BMUN LXXI UNESCO

Students from schools in Floripón, Siuna, Nicaragua. Hi delegates! It's Alaina, one of your Vice Chairs for UNESCO, checking in with you as we inch closer and closer to conference! I was doing some research on equal and accessible education post-COVID 19 and came across this insightful article discussing some recent developments in Latin America. Feel free to read through the piece, but I'll provide a quick summary of its main points below: The COVID-19 crisis resulted in "significant learning losses," causing a surge in dropout rates and worry about potential gaps in human capital formation for this generation, such as fewer professional skills in the future workplace In the long term, the pandemic may result in a substantial increase in income poverty in Latin America A recent World Bank study argues that students would be more likely to fall into poverty in the future Latin American labor market if compensation measures had not been taken (e.g. virtual classes, pr...

Information on Debate and Office Hours Dear delegates, I hope you have had a smooth research process thus far! As we count down the days until BMUN 71, I wanted to check in to remind you of some important dates, announcements, and opportunities we have for you. Position Papers Reminder that Position Papers are due tomorrow, Sunday February 19 t o be considered for any committee award. Again, we’d be happy to grant an extension if necessary, just reach out to our committee email unescobmunlxxi@bmun.org ! For reference on the expectations and format of your position papers, refer to this page on the BMUN website or our past blog posts. Debate As we near the start of BMUN 71, I wanted to refer you to our Conference Policies page. Here you will find all of our policies on awards, plagiarism, pre-written resolutions, electronic use, dress code, and harassment . Please take the time to read through this page as the maintenance of these policies is critical to ensuring a positive BMUN exp...

Hi Delegates!  As you all prepare for the conference, please know it's completely normal to feel excited, nervous, or feel any kind of way toward public speaking! Whether it is your first or last time attending a conference, please maintain full respect and understanding toward the progress of others and yourselves. BMUN is ultimately a learning conference more than anything, and we value your growth over all else!  Here are some tips to consider as you prepare:  Know your country's position prior: Before conference, research the country you'll be representing and familiarize yourself with its stance on the topics to be discussed. Be ready to present some of the issues raised in your position paper! This will allow you to speak with authority and conviction. Prepare an opening speech: Write out a short speech that you can use to introduce yourself and your country's stance on the topics being debated. Rehearse this speech several times to make sure you are confident a...

  Hi Delegates! I wanted to check in with you to provide some more insight to how our committee is going to work at BMUN 71. UNESCO will be using Standard BMUN Procedure.  Our committee will begin by opening a running Speaker’s List (standard speaking time is 1 minute, 30 seconds) and those speeches will be followed by 2 30-second comments by other delegates. This is the default timing for the Speaker’s List and can be amended if agreed upon by the committee. The Speaker’s List can also be interrupted by Moderated Caucuses and Informal Caucuses that give delegates the opportunity to exchange opinions on policy, solutions, and more specific aspects of the topics at hand. In our committee, our dais plans on leaving the flow of committee up to you delegates, so we suggest you come prepared with specific subtopics and policies you hope to discuss! During Informal Caucus time, delegates are expected to draft and write Resolutions which will then be presented to the committee durin...

Yosemite National Park is the closest World Heritage Site to the UC Berkeley Campus. During their time at Cal, students occasionally visit this Natural Site which is just a short three-hour drive. Dear Delegates, it's your Head Chair Madelyn (again) here to give you more tips before BMUN 71!  As we are hard at work grading the position papers submitted for research awards, we would like to consider some ideas before coming to the conference. One of the most important parts of BMUN is the ideas you bring to UNESCO. This is more than merely finding reasons to debate with your peers, but preparing content to discuss and present to the rest of the delegations!  Topic A, on the Equity of World Heritage Sites and cultural policy, consider the following topics! This is just a start of a big thought bubble we hope to facilitate for you all during debate. We recommend not only becoming familiar with formal research, but also being mindful of news and other forms of media that commun...

How to Draft a Resolution Using the S.M.A.R.T. Method Hi delegates! BMUN is just around the corner, so I wanted to revisit the pinnacle document of committee: your resolutions! Before we even get into the details of your resolutions, the format and jargon about resolutions can be quite confusing (boooo), but not to worry! BMUN has a Resolution Structure document , that covers all the teeny tiny details of these papers. When turning your solutions into operative format, we want you to keep the SMART goals in mind: S - Specific , what exactly is this operative trying to achieve? M - Measurable , how will you know when this operative is successful? Are there any specific points that will make this solution more quantifiable? A - Attainable , is this solution genuinely possible? Is that clear in your operative? R - Relevant , will this operative positively contribute to solving this problem? T - Timely , when do you expect to achieve this solution by? Are these time-contraints reasonab...

Hello Delegates! I hope you have all had a bit of time to get to know me and your vice chairs for this year's conference. Now that we have introduced ourselves... I welcome YOU to introduce yourself in the comments of this blog post (I would love to hear about your academic interests, a piece of media you have enjoyed recently, or anything at all you would like to share)! With that said, here are some good things to consider as you all write and prepare to submit your position papers.   As a reminder, UNESCO will be using the standard Position Paper format detailed in the Committee Page on the BMUN website. Besides the general format, we wanted to offer some tips on the research process and the formation of your paper.  Research The biggest favor you can do for yourself in the writing process is to really apply time and effort into understanding the topics beforehand. Luckily, your generous dias has written to key to beginning this process: your synopsis! Not only do we ...

Dear Delegates-- Here's a little update on your vice chairs Alaina and Sonika! Please read their intros below:  Hey y’all! My name is Alaina (she/her/hers), and I will be one of your amazing UNESCO Vice Chairs this year. I am a sophomore at UC Berkeley studying Rhetoric and (hopefully) going on to law school. In terms of academic interest, I love to practice my high school French and learn about South Asian history. I joined the BMUN family last year as a Vice Chair for UNHRC, and I cannot wait to see everyone in action once again this year! Outside of the MUN world, I love to go to the gym, try new restaurants with friends, and watch Netflix. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions that you may have. We look forward to meeting you all!! :) All the best, Alaina ---- Sonika Vuyyuru will be serving as one of your Vice Chairs this conference. She is a junior at UC Berkeley double majoring in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. This will be her third year in BMUN and...

Hihi, delegates!  My name is Niveditha Sukesh and I will be a vice chair on your dias for this year's United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) at BMUN LXXI! I'm excited to interact and meet with you as we learn and debate important topics. So a little about me, I am a Molecular and Cell Biology major, minoring in Public Health. I'm involved in research teams as well as a stem-oriented creative writing club. I've been a Model UN delegate for the past 6 years, so it is exciting to be able to be the other side of conference for the first time. I'm sure we'll all have so much fun! Please don't hesitate to ask questions at  unescobmunlxxi@bmun.org  and I'll see you soon! Sincerely,  Niveditha Sukesh