Just as expected, VMUN 2022 made history again for the 21st time. Hundreds of students from across Vancouver and other countries attended the conference to delve into a crafted, yet tangible world of politics. In spite of UNESCO and UN Habitat having been taken out of the committee list, the organizers of the conference still succeeded in providing all delegates with an unmatched experience. Here is what some Sentinel students had to say in terms of some of their highlights from the conference:
HOC (House of Commons)
I was in HOC despite having requested to be put in UNESCO, but it was a blessing in disguise. Even though we had to delve into hours of debate, I cannot recall a single second in which a part of me did not want to be there. HOC is known for having completely different procedures from other committees, and it is far more flexible and welcoming as well. In terms of the topic, we were mainly discussing “Drug and Substance Reform,” and as expected in the House of Commons, the delegates took the stance of their political party and department that they were assigned before the conference. We would go to separate rooms within our departments to discuss the bill that was created from our “position papers,” (we write our ideas in a structured form in them) and then went back to the main committee room to update everyone else on the changes we wanted to make. Early on, I mentioned that we were “mainly” discussing Drug and Substance Reform because during question sessions, everyone would go completely off topic. Rather than asking questions, it was an opportunity for everyone to jokingly bash other delegates, which made the overall experience more lighthearted and memorable. It is also worth mentioning that for our crisis (on the last day of the conference, you are given a political problem to solve with your committee), we were suddenly hit with Québec separating, and it was interesting to see the Bloc Québecois on one side with the whole committee against them. To finish off, I believe my summary would not be complete without mentioning the Leader of the Green Party (in the House of Commons) because he single-handedly made everyone’s VMUN experience. We had an ongoing struggle with him (jokingly) attacking everyone that had plastic cups, and he would walk around and throw them in his signature recycling bin. He was also “murdered” at the end of our morning crisis, and he gave his final speech as a corpse.
Here is a picture for demonstration (credit to Jonah Anderson)
The Leader of the Green Party also had everyone shame the secretariat obnoxiously loud for not bowing to the mace upon exiting (it is a tradition to bow to the mace upon entrance and exit, and if you don’t, you get shamed). I definitely recommend everyone to take HOC next year; it was an amazing experience. Here is another picture from one of the question periods:
UNHRC
Here is our interview with Juliana Park, one of the delegates of UNHRC:
Juliana Park: “So basically, my committee was UNHRC and we discussed two topics. Topic A was about protecting female political leaders, and topic B was about human rights in refugee camps. One of the highlights of our committee was probably the crisis meeting because we were discussing the emergency topic of refugee camp riots and it was just really fun! I was representing Japan and there were just lots of ideas to discuss, and overall I really enjoyed the VMUN conference. I can't wait to go again next year!”
-Do you recall any comedic moments during the debate that kind of “broke the ice” in the room, or perhaps another highlight from the debate sessions in general?
Juliana Park: “Basically there was a really intense argument between Syria and Rwanda when we were discussing topic A and they were insulting each other, and Rwanda ended up apologizing.”
-That sounds intense! What was the topic?
Juliana Park: “Topic A was about protecting female political leaders and Rwanda basically said they didn’t support religion getting involved in politics, but religion is a huge part of Syria.”
-Interesting, thanks for the summary! Hope to see you next year again at VMUN.
US Senate:
Here is what Alice Lee, one of our very own Sentinel Sun writers, had to say about her experience:
Alice Lee: “VMUN 2022 was a great experience, especially for my first year of doing MUN! I was in the US Senate Committee, where we discussed topics such as voting reform, gerrymandering, and renewable technologies. To me, the US Senate was a really interesting committee as it involved different procedures compared to general committees and the discussions were mainly split into two partisan opinions, either Democratic or Republican. We had an outdated flag hung up on the wall of our conference room, and it irked the American delegates of our committee so much. And the flag kept falling off the wall and the DIAS
(the executive members of the committee) had to keep re-taping it back on.”
-The topics sound very unique, and the flag definitely seems like it was an amusing ice-breaker! Thanks for sharing.
INTEL
Here is what Jude Gamache, one of the leaders of the Sentinel MUN Club, shared with us (Jude also won the Best Delegate award, congratulations!):
Jude Gamache: “Our committee was organized between western (capitalist) and eastern (socialist) blocs during the Cold War, which allowed for intense debate and ideological disagreement. The committee was based around intelligence agencies during the Cold War and featured constant plotting by the intelligence agencies in the committee in private while government delegates publicly justified their countries’ stance. During the first crisis, I, as the Soviet Union, had to deal with an uprising in Hungary during 1956, which resulted in a fierce back and forth with western delegates such as the United States and United Kingdom on the ideological basis and legitimacy of the revolutionaries. In the end, I invaded Hungary while propping up a new Communist puppet government. Other crises included the Suez Canal crisis, the Vietnam war, and the Cuban missile crisis where I as the Soviet Union had to act in accordance with anti-imperialist Marxist-Leninist principles while the western powers accused me of destabilization as I often provided the socialist powers such as Cuba and Vietnam with weapons. Along with many other ideological disagreements, this resulted in hours of continuous debate where delegates were frequently condemned publicly. This got so intense that delegates of the socialist bloc were forced to quote Vladimir Lenin and Marx himself to justify their stances while the intelligence agencies were plotting to destabilize enemies at all costs and ensure the victory of allies.”
-What is your secret to winning Best Delegate?
Jude Gamache: “I believe that having firm positions, good collaboration, and high energy in terms of pursuing your goals in committee sessions is paramount. I also strongly believe that 'politics is war,' and therefore in debate, you should be firm in your stance and seek to deconstruct your opposition's arguments.”
-Wow! Thank you for the tips, and congratulations again.
And that is a wrap on our VMUN 2022 interviews! Hopefully, this helped everyone envision a better picture of major committees in VMUN, and we strongly encourage you to give VMUN a try next year. Congratulations again to all of our Sentinel student delegates; you guys crushed it!
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