Newsletter May 2023
Distinguished Delegates,
We are slowly approaching the end of yet another fulfilling semester. As we bid farewell to the semester, we will take a moment to reflect on the past month and all the incredible moments we have shared as a student association.
Final Topic Block
The Nigerian-Biafran War
With exams approaching, we held our last Topic block of the Semester, “The Nigerian-Biafran War”. This topic block was held in a historical security council committee, with the year being 1969. Historically this conflict was never discussed in the security council, however, we decided to try and see what potentially could have come of it. As was expected, the P5 countries entered the debate with their own personal agendas, mainly establishing a sphere of influence within the region and gaining control of Nigerian resources, such as oil. The USSR had proposed the formation of a Socialist League of African Vanguards, with the aim of solidifying Soviet influence within Africa. This was of course received quite negatively by almost every other delegate present, with only African countries entertaining the possibility of such a union. On a more humanitarian-focused goal, Algeria was hard at work attempting to aid the people of Biafra as much as possible, requesting humanitarian corridors to provide aid to those in need. The United States’ main goal during the topic block was to halt any spread of communism within the area and the French were busy maintaining their own influence in the area.
However, as is expected when nations are able to use veto power to ensure that their interests are maintained, the committee was unable to pass a single resolution. Ending up right where the topic block started, the conflict was left in the hands of Nigeria and the international community, but in a less organized manner. It just goes to show that there may have been a reason that this conflict was not brought to the security council.
- Melkon Yengibaryan, Head of Operations
MUN Team UZH at Irchelbar!
On Thursday, 11 May, the MUN Team UZH organized its second Irchelbar takeover for this academic year.
Since the University of Zurich opens the possibility for associations to sell drinks, beer and spirits in order for them to make some profit, we decided to stay in once more. In fact, the evening was a unique opportunity not just for the board to get most of our delegates together, but also to give some of them the chance to work behind the counter of a bar: mixing drinks, preparing glasses of wine, prosecco and serving beer from the tap. As it is, a solidarity mechanism took place! We had more volunteers than needed. Resources collected at the Irchelbar will be used by the next year’s board.
- Humberto Tomé, Head of Fundraising and Events
ZuMUN 2023
Our very own Zurich MUN conference was held from the 27th to the 30th of April. The conference was kicked off with the opening ceremony taking place at the Rathaus in Zurich, where we had the honour of hearing a speech by Prof. Dr. Karsten Donnay, Assistant Professor of Political Behavior and Digital Media in the Department of Political Science UZH and part of the Digital Society Initiative of the University of Zurich. In line with this year's conference theme: the circle of political extremism, Prof. Dr. Donnay talked about the influence and dangers of online hate speech and fake news.
Over the course of four days participants engaged in intense debates on issues ranging from the latent dangers of salt to the current political unrest in Iran or traveled back in time and slipped into the role of a Roman Emperor. Every evening a different social event took place. Including a scavenger hunt through Zurich and hosting Nachtseminar at the Plaza Club on Thursday. Experiencing a night in Beirut on Friday featuring Lebanese cuisine and performances by a belly dancer. And we danced the night away like Great Gatsby at the 1920s themed dessert party on the last evening.
As I bid farewell to my role as Secretary General, I'm filled with gratitude for the memories, friendships, and growth that this experience has given me. It was a pleasure to serve as your Secretary General for the ZuMUN 2023 conference. I would like to express my gratitude to all that participated as either chairs, backroomers or delegates. In particular, I would like to thank all organization committee members, especially the Under-Secretary Generals, for their hard work and dedication to make this conference a success. I also extend my thanks to ETH MUN for their continued collaboration, and to my Co-Secretary-General Soha Ziadeh for her excellent work and being my right-hand woman throughout the past year. Soha and I hand over the reins to Deniz Yildirim (MUN Team UZH) and Varun Agrawal (ETH MUN) for ZuMUN 2024.
For those interested in becoming a part of the Organization Committee for ZuMUN 2024, applications are now open for Under-Secretary-General and OC member positions. To apply, please visit the following links:
We encourage all interested individuals to apply soon, as positions are filling up!
- Natasha Hunziker, Secretary General of ZuMUN 2023
We look forward to a final get-together this semester at the General Assembly. Stay tuned!
See you soon,
Your Board
August, Darya, Tajana, Melkon, Sebastián, Humberto and Aurora
Copyright © *2023* *MUN Team UZH*, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
info@mun-uzh.org
We would like to thank Swiss Re, VSUZH and UZH Alumni
for being our main sponsors this year!
