THIMUN 2018 - Day 6

Friday, February 2, 2018

With today being the fourth day of the conference, everything was in full swing with lively debate, sorting out things that came up in committees, and presentations by some incredible guest speakers throughout the day. Debate in my committee, where I (Stephanie) serve as one of the Deputy Presidents of the Special Conference on Building Civil Society Through Education (SCBCSTE), continued to be lively and engaging, with delegates submitting countless constructive amendments and always eager to make speeches. The Special Conference is a committee that focuses on the theme of the conference, with issues specifically chosen and curated to explore this theme. Therefore, being a student officer chairing the Special Conference at the 50th annual session of THIMUN has been a great honour and an incredibly interesting experience.

The conference today also went well for Deputy President of the Historical Security Council, Jane, who said she enjoys chairing a smaller committee that is knowledgeable and passionate about the issues being discussed. Ryan, representing the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Sustainable Development II, commented on interesting (yet questionable!) points raised by other delegates within his committee during debate.

In addition to fruitful debate occurring in committees today, there were also insightful presentations held by two guest speakers throughout the day. The first presentation, given by Her Royal Highness Princess Mabel, discussed the goals and vision of the organization Girls Not Brides. Being a human-rights activist, HRH Princess Mabel discussed how Girls Not Brides aims to address and eradicate the issue of child marriage by changing the mindsets of people who see child marriage as a societal norm. The second presentation, by two medical students from England, discussed their work on behalf of the charity Naya Qadam Trust in creating prosthetic limbs for impoverished amputees in Bangladesh, using local materials, such as drain pipes and rubber tires. Both presentations were profound and inspiring, reminding us all that we can and should do anything we set our minds to, and that young people do not need to wait for "someday when..." to make a difference.

We are all looking forward to a great last day of the conference tomorrow!

- Stephanie Kannimmel