Author: munityeast

Written by: Ping Tsai

Edited by: Priyanka Krishna

The house burst into laughter as delegates made supporting speeches for the creation of an “OK-BOOMER Council.” Several delegates joined the fun, but many complained that there has been little progress in passing resolutions. 

Over the course of four days, delegates have worked tirelessly to represent their countries. Yet, as the conference progressed, multiple committees have encountered the problem of “trolling:” the act of making off-topic or inappropriate remarks during debate. Several delegates have described trolling as “the most fun” or as “necessary to keep delegates away from boredom.”

Ophelia Burchell (delegate of Madagascar of GA6, Australian International School of Malaysia) thought that “the funniest part of the conference so far was when Equatorial Guinea roasted Kuwait and referred to the dead whale in the audience.” Similarly, Fred Fang (delegate of Bangladesh of GA1, Yew Chung International School of Shanghai-Pudong) said that his chairs allowed delegations to submit “meme amendments,” which are characterized by irrelevant content or funny acronyms; he described one time when a delegate “tried to use prisoners in order to test out artificial intelligence.” 

However, other delegates were concerned that excessive trolling would distort the purpose of debate. In the HRC, Dylan Yu (delegate of Ukraine of HRC, The British School Manila) remembered that some delegates “entered different committees and pretended to be Ireland.” In some more extreme cases, some delegates believe that their committees were constantly trapped in the cycle of trolling: “After the first resolution, everything is just a troll,” Centauri Liu (delegate of Switzerland of GA4, International School of Beijing) suggested. Anngu Chang (delegate of China of SC, Pacific American School), communicating his concern, cited trolling as an obstacle to maintaining a serious discussion. He explained that “although there was not a lot of trolling on the first day, as it goes to the second and the third day, what you notice is that everyone is doing it. It’s really hard to be serious.”  

Even though “work hard, play hard” may be a life philosophy of many delegates, trolling could become a problem if it has gone too far. To ensure productivity and preserve the meaning of MUN — practicing diplomacy, enhancing critical thinking, and improving public speaking — delegates and chairs must be aware of the extent to which “having fun” is appropriate. 

Written by: Joey Lin

Eight out of 30. 50 out of 60. 88 out of 100. These are the results of some quick surveys conducted in THIMUN Singapore XV committees about whether they have read MUNITY East this year, whether they prefer the admin meme account to the publication, and whether they prefer to read MUNITY East on the website or in print. 

Specifically, out of 30 delegates in the Security Council, 13 have seen at least one MUNITY issue, and 16 planned on reading it eventually; 22 delegates preferred the Admin staff’s THIMUN meme account to MUNITY East. Out of 30 delegates randomly selected from the General Assembly Second Committee, the responses were even more bleak. Only eight of them have already read MUNITY East this year, and 11 promised to read it in the future. An overwhelming majority of 25 delegates out of 30 would rather view the meme account than read the articles. 

The International Criminal Court, a more selective committee, produced slightly better results for the press team: six out of nine participants have read MUNITY East this year, eight of them were planning on reading it, but seven also preferred the meme account. 

Furthermore, 24 out of 25 surveyed delegates of the Economic and Social Council preferred a print version of MUNITY East, instead of the digital version that the press team decided to transform to. 

The hope of MUNITY East seemingly lay only on the directors. Out of 17 directors, 14 preferred the digital version to the print version, citing “good for the environment” and “easy to share with parents” as the primary reasons. Mr. Buscher, the MUNITY East Coordinator, opting for the digital version, poignantly recalled that “copies [of the magazine] were laying around the campus [last year].” 

On that note, the 3 directors who preferred print wished to see more alternatives, like social media, which they would prefer over website and print. Mr. Newman, the coordinator of MUNITY the Hague, chose the digital version over the print version due to environmental concerns and the ability to make modifications after the deadline.

To change the fact that more than half of the delegates do not want to read MUNITY East, Mr. Buscher expressed that the meme account taking away the attention to MUNITY East should be called to account for its name “thimunadmeme.xv,” since THIMUN Singapore did not authorize it. He also attributed a part of the low publicity to the press team for the lack of promotion. In the future, MUNITY East will need to consider how to grab readers’ attention, in order to gain more traction.

Written by: Priyanka Krishna

The circular tables were set throughout the ballroom. The chandelier dangled from the ceiling.  The polished marble floor reflected all of the light, as the stage was set with drums. At eight at night on Thursday, many participants of THIMUN Singapore arrived at the Orchid Country Club to attend the THIMUN Dinner and Dance. It was an opportunity for participants to take a break from the hectic days of debating and lobbying.

The night started with a buffet dinner serving a wide range of options: non-vegetarian halal, vegetarian Indian, and lactose-intolerant, along with an array of desserts. The dinner was exceedingly popular among the attendees, as Baptiste Gaud (Delegate of Poland of GA4, Lycée Français de Singapour) and Adrian Divo (Delegate of DR Congo of GA4, Lycée Français de Singapour) expressed, “The naan was really good, and the pasta was too.” Whilst there was a variety of options catering to different dietary requirements, a major source of disappointment was the extensive queues for the food. “The food went out really fast, and the queue was really long,” noted Gaud and Divo. 

The formal mood of the dinner was soon overwhelmed by a stirring performance by a Singaporean drumming group. As Aishani Sambasivam (Delegate of Paraguay of ECOSOC, Australian International School Malaysia) stated, the drum performance “was spectacular! Everybody joined in and the crowd was fully supportive. They were amazingly coordinated.” The performance started as the drummers vigorously walked through the ballroom, gradually making their way up to the stage. They concluded by raising the roof with another drumming rendition characterized by colored lights and their contagious spirit. This exciting presentation successfully boosted the energy in the room, and prepared everyone for the dance.

“Dancing was fun,” noted Zain Karim (Delegate of Paraguay of ECOSOC, Australian International School of Malaysia), “I loved the energy and the music.” Karim was not the only one who was greatly thrilled by the dancing. In fact, almost everyone who attended grouped at the front of the ball raving with utmost enthusiasm to EDM music. Nial Cane (UNICEF, Yew Chung International School of Shanghai). stated it was a “very eventful night.” Cane also noted the “whale [stuffed toy] being ripped open” after it was thrown among the dancers. All in all, Cane elaborated, “The atmosphere last night was great.”

As the night of great fun socialising with delegates met from all over the world came to an end, the participants left by one bus at a time. As Karim stated, “It was an awesome night and it was indeed a night to remember.”

Written by: Jade Henry

Edited by: Aastha Gokani

One thing that every boomer, millennial and gen Z can identify with is memes. Memes can be made of images, videos or pieces of text created for comedic relief and can be spread all over social media platforms by Internet users. Often, users make slight variations to beloved memes, generating an endless stream of different memes. My generation as a whole has been shaped by memes.

When Sohan D’Silva (delegate of Cuba of GA3, United Nations International School of Hanoi) was asked his point of view of the effect memes on our generation, he replied by saying “The way we speak and [how] we communicate with each other.” For example, D’Silva talked about the dark side of the memes— the racist, sexist, neo-nazi, and all the other morbid ideologies that can harm a person’s way of life. He argued that while people may claim that “it’s just funny” or “it’s just a joke,” the way Internet users spread or create memes negative messages without accountability is not right. 

In today’s age, humour is a very sensitive subject. A delegate that wishes to remain anonymous stated that “We all have different types of humour and it’s more manageable in today’s age, [however] complicated politics [dismisses this].” 

Regarding differences in humour, THIMUN’s very own meme page creator acknowledged that while “Memes have brought joy into the sometimes mundane life that we lead, and it’s always nice to know that there’s a large community that always has your back no matter your background,” there are also instances when “memes may be taken too literal[ly] by some, and especially for the more extreme ones, may result in discord due to a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication of ideas.” However, he eventually concluded that “Interpretation and context are key in understanding memes, and they decide whether or not the memes affect positively or negatively.” 

All in all, to prevent the spread of negative memes, two sides need to step up. The creators of memes should refrain from sinister subjects, become more careful when assessing how their memes will be interpreted. The collector of memes, on the other hand, have to use memes that are appropriate to the context of their conversations and stop spreading negative memes.

Written by: Isabella Wood

Rich cultures that hold a range of different values, beliefs and ideologies are becoming a product of the past. In a time of human life that relies on technology, some of us are beginning to forget the culture and heritage that brought us together in the first place. Fortunately, people are beginning to realise that culture is being lost at a rapid rate, and have banded together to digitise it. An example of a successful movement to digitalise culture and heritage is the Singapore Memory Project.

The Singapore Memory Project is a movement that encourages users to submit their memories of Singapore and link them to historical events that happened in the nation and other cultural aspects of Singaporean life. Users can submit their own memories to the blog iremember.sg or enlist the help of the movement’s partners in order to connect their memory to a significant event. The memories of people are important to enable these cultural practices and heritage sites to be protected. 

Delegates at the conference are supportive of measures— like the Singapore Memory Project— to protect cultural heritage. Joran Hsu (Admin Team, Hwa Chong Institution) is a Singaporean and part of the admin team. He views his nation as a “melting pot of cultures” and it  “is evident in Singapore’s local food.” Hsu believes that culture and heritage “should not be sacrificed in the wave of economic development”, because the loss of culture could lead to the loss of national identity and belonging. Terence Ong (Admin team, Hwa Chong Institution) comments on a Singaporean value called “Kampong spirit”, being friendly and compassionate. Ong stresses the importance of digitalising culture and identity like the Kampong spirit, as it is “the only thing that bonds us together with the past generations”. Furthermore, Natalie Ang (Delegate of Singapore of GA6, Cedar Girls Secondary School) thinks that “Racial harmony should be protected” in conjunction with the protection of culture and heritage. Ang’s sentiment is shared by many participants. When delegates from Singapore were asked what historical sites in Singapore they want to be protected, most said Little India and Chinatown.

Hsu, Ong and Ang’s testimonies about the importance of culture and heritage in Singapore further establish why the digitalisation of culture and heritage is essential. 

Written by: Josh Tang

Photographs by: Jerry Lin

There is an array of different ways to commute in the world, and each country has its unique commute culture. From the MRT to the tuk-tuk, the contrast between nations’ forms of transportation is prominent. You may wonder: is there a reason behind the disparity in commute culture or have the modes of transportation been chosen purely by chance?

Campbell Reed (delegate of Burkina Faso of HRC, Stamford American International School), a citizen of Singapore and a previous resident of the US, guessed that “the MRT or bus is the most popular type of transportation because there are a lot more people here so they are able to be brought around in larger numbers, in the streets were less crowded so we took the car there”. This shows that commute culture does not occur by chance, but depends on the environment, surroundings or situation the country is in. India’s commute culture leads us to the same conclusion. The most popular mode of transportation in India is a private car. According to Branav Berry (delegate of Mexico of GA2, Mahindra International School), “public transport is really bad in my country (India), so most people try to take their private cars when they can”. 

Overall, every country’s commute culture is different, and is built around the circumstances and setting the nation is in.

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Written by: Ella Hirmasto

Edited by: Priyanka Krishna

Often, when we think about the THIMUN Singapore conference we think about how much the delegates are learning, how much the delegates are improving and what new skills the delegates are developing. You may wonder what your teachers all do whilst you’re busy at debate. Surely there’s nothing for them to learn? This might be exactly what you’d think before you walk into the Best Delegate Workshop, which was hosted by  Kevin Felix Chan.

Chan is the co-founder of Best Delegate, a Model United Nations (MUN) organisation that helps students and schools effectively run MUN conferences. Chan has extensive MUN experience ranging from high school clubs, college clubs, to even serving as a secretary-general at a MUN conference at the United Nations headquarters. To Chan, the Best Delegate Workshops are extremely beneficial, as ”a lot of directors have no MUN experience themselves and they need to understand the fundamentals of MUN”. Chan hopes to explain a wide range of topics, including the flow of debate, research, resolution writing, and where to start researching. Once these many concepts are explained directors are able to “support their students more,” elaborated Chan.

To see the impact of these workshops on the directors, I decided to talk to Yin Meng (MUN Director, Harrow Int. School Hong Kong), who confirmed to have learnt quite a lot as a result of the workshop. Meng highlighted the importance of research before attending a conference and now knows how to “support students to complete thorough research”. One of the research techniques introduced was MUN speeches, programmes, events, agreements, and reports (SPEAR). This MUN SPEAR suggests appropriate starting points for researching a country’s stance on a chosen issue. 

The implementation of simple strategies such as SPEAR will ensure that directors fully prepare delegates before they attend conferences, which will highly improve their MUN experience.