel UN trips during his term. Mike’s

positive outlook on life and deep com-mitment to student development hasendeared him to many QAMUN clubmembers. We wish him all the best ashe and his family departs for his new school, Escuela Americana de Rio Janar-io.

Sue Fletcher

Sue Fletcher has been instrumentalin the development of many differentprograms for THIMUN Qatar. She isthe co-founder of the THIMUN QatarNorthwestern Film Festival and thefounder of the THIMUN Qatar Film In-stitute. She has inspired a generation of

filmmakers during her ten years of service at Qatar Academy. She has helpedstudent leadership teams produce fouroutstanding multi-media productions atthe THIMUN Qatar Northwestern FilmFestival. She is always willing to lend ahand or offer support to whomever wasneeded. We wish her all the best as sheenjoys retirement in Australia.

Sue Hitchman

Sue has served as the Head of theAdministration Staff for QMUN/THI-MUN Qatar for the past five years.Managing over a 100 student adminis-tration staff in order to provide logis-tical support for a conference of 1300is no small task. At any THIMUN Qa-tar conference, one could see Sue busy making sure everything and everyonewas in the right place so delegates couldfocus on debate. Sue also volunteered tosupervise multiple international MUNtrips and has been a key supporter inthe development of the Qatar Academy MUN club.

Iara LindemannIara Lindemann was the founder of

the MUN program at the Internation-al School of London- Qatar. She alsoserved for three years on the THIMUN

By Cameron JanzenQatar Advisory board providing key support in developing the policy and

procedures of the new conference. De-spite her busy schedule of being head of a new school and working on complet-ing her doctorate degrees, Iara foundthe time to support a program that shebelieved was important part of develop-

ing internationalism within her schoolcommunity. Iara continues to serve the

vision of MUN programs in her new role as the Head of the Senior School inThe British Schools in Carrasco, Uru-guay.

Steven and Jenny ParenteauSteven and Jenny personify what

we hope our MUN delegates become;kind, caring and committed individuals.Steve and Jenny are true humanitariansspending countless hours supportingprograms that help others. In the pastsix years Steve and Jenny have starteda micro-credit program for widows inSri Lanka, created a Lap Top for Work-

ers program providing hundreds of computers and training to low paid mi-grant workers in Qatar, and have beeninstrumental in the formation of a new school in Sri Lanka. Their actions havemade them role models and a supportnetwork for countless number of peo-ple within the Nepalese and Sri Lankancommunity. We will deeply miss themand we wish them all the best at Cana-dian International School - Tajong Ka-tong Campus.

Thank you to all of our teachers,

staffers, and educators for makinga positive difference in the Middle

East Model UN community!



Carl Wilkens - Speaker Dignity Toolbox Speaking Tour

2012 – 2013 School year

About Carl Wilkens

As a humanitarian aid worker, Carl Wilkens moved his young family to

Rwanda in the spring of 1990. When the genocide that eventually took over

800,000 lives was launched in April of 1994, Carl refused to leave, even when

urged to do so by close friends, his church, and the United States government.

Thousands of expatriates evacuated and the United Nations pulled out most of

its troops. Carl was the only American to remain in Kigali, the capital city.

Venturing out each day into streets crackling with mortars and gunfire, he

worked his way through roadblocks of angry, bloodstained soldiers and civilians

armed with machetes and assault rifles in order to bring food, water, and

medicine to groups of orphans trapped around the city. His actions saved thelives of hundreds. For nine years now, Carl has been speaking in schools on

nearly every continent about his experiences in Rwanda and how to build

bridges with “the other”. To learn more, please go to

www.worldoutsidemyshoes.org. Here is also a website with clips from the PBS

documentary, “Ghosts of Rwanda” that are relevant to Wilkens’ story –

http://vimeo.com/54387278.

Goal

In broad strokes, the goal of each year’s speaking tour is to inspire and equip

people to stand up against genocide, racism, intolerance and bullying.

Presentation

STORIES and SERVICE are our most effective tools to build bridges, to build

peace and eliminate ‘Us vs Them’ thinking. This message is not only conveyed

through the sharing of Wilkens’ own experiences but also through the stories of

others he met and worked with during the genocide.

Carl uses Google Earth and his own pictures to tell the story of what his own

family experienced during the genocide. He doesn’t focus on the horror and

loss near as much as he focuses on those who stood up against the wrong. He

also shares the amazing recovery process Rwanda has been going through for

the last 19 years. Carl’s purpose is to leave the students with tools and hope,

enabling them to make a positive difference locally as well as internationally.

Support

World Outside My Shoes is primarily funded by donations made from schools

where Carl gives his presentations. A donation of $750 is suggested, along with

covering travel & accommodation costs.

Presentation Length

60 minutes - followed by Q & A (can

be shorter or longer)

Group Size

Can be the whole student body and/or

classes specifically related to

international studies, genocide,

holocaust and other social justice issues.

Other Resources

The following can help give some

background:

1. 30 minute video clip -

http://vimeo.com/54387278

2. At least the first 10 minutes of

“Sometimes in April” -

http://youtu.be/IxEVcfOKzsY

3. We can make 3 chapters of “I’m

Not Leaving” available.

Visit Statistics

When getting approval for a visit, a

few statistics can be helpful. During

the 2011/2012 academic year we gave

a total of 249 presentations to 27,450

people in 76 middle and high schools,

41 universities and 40 civic and faithgroups.

Equipment Needed

* Video projector

* Speakers/PA for laptop

Carl Wilkens - Speaker