Welcome to Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Dear Delegates,
My name is Celia Harrison and I would like to wish you an incredibly warm welcome to ILMUNC 2012. I will be your Chair for the SOCHUM committee at what is promised to be the most stimulating and rewarding conference to date and I’m greatly looking forward to sharing this exciting experience with all of you!
First, let me tell you a bit about me. I’m a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences at Penn, majoring in International Relations with a concentration in European Studies and minoring in French. As my major would suggest, I am a bit of an addict to all things international; I come from a town just outside of Oxford in the UK and had a fantastic experience studying in Paris for the whole of last year. In high school I was a national finalist in the European Youth Parliament debate, but wasn’t until my sophomore year of Penn that I hopped on the Model U.N. bandwagon, which has hands down been the best decision I’ve made in college.
I am extremely proud to be your Chair this year and particularly honored to be supporting your Moderator, Zach Stone, president of Penn’s International Affairs Association and an affable man who is guaranteed to make this committee the best ILMUNC has ever seen. We have worked extremely hard over the past months to prepare some incredibly challenging and stimulating debates that you are all sure to enjoy. In particular, we will be focusing on pertinent questions including the “brain drain” as well as the relationship between human rights and the internet. I hope that you are as excited as I am to get stuck in!
If any of you have any questions or concerns about the background guide, further research, or anything else related to the conference, please feel free to get in touch with our USG – Alice Kissilenko.
I look forward to meeting you!
Yours,
Celia Harrison
Chair, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVIII
Dear Delegates,
It is my distinct pleasure to welcome to the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee at ILMUNC 2012! My name is Zach Stone, and I will be your moderator for the weekend.
SOCHUM is by far my favorite UN committee – and thus you have made a great choice for being a delegate on it this weekend. I myself was a delegate on SOCHUM at ILMUNC for four years in high school – so my love for SOCHUM and ILMUNC roots both go way back. I also moderated SOCHUM for the past two years at Penn’s college level conference, UPMUNC.
A little more about myself: I am a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Chinese and minoring in African Studies. Originally from New York City, I have been doing Model U.N. since my freshman year in high school. I have competed in about 25 conferences as a delegate. Most recently, I was the Secretary-General of ILMUNC last year, so I know the conference very well. I also was the head of delegate training for Penn’s intercollegiate Model UN team. When not doing Model UN, you can find me training for marathons, doing Club Gymnastics, and watching endless reruns of Seinfeld.
This year we will have two dynamic topics that hopefully will not only be outside the realm of the typical SOCHUM topics, but also will be intellectually stimulating and will cause you to think outside the box. Our topics will be brain drain and human rights and the internet. As we move towards conference, please use the background guide as a base for your research, but in order to find innovative solutions, I would highly encourage you to delve further into the topics. And if you have any questions about the topics or want to introduce yourself, please do not hesitate to contact our USG – Alice Kissilenko!
I look forward to meeting you in January!
Zach Stone
Moderator, Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVIII
Topic Summaries
Topic A: Brain Drain
The policy dilemma of how to attract and retain skilled labor during this era of globalization has plagued both developed and developing nations since migration became an accessible option for large numbers of people. Individuals are not static entities, but rather mobile and itinerant forces seeking to improve their status. The globalization of markets has further fuelled this flow of professionals, while selective immigration policies favor skilled workers. Professionals are “pushed” out of their home countries by unstable political and economic conditions, unappealing working environments and salaries, and minimal prospects for advancement. They are “pulled” to developed nations by the illusion that they will find funding for research, better educational opportunities, and a higher standard of living. While this “brain circulation” enhances the dissemination of knowledge, it can have dire effects on developing nations if transmuted into a “brain drain” on one side and a “brain gain” on the other. Delegates must decide how to reconcile the wishes of individuals and those of national governments, in order to benefit all members of the global community.
Topic B: The Internet and Human Rights
The United Nations recently issued a report categorizing Internet access as a human right, and withholding it as a violation of international law. Often, states use political unrest or intellectual copyright laws as justifications for disconnecting users from the Internet. Additionally, human rights organizations and critical bloggers have been targets of state-sponsored cyber attacks by oppressive governments. According to the UN, states should be responsible for protecting their citizens from such attacks and maintaining transparency of information. An additional concern when discussing the Internet is the right to privacy, as anonymity is only an illusion when online. Human Rights Watch offers an in-depth analysis of freedom of expression on the Internet for further information on this topic. Delegates will be charged with determining where the line should be drawn between multiple conflicting interests: the freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and national sovereignty.