The THIMUN Youth Assembly (TYA) will be back this January with a new structure. In its new format, the TYA will aspire to provide youth with a unique set of skills that enables them to become active stakeholders. The participants will be offered thematic and project management workshops, which will be organized and delivered by youth with relevant experience and in collaboration with experts. After attending these workshops, participants will be given the opportunity to apply what they learn by drafting pilot community-specific projects. Moreover, the TYA, as usual, aims to provide the participants with the opportunity to network with other youth in a diverse and multi-cultural environment. The following committees have been chosen for January:
The 14th session of the THIMUN Youth Assembly will host the following six working groups:
Diseases and Development
Diseases and Development Disease and ill-health are common motifs associated with less developed countries. A question of interest is if and how diseases effect the development of a country. In this context, development not only includes economic, but also social, human and political development of a country.
Diseases in children such as Helminthes and other forms of parasitic worms have been shown to lead to a decrease in school attendance and academic progress. Ill-health in adults and youth leads to a reduction in their active participation in the workforce and also the financial security of the individual and their family. Diseases such as HIV are unique in their devastating effects on the most potentially economically productive age group in a society.
This connection between diseases and poverty extends past diseases in humans to diseases in livestock and crops. For example, the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, which causes African sleeping sickness in humans, also causes Nangana, killing livestock in sub-Saharan Africa, thus potentially harming a family’s livelihood.
Establishing the connection between diseases and development allows us to consider the role of health care policy and systems in their differing forms. The question of disease and development is not only restricted to less developed countries but also to those that are rapidly developing and the most developed countries. For example, how is China dealing with the recent boom in obesity? Will the United States revamp their current health care system, and if so, what will it entail? This working group aims to increase the appreciation of the importance of global health in the context of development and poverty reduction.
Society, Information and Technology
Technology is everywhere and growing rapidly. Who better to tell the world and harness this phenomenon than the youth? We were born into a life of computers and mobile phones; we make use of Web2.0, including blogs, social networking and the latest file sharing software as if it is second nature to many of us. To the generations before us, however, it is all a very novel and sometimes a daunting concept. As a result, many organisations and governments miss what could be a great way to approach and engage youth in their activities. Those movements that have made use of it – like Barack Obama’s presidential campaign – have proved wildly successful. The recent protests in Iran exemplified the power of technology and the global web of social networks. With media banned, the social networking site Twitter became a channel for updates from Iran and a tool for organisers of protests. Businesses and entrepreneurs have also come to realise the power of such social networks. Indeed, international youth organizations like ours would find it difficult to operate without access to information and technology.
As such, the working group on Society, Information and Technology will investigate the role of information and technology in today’s society and how it is changing the ways by which we interact and conduct ourselves. As a youth organisation aiming to facilitate participation among young people, THIMUN Youth Network acknowledges the value of technology, particularly Web2.0, in targeting youth and as a resource for youth. How technology is effecting communication, activism and participation among youth and between youth and other stakeholders will be discussed.
Responsible Supply and Demand
The world economy keeps on growing and yet growth does not seem to be delivering on its promise. Despite decades of global integration, the gap between the wealthy and the poor has increased dramatically. Efforts to alleviate poverty and close this gap including free and fair trade practices have mushroomed in a number in recent years. Unfortunately, only a few people are well-informed about what these are about and the academic debate regarding their impact and future.
Recently, new global challenges, including climate change, have emerged into the aforementioned context. Many people challenge the logic behind development paradigms used by many countries since the World War II based on their ramifications and the lack of solutions threatens our existence on this planet. In light of these paradigms and challenges, the working group on Responsible Supply and Demand will analyze how we, either as consumers or producers, can address these issues. Many popular concepts including commerce, economies of scale, outsourcing, free and fair trade, and liberalization are likely to be scrutinized in detail by this working group in finding ways to overcome prominent developmental challenges.
Environmental Sustainability & Human Development
Human settlements continue to expand while natural landscapes are dwindling. The effects of the changing climate and pollution are becoming evident worldwide. Administrations worldwide are challenged to find the right balance between economic growth, positive social development and environmental sustainability. The successful planning of these different but equally important environments will involve many participants. The opinions of youth will be especially essential when trying to create sustainable urban and natural environments. Many have voiced concern over the cost of newer, more sustainable growth, but increased interest in the environment will not compromise the state of nations’ economies but allow them to be maintained for future generations.
As the current financial crisis demonstrates, a more sustainable method of development will not only be based on an economic model, but rather on a model that incorporates the many facets of human society, including its role in the global ecosystem. The working group on Environmental Sustainability and Human Development will research how we, as humans, have approached conserving the natural environment and developing human settlements. Issues of green building, climate change, natural disasters, and energy and resource policy are likely to be investigated.
Culture Awareness, Human Rights and Globalisation
The world is ever getting smaller through technology and global commerce, two things that have facilitated the interaction between different groups of people like never before in human history. Globalization has brought a heightened amount of cross-cultural interaction and the counter preservation of heritage movements. Many wonder if globalisation is a form of westernization, and if so, what happens to historical cultural and customs? Does a civic standard such as the barring of capital punishment, respect of human rights and the enforcement of civil liberties triumph over other aspects of governance?
“Never again” was the rallying cry of the first human rights laws following the Second War World. “Never again” would such horrors as the Holocaust be allowed to happen. Sadly, human right abuses have still transpired throughout the world since the creation of those first few laws and the International Criminal Court in The Hague is as busy as ever.
As Elie Wiesel wrote: “This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century—solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others.
With the world changing ever so fast and with globalization propelling it, the youth are now finding themselves in a position to influence the world by the same tool which is thrusting these global changes onto the world, and it is here is your chance to have your work count.
Gender issues
‘The day will come when men will recognise woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race.’
- Susan B. Anthony
Despite the numerous international agreements re-affirming women’s equality to men and their human rights, women are still considered second class citizens in many parts of the world and have a much higher possibility of being illiterate or impoverished than men. At the same time, they are the most likely to be denied of access to education, healthcare, training, financial independence and property ownership. Last but not least, violence against women remains a very real issue for many if not all communities around the globe.
Yet, gender inequality does not merely affect the female population. As a matter of fact, gender inequality has a diffuse effect on the whole of society. When the status and well-being of women is low, family sizes tend to be large, thus making it more difficult for the entire society to prosper. As such, population issues, sustainable development and maternal health programs can only be more effective when they address the educational opportunities for and the status of women; in other words their empowerment. Gender empowerment is a key in making a step towards a society of equality for all genders and some of its main components (as set out by the UN Population Agency – UNFPA) include such things as economic, educational and political empowerment as well as empowerment in reproductive health and in the stewardship of natural resources.
The working group on Gender Issues will research the many forms of gender inequity/inequality still present in today’s world. Furthermore, they will investigate which methods of empowerment have proven successful in the past as well as work to discover what part grassroots projects and direct lobbying can play in this important search for equality.