The IASIMUN Observer, nr2, 2012

IASIMUNO B S E R V E R

The

Second issue. Saturday, November 17, 2012

Human Rights ECOSOC Environment Political3 4 5 6

Putting MUN into gear

Interview with the Chaipersons of the Politi-cal Committee

Today we are interviewing

the chairpersons in the Politi-cal Committee. Two of them are „veterans” of IASIMUN, one is a „freshman”, and all of them are willing to share

some of their thoughts and experiences with us

Read more in pages 8

More than a debate

In the Human Rights Committee, the first day of debating, which was eagerly awaited by all of the delegates, started with a resolu-tion against Death Penalty, sub-mitted by the delegate of Croatia, who firstly (...)

Let women take a stand

After the night of fun and dance the delegates had on the first day of the conference, the morn-ing started in the ECOSOC with a close debate on the topic of (...)

When volunteering costs money…This year’s second day in the Environment Committee starts with an interesting debate. The delegate of Japan proposed a resolution on the topic of gar-bage islands. It is known that the problem of garbage islands is a serious one, as (...)

Role call in the Political com-mittee: “We should build peace together!”

The first day has begun and all the delegates of the Political Com-mittee have delivered opening speeches about this year’s top-ics: Syria Unrest,Peace-building in War-torn Countries and (...)

2 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012THE IASIMUN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

To: IasiMUNFrom: Press Corps

EDITORIAL BOARD

Head of the Press CorpsDaniel Vasile

News EditorAlexandra Vrînceanu

Features EditorAntonia Niţă

Photo EditorAlexandra Stelea

ReportersAnda Pascu

Alice MunteanuBianca LohanDiana PăvăloiRaluca Irimia

Alexandra Stelea

PhotographersAnastasia Anea

Alexandru ArgheroiuŞtefan Nemţanu

LayoutDaniel Vasile

with the much appreciated help from

Alina Bojescu

and

Peace Corps VolunteersMelissa Royer

Theron LaBounty

Iasi Model United Nations 2012

Aleea Nicolina 4, National College “Emil Racovita”, Iasi

www.iasimun.org

IASIMUNO B S E R V E R

The

ANTONIA NIŢĂBÂRLAD

Although exhausted af-ter a crazy party, here we are! Struggling to keep

you posted, despite the time pressure, we, the Press Corps team, are ready for the most ex-citing day at IasiMUN.

Our eyes are wide open and we promise to take note of eve-rything that happens, in the de-bates or backstage. Therefore, look out, dear delegates!

Everybody seems a bit nervous in the committees, but ready to do anything needed to defend their countries` points of view. Anyway, after the draining

processes of caucus and vetting, it is easy to understand their impatience.

So far, we have seen many familiar faces which made us re-alise that IasiMUN is actually ad-dictive. However, the new ones looked excited as well, so we are sure they will come back for the future editions. The veterans wanted to stick to the reputa-tion they have created and the freshmen to build a reputation at the conference.

For and against speeches, many points of information and follow-ups heated the atmos-phere. When it came to the vot-ing procedure, everything just exploded.

On behalf of the Press Corps, I advise you to make the most of what is left of this year`s edition. Eat as many sour cher-ry pasteries as you can, make friends but, first of all, have fun!

THE PRESS CORPS

3THE IASIMUN OBSERVERSATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

VOTING PROCEDURE IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEEANASTASIA ANEA

ALEXANDRA STELEAALICE MUNTEANUIAŞI

In the Human Rights Committee, the first day of debating, which was eagerly awaited by all of

the delegates, started with a resolution against the Death Penalty, submitted by the dele-gate of Croatia, who firstly high-lighted the fact that the prison-ers should be given the right to defend themselves.The facts that punishments should not be ap-plied to people under eighteen, and that states should be encour-aged to use other penalties were noted. As Croatia was asked by one of the other delegates, the concrete points in order to pro-gressively abolish Death Penalty consist of restraining the type of crimes for which the capital punishment is applied and life prison for the ones who commit seri-ous crimes.

The idea sustained by Uganda was one of the most controversial, as it was stated that “we can-not punish murder with murder in order to promote justice”, be-cause” the Capital Punishment is an act of terror”. As a support of this idea, the delegate of Malaysia stood out among the others, af-firming that” society has to pre-vent further harm to society”.

With a clear majority, the resolution did not pass and

clapping was not in order so the atmosphere in the house was kept formal throughout the entire morning.

The second resolution that was taken up was submitted by Mauritania who raised the idea of creating informative campaigns with the help of the devoted Co-submitters, which as they stated, would “make the society aware of how cruel the modern slaves are treated”. They also stood up for the idea that minorities, people living in poverty and those prac-ticing prostitution are the ones who endure physical and men-tal abuse. As Mauritania thinks, through commercials, volunteer-ing and the educational system, public awareness will be helped. On the other hand, this brilliant

delegate could not convince any of the others in the house with solid ideas, as they did not under-stand at all what Mauritania want-ed to express through the speech. Furthermore, it was obvious that Mauritania couldn’t find the matching words during the pres-entation of the resolution, making it hard for the delegates to decide

whether they were pro or against it. Because of this fact, many of them remained neutral during the voting procedure, abstaining.

There were delegates who decided to hold their point of view as well, even if they didn’t pay much attention to all of the clauses discussed in the resolu-tion. The delegate of Germany said that the resolution wouldn’t be effective, as it would require a very large amount of money. She mentioned that the police should be involved as well, fact men-tioned in clause 6.

Israel held a speech in which it sustained the idea of the impor-tance of surveillance:” we have to control who enters and who leaves our country”, a measure-ment which has already been

More Than a Simple Debate

implemented in this state. In op-position, Croatia argued against this fact, noticing that a lot of countries are in the E.U. which means Schengen territory with free borders (Croatia). After finish-ing the pro speech, the delegate wanted to yield the floor back to the chair, affirming afterwards that the country is opened to points of information. As Austria concluded, this resolution came out to be vague, fact that lead to its abnegation.

During the debate, there were both of active and less active delegates, making it very interac-tive for everyone in the house. The Chairpersons seemed proud of their delegates’ research and involvement.

Immoral and unfair – Death Penalty, still a controversial issueALICE MUNTEANUIAŞI

The problem of Capital Punishment is one of great con-cern, more than 60 % of the pop-ulation living under the threat of capital punishment. This holds true even though most countries have declared the death pen-alty as illegal. As an example, in Colombia, the capital punishment was abolished in 1910, being stat-ed in the Constitution in 1991 that” The Right of life is inviola-ble. There will be no death penal-ty” This is due to the fact that the world’s most populous nations are still practicing it, like China, the United States and Indonesia

Considering the fact that the

issue of capital punishment has been having an important impact on each and every country, peo-ple have been develop-ing both pro and against opinions.

“In my view, society has not only the right, but the duty to act in self-de-fense to protect the inno-cent”, Steve D. Stewart has stated in” A message of the Prosecuting Attorney”, consolidating the idea that capital punishment is ac-curate, representing a way of pro-tecting the victim.

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is stated that “Everyone has the right to life, lib-erty and security of person”. This idea was strengthened in the

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), section titled” The Death Penalty: Questions and Answers”,

where it was offered the follow-ing: “It is immoral in principle and unfair and discriminatory in prac-tice… No one deserves to die (…). In civilized society, we reject the principle of literally doing to the criminals what they do to their

victims. The penalty for rape can-not be rape, or for arson, the burn-ing down of the arsonist’s house. We should not, therefore, pun-ish the murderer with death… Capital punishment is a barbar-ic remnant of uncivilized society “As stated in this section, there are ideas blaming death penalty, as well. This way of punishment is not humanist because it is against ethics and not fair. They believe that the gift of life is sacred and that nobody has the right to take it away from any human being.

Capital punishment repre-sents in fact a very controversial subject, the world having taken two sides: pro and against capital punishment.

Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.- J. R. R. TOLKIEN

“

We cannot punish murder with murder in order to promote justice.- Delegate

“


ECOSOC COMMITTEE

Why do they hate us?

It is a well-known fact that, throughout the centuries, the status of women in the Arab world has been a very contro-versial topic. While to us, living in the Occident, it is a normal thing to spend time in public places, have jobs, choose freely who and if we marry, and have no restrictions when it comes to clothing, these things seem far from reality to the women and girls in Arabic countries.

It’s true that all the restric-tions are closely related to the Islam Quar’an, which includes strict doctrines, but nowa-days, it’s more of a matter of tradition, rather than one of religion. One of the topics be-ing debated in the ECOSOC is regarding discrimination of women in the labour market, in order to find viable solutions and eliminate it.

However, we have to bear in mind the fact that, no mat-ter how difficult it is to girls and women to deal with the social prejudices and harsh rules, big changes would probably create more instability than peace.

Centuries of discrimina-tion that have become a tragic tradition would probably take centuries to overcome.

Let Women Take a Stand

by Raluca Irimia

RALUCA IRIMIAIAŞI

After the night of fun and dance the delegates had on the first day of the conference, the morning started in the ECOSOC with a close debate on the top-ic of women workforce. The main submitter of the resolu-tion is the delegate of Norway, whose enthusiasm and strong motivation made her one of the most outstanding participants of the discussion, bringing solu-tions such as calling upon gov-ernments to “promote and sup-port the elimination of biases in the educational system so as to counteract the gender segrega-tion on the labour market” and urging for “collaboration with the local communities and reli-gious leaders”. She confidently claimed that including women of the Arabic countries in the work-force would not only “drop the

chance of abuse”, but also, speak-ing in terms of funds, UN would not have to donate that much, because the economy would grow. Thus, society would grow. In support of the resolution, the delegate of Germany, the ever-enthusiastic Ana-Maria Vochita, explained that “the status of women has been compromised since childhood as, by definition, man is superior. Thus, we cannot speak about gender equality, es-pecially in the Arabic region”, but we can certainly do something about the discrimination in the workforce, without “interfering too much with their cultural and religious beliefs”. On the other hand, big changes would prob-ably do more harm than good, so we have to bear in mind the fact that the salary would be lower than men’s.

On this matter, the delegate of Denmark disagreed, by giving significant arguments: “Gender discrimination may determine

women to refuse to work, as they wouldn’t be able to provide for their families, if they have a low income.” Also, they “should be paid fairly, according to their skills and abilities, just like men.”

However, all of the delegates agreed that “work will help wom-en build their self-esteem” and it would certainly make the econ-omy grow, instead of including only half of the population which is able to work.

Thus, with an overwhelming majority, the first resolution that was debated successfully passed. All of the chosen resolutions are going to be discussed on the third day, at the same time with the General Assembly.

THE DELEGATES IN THE ECOSOC COMMITTEEALEXANDRU ARGHIROIU


ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

The need to protect

During the last decades, the number of existing species of both animals and plants has decreased, this becoming one of the most discussed topics regarding the environment. If certain species disappear, the biodiversity is threatened.

The causes of the extinc-tion of species and their en-dangerment are many, such as the destruction of their habi-tat, overexploitation or pol-lution. Each of these factors is needed for species to exist. Their loss leads to disastrous outcomes, thus resulting the issue at hand.

But why do we need to save them? The answer is both simple and complicated: be-cause we need them, because we share this planet and be-cause this is our duty, as hu-mans. Both plants and animals can be used in different fields, for example medicine, agricul-ture or ecology.

In the end, the issue of endangered species is a deep, moral problem and it can prove to be difficult to debate when the delegates have to set aside their personal views and make a decision from the per-spective of their countries.

When volunteering costs money…

by Anda Pascu

ANDA PASCUIAŞI

This year’s second day in the Environment Committee starts with an interesting de-bate. The delegate of Japan proposed a resolution on the topic of Garbage Islands. It is known that the problem of gar-bage islands is a serious one, as it affects animals and humans as well.

The delegate of Japan pre-sented different solutions to this complex issue, for example, the education of young people. But is teaching the youth not to throw garbage into the ocean enough? The problem lies with the adults. You can’t edu-cate your children if you aren’t aware of the problem yourself.

Another solution the del-egate of Japan gave is the cre-ation of organizations funded

on already existing money, which sounded like the answer to the problem. However, the Russian delegate raised an im-portant question: “What about the poor countries which do not have the money necessary to be part of this organization?”. Should the countries that have financial problems and are lo-cated around the Pacific Ocean, for instance, Somalia, not be helped? There is no way that recycling the garbage found in the ocean is an option, taking into consideration the fact that a big part of the garbage patch consists of polymers.

Furthermore, the dele-gate of Japan believes that the countries bordering the ocean should be the most involved, but this does not suffice, due to the fact that the entire world “contributes” to the damage brought to the ecosystem.

Therefore, the issue of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

should not be ignored, but at the same time, suitable solu-tions should be provided for the pressing problem that is the garbage patch.

THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEEALEXANDRU ARGHIROIU


POLITICAL COMMITTEE

The second day has arrived! The atmosphere is not so tense to-day as the delegates have gotten used to talking in front of the oth-ers. They were a bit nervous, but who wouldn’t be? However, they managed to state their points of view over the resolution. The de-bate was active, with plenty of for and against speeches followed by points of information and also amendments.

“We would like to act for the people not for the government”’, Syria stated in the matter of Syrian Civil War. This topic was addressed

BIANCA LOHANDIANA PĂVĂLOIIAŞI

in two resolutions, one submitted by Iraq, Russia and Norway. The other resolution’s submitters were USA, France, Madagascar, Canada and Italy. Unfortunately, the dele-gate of Syria did not express their country’s ideas clearly enough and the resolution did not pass. ”Syria acts alone. It does not have any support except for Iraq, which is a war-torn country” said the del-egate of Canada, firmly convinced that the resolution did not bring good points. One of the most in-teresting questions was posed by the delegate of Syria: “How should Bashar al-Assad(the Syrian leader) be punished?” The dele-gate of Israel said that it will send Bashar al-Assad to prison for life because it does not agree with

capital punishment.The next topic, which focused

on the Iranian Nuclear Crisis was also discussed in two resolutions .One of them was filed by France, Israel, Canada, Italy and Egypt and the other one by the Republic of Moldova, supported by Denmark, Iraq and Tunisia. The subject proved to be controversial. The delegate of USA demanded that Iran halt all nuclear enrichment until an agreement is reached with the international commu-nity. One of the delegates asked the delegate of Iran to state its opinion about the development of nuclear weapons. The delegate retorted: “Iran fundamentally re-jects nuclear weapons.”

We also had the pleasure of

The Delegate of Syria:”We would like to act for the people not for the government!”

having a special observer in the Political Committee. He noticed the fact that after the delegates have talked so much about the Uranium in Iran they started call-ing it “Iranium” .

As the Chairpersons noticed throughout the debate, there have been both active and less ac-tive delegates. In our opinion, one of the best delegates was the del-egate of the USA who often stood up. This delegate brought lots of good arguments and realistic solutions. The chairpersons de-clared that they are proud of the delegates’ involvement as well as their research even though there were some delegates who didn’t speak at all.

Establishing peace does not involve war!

BIANCA LOHANIAŞI

Syria is one of the oldest plac-es where civilization is thought to have started. Throughout histo-ry, it has seen many conflicts, in-volving violence or not. For over a year now, Syria has been fighting with itself and the international community.

Around January 2011, fol-lowing on from the Arab Spring

where protests against ruling re-gimes erupted in a number of Middle East countries, protest-ers in Syria came out demand-ing President Bashar al-Assad and his government step down. The number of victims is current-ly over 20.000, which led the Red Cross to declare Syria a civil war zone. Some are asking the West for a military intervention like there was in Libya, but the US in particular is not keen on another

military intervention even though they have been openly hostile and critical of the Syrian ruling regime for many years. The Arab League, the United States, the European Union, GCC states and other countries have condemned the use of violence against the protesters. China and Russia have opposed any attempt of agree-ment on a UN resolution con-demning Assad’s actions, saying that such methods could call for

foreign military intervention.On the 15th of July 2012, the

International Committee of the Red Cross assessed the Syrian con-flict as a “non-international armed conflict” (the ICRC’s legal term for civil war). Because of the fact that the violence in Syria escalates day to day, I think that they must find a golden mean to solve this prob-lem. Many innocent people have lost their lives. Besides, peace is much cheaper than war.

THE DELEGATES VOTING IN THE POLITICAL COMMITTEANASTASIA ANEA

“Thousands of lives have already been lost in the violence and the death toll is rising daily.”


INTERVIEW

Develop and discover yourself!

BIANCA LOHANDIANA PĂVOLOIIAŞI

Amada El-SabehHello Amada! We are glad to have

you here this year as well. First of all, who introduced you to IasiMUN and what do you like about it?

Hello! I was introduced to IasiMUN in 2009, by my teachers, Victoria Sechelea and David Pi. They were the ones who, together with the 12th grad-ers in that year, started the conference. I was a delegate in the Human Rights committee, and I must say that I did not do much, because I did not attend the trainings, so I was a bit clueless. But that made me more intrigued by everything that was happening around me, and it started my interest in debates and MUNs. I think that even though I was not prepared at that moment, I made the best of it and that made me partici-pate in MUN for 3 more years.

Why did you choose the Political Committee?

The chairpersons do not get to exactly choose the committee which they are in, but we do have preferenc-es. Because my father is from Lebanon, and the world issues which have been debated in the past years were in some correlation with that area, this commit-tee was one that I felt could teach me most.

Will you pursue a career in this field?

Seeing as this is my last year in school, I should know by now what I am going to study, but I do not. Debates and international issues or law are subjects

that I am thinking about. But even if I do not follow this path, my MUN experi-ence does not have to end here.

What are the benefits of be-ing a chair person? Are there any downsides?

I really enjoy being a chairper-son because it gives me an overview of what is happening during the confer-ence. I see how the delegates change, how after just one day they are more confident and convincing. Most people do not know how much work is behind such a conference. For example, we start working about one month after the last one ends. This is one of the downsides, because we all put a lot of work into it, and we hope for the best, so we do not like to be disappointed. This has never happened yet, and I hope it will not. The truth is that we do have a lot of help, from our advisor, the school and the Administrative Staff. Otherwise, it would be ten times more difficult.

What do you hope to achieve from IasiMUN?

I have already gained many skills from IasiMUN: speak-ing in public, research and organizing. But what it has offered me most is the satisfaction of a well done job and seeing the ex-citement of all the delegates, year after year at IasiMUN.

Mihai PăunWhen did you first participate in

IasiMUN?I first participated in IASIMUN in

November 2009, it was the first edition of IASIMUN and I had never heard of such conferences, so it was a great oc-casion to learn about this type of con-ferences. It was also an honor to partici-pate in a conference organized by David Pi, as I have gained a lot of knowledge about MUN, about UN (of course) and about the world that we live in.

Why did you choose the Political Committee and not another one?

The Political Committee suits me most. Since I was very young I have always had an opinion on what hap-pens in the foreign policy world (es-pecially the War in Afghanistan) and I also was curious to see what hap-pens but is not showed that much to the population (for instance the

Wikileaks materials, forgotten pages of history such as the War in Korea,

or terrorism and what lies behind what seems a hectic organization).

I don’t think that another com-mittee would inspire me as much as

the Political Committee. Or the other way around, I don’t consider that I could help, or be a good member (either del-egate, or chairperson) of another com-mittee, as much as I would do in the Political Committee.

What are the benefits of partici-pating in IasiMUN?

The main benefit is that IASIMUN is a very formal conference which is re-ally keen on debating facts or evidence and really smart arguments, without much quarrelling. Thus, delegates have the opportunity to attend a well struc-

tured conference which will help them build several key aspects of their character. They will meet people that are interested in what happens in the world, de-

bate in formal English, do some research on events that happen

in this world, thus familiarizing with notions used worldwide such as

humanity, human rights, state, sovereignty, inde-pendence etc. I believe that these will help them develop and evolve as people, as independent human

beings.

Is it challenging being a chairperson?

In my opinion, it is not as challenging as

being a delegate. I believe that delegates in IASIMUN can im-prove themselves much more rather

than a chairperson, because of the “chal-lenge”. We are here to help delegates, to challenge them, to make them confi-dent that they can do more. Maybe that is the challenge for us, but we can cope with it very well.

What do you like most about IasiMUN?

That it’s very educational and it is something that helps you consume the kind of energy that you are not us-ing day by day. You use information and data that is not used by everyone, you use arguments and a way of thinking that not many in this world have and most of all, you engage in debates and polemics in a format that 99% of this world is not engaged into: civilized debate, in a pure, formal English, with people that may just as well, be del-egates of the UN in real life (in some cases I am actually convinced that some delegates have the future of good diplomats).

IASIMUN for me is one of the best ways to develop and discov-er yourself. And so is debating, in general.

Bianca VasilacheHello Bianca! We are glad to have

you here this year as well. First of all, who influenced your getting involved in MUNs?

Hello, I do not think there was a certain person who convinced me but I was rather intrigued by the idea of de-bating on international issues and act-ing as a true UN delegate for at least a few days.

Why did you choose the Political Committee?

I believe that the Political Committee is the most demanding one. I mean, you cannot argue on these topics without some research and it is certainly impossible for a resolution to pass without truly creative solu-tions. Furthermore, in this committee, the clash between countries is much stronger…and that makes the debate way more interesting.

If it wasn’t for the money, what career would you choose?

I usually don’t make decisions on this basis anyway, and therefore I will choose to study law.

What do you like about IASIMUN?I mostly like the fact that at

IASIMUN the rules are actually respect-ed and the simulation is genuine. Both delegates and chairpersons take their responsibilities seriously and each and every detail is taken into consideration.

Do you have a message for the delegates?

Whether you’re participating in IASIMUN or not, if you really want to achieve even your most unachievable goals, all you have to do is “Never, ever, ever give up!”

(Winston Churchill)

Today we are interviewing the chairpersons in the Political Committee. Two of them are “vet-erans” of IASIMUN, one is a “freshman”, and all of them are willing to share some of their thoughts and experiences with us.

AMADA EL-SABEHCHAIRPERSON OF THE POLITICAL COMMITTEE

BIANCA VASILACHECHAIRPERSON OF THE POLITICAL COMMITTEE

MIHAI PAUNCHAIRPERSON OF THE POLITICAL COMMITTEE

Interview with the Chaipersons of the Political Committee


INTERVIEW

“From this year’s delegates we expect nothing less than greatness.”

Interview with the Chairpersons of the Human Rights Committee

The Deputy Chairperson of the Human Rights Commit-tee, Robert Pintilie gave us

an interview and let us know not only about the MUN Conference, but also about his future experi-ence as a Chairperson, since this is the first time he has ever had this duty. Maria Mateescu, the Chair-person, also made the time to answer a few questions regarding her previous experience at IASI-MUN, as she has been part of this conference since its beginnings.

Robert PintilieI know that you partici-

pated in last year’s edition of the IasiMUN Conference. Could you describe your previous experience?

Yes, indeed I participated in last year’s edition and also the one that took part in 2010. Both years I was amazed by the dedica-tion of the delegates, as everyone was eager to make their country’s point heard. The conference itself was great and this was, I presume, due to the fact that the organiz-ers worked as hard as they could to ensure the well-being of the debates.

Why did you choose to be a chairperson this year?

This year I wanted to take the experience to the next level. Even though I still smile upon the idea of being a delegate, I wanted to

shift my perspective in order to see what it feels like to be in the organizing team.

Are you excited about this entirely new experience?

At first I was a little bit nerv-ous, excited but nervous about this new experience. Everything turned out to be fine; we worked great as a team.

What expectations do you have from the delegates?

From this year’s delegates I expect nothing else than great-ness. I know they can achieve this and I know they can unite in order to resolve the current issues of the world.

How has the preparation for this conference been?

We started the preparation during summer. Since then, many things have happened. We had trainings, we had to do research and even though during the con-ference days, the chairpersons seem to have the least work to do, actually it is the other way around.

Will you pursue a career in this field?

I surely do have a strong affinity for this field but I am not willing to pursue a carreer in it as there are other domains in which I am interested.

Maria MateescuWhat was your first MUN

experience like?My first MUN experience

was when I was in the 9th grade and it was amazing. I owe it to Mr. Pi. It was baffling. I had never participated in anything of the sort, I never had to speak in front of a public larger than my classmates and, moreover, of un-known people. I was the delegate of New Zealand in the Human Rights committee. When I held my first speech in front of the au-dience it was like a switch within me was turned on and I became a more daring person all of a sud-den. I could say everything that I believed in and I knew there would be people to listen to me. I am not saying I became the “awe-some” speaker that I am today in a moment, but from that time I im-proved exponentially.

What have you learned

from your past projects and conferences?

I have learned plenty in every

project and conference I partici-pated in, something different every time. What they all have in common is that I learned to speak better in public. If in the 9th grade I was terrified to speak to an au-ditorium I have grown to enjoy it and I owe it mainly to IasiMUN. The research you do preparing for any conference or project, espe-cially one like IasiMUN can leave a mark on you. Every research is an eye-opener.The amount of in-formation gained is amazing and it is not only information, but also sensitivity. “Out of sight out of mind” works perfectly for most people, but if we want to make something of our world and keep this world livable for the genera-tions to come, we have to open our eyes and IasiMUN does exact-ly that.

What do you like about

IASIMUN?Is everything a good an-

swer? Because that is deffinitely what I feel. I love that we speak in English, I love that we discuss in-teresting topics (my top favour-ite ones are Capital Punishment, Nuclear power and GMOs), I love that it is a challenge, I love that I do something very different from what I usually do. The list can con-tinue endlessly. I love the concept of IasiMUN and all it stands for. I am set on Computer Science and research for a better world, but as a second choice I would definete-ly do all in my power to someday part of the real UN and help make a better world.

What expectations do

you have from this year’s conference?

Every year’s conference is slightly different than the previ-ous because there are different delegates each year, so I don’t re-ally know what to expect from the conference. And if we have pre-pared surprises for the delegates I shall not disclose any secrets. Like Anton Ego said in Ratatouille to Remy I say to the delegates “Surprise me!”. In other words I expect to be surprised by the delegates since from the mo-ment the conference is declared opened the fate of IasiMUN is in their hands.

Have you noticed some im-

provements to the conference over the years?

I believe the most ob-vious improvement is that

ALICE MUNTEANUALEXANDRA STELEAIAŞI

of attendance. This conference increases it’s fame every year through professionalism and cre-ativity and more and more people come every year, each year better people than the previous. News of our conference even reached Belgium. As I have always said, great improvements are in the details, it may not seem like much that we changed the rooms used for the conference, but it has a great effect on the conference as a whole and only those who have been in the previous years will be able to appreciate it.

As you have been a part of this event since it was first founded, could you encourage your delegates in any way?

To the delegates: You will definitely see me in the confer-ence rooms and hallways badg-ering you to speak in English. By constantly speaking in English will you ever really improve your English. If that does not convince you, I should mention that every English exam you may want to take has a Speaking part. With that I rest my case. Also in this con-ference there is so much you can learn and improve about your-selves. You do not know every-one, but I assure you that as long as you get involvedin the debate you will have something to gain, and I am not talking about the di-ploma. Have courage to talk (we don’t bite and we won’t shoot you

if you make mistakes)!ROBERT PINTILIE

CHAIRPERSON OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

MARIA MATEESCUCHAIRPERSON OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE


INTERVIEW

Interview with the Junior Admin Staff

Diana DiaconuWhat are your duties

as a member of the Junior Administrative Staff?

I have to supervise the whole activity. There are rules everyone must respect and I have to make sure everything is going well. Also, I have to help with the organization.

Have you learned any-thing about MUN while be-ing part of the Administrative

Staff?Yes, of course I have. I

did not think it would be so fun and interesting to take part in this confer-ence. Also, I’ve learned things about the topics that are discussed and how to present speech-es in an interactive way.

What is the funniest thing you have heard in

the committees?The funniest thing I have

heard in the committees was the mispronunciation of the word “distinguished”.

Would you like to par-ticipate as a delegate in the future editions of this conference?

Yes, I am looking forward to participating as a delegate in the future editions of this conference, because I think it will help me develop not only my English skills, but also my knowledge.

Răzvan BârgaoanuWhat are your duties

as a member of the Junior Administrative Staff?

As a Junior Administrative Staff member I have to take part in the IasiMUN organi-zation and help the dele-gates during the committee sessions.

Have you learned any-thing about MUN while be-ing part of the Administrative Staff?

Yes, I have learned what goes on in a committee and some facts about the environ-ment in the whole world.

What is the funniest thing you have heard in the committees?

The funniest thing I have heard was the wrong pro-nunciation of some words, during the opening speeches.

Would you like to partici-pate as a del-egate in the fu-ture editions of this conference?

Yes, I’d like to participate as a delegate in the future edi-tions of this conference be-cause I like it and it seems very interesting to me.

ALICE MUNTEANUIAŞI

Between assignments, these little minions of IASIMUN answered a few questions regarding their job and duties as members of the Junior Admin Staff.

CRISTIANA DIACONUMEMBER IN THE JUNIOR ADMIN STAFF

RĂZVAN BÂRGOANUMEMBER IN THE JUNIOR ADMIN STAFF


FEATURES

Looking at IasiMUN with different eyes

Have you noticed that IasiMUN has become an international conference

lately? Well, if you didn’t know that, we are happy to introduce two examples to you: Corlijn Reijgwart, a 16 year old Belgian student, living in Brussels, but born in the Netherlands, current-ly attending the last year of high school and Rosemary Bornstein, an 18 year old American from Chandler, Arizona. Even though she is a graduate in the USA, she is currently in the 11th grade at “Gheorghe Rosca Codreanu” National College in Bârlad.

They have answered a few questions about their experi-ence in MUN, as well as Romania overall.

ANTONIA NIŢĂIAŞI

Have you participated in MUNs or similar activities before?

Why did you come to Romania?

What`s your impression about MUN and Romania so far?

Anything else you would like to add?

Have you noticed any differences between Romanian students and students from your country?

CorlijnYes, I have. I have attended a

Model European Council confer-ence. What I can easily tell is that it was less organised than this MUN. The chairs were those who wrote the resolutions (which had basi-cally the same format), not the delegates, who could only submit amendments.

CorlijnI was in a summer camp,

where I met some girls from Romania. Staying in touch, they talked to me about IasiMUN. I decided to apply and see what happens.

CorlijnI love Romania!! I have to say

that the food is really good and people are very nice! I am really happy to be here!

CorlijnStudents are much less in-

volved there. For example, such activities are not possible, at least as far as my school is con-cerned. I have also noticed that the fashion sense is different. Honestly, there is a different feel behind the clothes they wear.

CorlijnI hope everyone has fun.

Everything is going so fast! I have already become a little nostalgic!

RosemaryNot really; it is the first time

I attend such an event and I am very excited about it.

RosemaryA programme I am involved

in interviewed me for a long time to decide which country fits best to my personality. Getting to know me, they have said that Romania is the most suitable choice.

RosemaryI find MUN very interesting.

It shows other perspectives on countries, different from the ones we have in the US. I have also no-ticed a real sense of seriousness. In what Romania overall is con-cerned, I think it is a lovely coun-try, even though there are many differences. What I like most here is the food, especially polenta.

RosemaryYes. Romanian students are

much more active. They actu-ally do an active learning, be-ing focused on their education, while US students are much more passive. is the food, especially polenta.

RosemaryThe MUN experience may

seem like only a drop in the large ocean of the world, but what we are doing here can create change that will resonate through our lives and into the lives of others- never doubt your own power to make a change.

CORLIJN REIJGWARTBELGIUM

ROSEMARY BORNSTEINUNITED STATES OF AMERICA


OPINION

IASIMUNmicrophone

by Alexandra Stelea and Anastasia Anea

Distinguish delegates, it’s time to answer a fundamental questionCould you tell us what is the most exciting thing that has

happened in the conference so far?

The most exciting part of the conference so far was the very beginning of the debate. Being my first time here, I was very enthusiastic and nervous. It was a nice start and hopefully it will end the same.

Corlijn Reijgwart Delegate of USA - Human rights

USA’s resolution on the Iranian Nuclear Crisis passed because the submitters knew how to make it viable and how to support their point of view.

Ipate Diana Catalina Delegate of Republic of Moldavia - Political

All of the delegates are eager to try to find solutions to the problems. This is an amazing thing even though this con-ference is just a simulation of the real UN’s debates.

Anastasia MuhaDelegate of Mexico - Ecosoc

There was a guy whose speech was the following : “many of you think my coun-try it’s a sunny country…whatever…I don’t know what to say.” But it was funny all the same.

Camelia DiaconuDelegate of Denmark - Environment

There was adelegate who af-firmed that Romania might be a country prone to war. Well , I don’t think so.

Robert Haret Delegate of Tunisia – Political

An interesting moment in the debate was the friendly point of information between the North Korea and Russia- poor acting skills.

Ioana BereDelegate of Croatia- Human Rights


FUN

Do you remember the say-ing that our parents used to tell us when we were little, which sounds something like” If you chase two rabbits at once, you catch none”? The story says that there was a postman in his middle age that was always drowned in work and troubles and did not have time to ac-complish any of his tasks. Being caught up in his daily routine,

Mister Postman

he could not realize that he was stationary; always chasing, but never getting anywhere. Until one day when doing his duty he saw a postcard on which was written an address he was not familiar with. Having to deliver it, the postman checked for the stamp and he found out to his surprise that it was torn. While checking it all over, his eyes dropped on the last lines of the

postcard. “I will love you forever” it said. He realized that he sim-ply had to deliver it and he sad-ly thought that just because of a torn stamp those words had no destination. In that very mo-ment, the man remembered his grandfather’s words.

“The value of a stamp is in the hands of the sender. It will only last if you stick it carefully. Your decisions are the stamp,

and you, son, are the sender. Be wise, be consequent and never forget your own values.”

THE TALE OF THE DAY

by Alice Muteanuand Raluca Irimia

The Gossip BOXWhere have you been, Delegates?And who are we?That’s one secret you’ll never know. You know you love us.

xoxo… Press Corps.

So it seems that we meet again. Hello fellow delegates! We know that all of you have some gossip to share with us. So come and see what’s inside the box you’ve all noticed this days.

All started last night when Denmark and South Africa decided to show that we should ”make love, not war”. Too bad that they wanted to do this at the wrong table - namely the Press Corp’s one.

It couldn’t have passed unnoticed the „out of po-litical” and econimic out-fit. Being very nice people,

we have a BIG advice for her: It’s almost winter. We don’t want you to catch a cold so please cover your-self. Kneesocks are so 2000 and late.

Representing the voice of the crowd, we have a rift in the lute from both the Press Corps and the Environment committee. We have been told that a delegate seems to be (on a) very high ... way to hell. We are really curious about what exactly he is on. Is that true, distinguished delegate?

Considering all our du-ties, we would like to scold

some of you: why are you so rude? Please respect your colleagues as we all make mistakes from time to time !

THE FAMOUS GOSSIP BOXŞTEFAN NEMŢANU

Why aren’t you an-swering? Who are you, actually?

The IASIMUN Observer, nr2, 2012

Documents

Transcript of The IASIMUN Observer, nr2, 2012