Written by: Ella Hirmsato
Edited by: Aastha Gokani
Photographs by: Zara Yap
The date is the 19th of November 2019, the day has finally come- the first day of the annual THIMUN Singapore conference. Each and every delegate, chair, admin and press member is full of excitement as they walk towards the SALT centre and they see the array of multicoloured objects impressively stacked to perfection- the THIMUN water bottles. One may think that these are simply “just water bottles” but this is far from the truth.
It is important to appreciate the environmental benefits of the THIMUN water bottles. We buy about 1 million single use plastic bottles every minute. These bottles contribute to 80 percent of microplastic pollution. But fear no more, as now we are defying this trend by using the reusable THIMUN water bottles. We can all grip our water bottles tight with pride and comfort knowing we are playing our part in ensuring a sustainable future for a planet suffocating in single-use plastic.
Furthermore, there is a certain beauty behind how participants choose the colour of their water bottles— whether neon pink, sea blue, or lavender. When asked to justify their choice, participants like Jade Henry (MUNITY reporter, Lycée Français de Singapour) explained that she just had to get her blue water bottle the moment she saw it. The water bottles to Henry are a way of expressing herself, and by choosing the blue one, she shows that she is different and strives to be unique. But sometimes this choice doesn’t go to such a philosophical extent. Ella Lamdan (delegation of Chile in HRC, Lycée Français de Singapour) explained that red was a “cool color,” and that she already got the blue and purple ones from the past years at THIMUN Singapore.
Evidently these are not “just water bottles” but rather an opportunity for participants to be unique and promote a sustainable future.
