United Nations Development Programme

Here’s some news about the delegate dance from our USG of Special Events, Charlene:

BMUN is happy to announce that this year’s theme for the Saturday Night Delegate Activities will be “Let’s CAN Hunger” where decorations and costumes will represent favorite foods from around the world. In support of this year’s conference cause, World Food Program, the theme aims to show solidarity in the fight against world hunger. Any food related-wear is appropriate and some possible things to dress up as include fruits, salt and pepper, M&M’s, the color representing your favorite food group, food mascots, your favorite Wheatie’s champion, or even farmers from around the world –although, creativity is definitely encouraged!

This year’s activities will include the delegate dance, entitled “You Are What You Eat,” and a casino with Blackjack and Roulette. There will be raffle prizes, a free photo booth and a refreshment stand. Of course, there will also be a dance floor and a DJ.

To address hunger in our own local community, BMUN will also be having a canned food drive Saturday night. Delegates who bring in canned and other non-perishable foods will be given an extra $50 worth of BMUN casino money for every item they donate.

The activities will take place on Saturday, March 6th. The doors to Pauley Ballroom will open at 8:00 p.m. and all activities will end at 11:00 p.m.

Hey Delegates,

This article on Asia Sentinel discusses a classic dilemma of environmental preservation and economic development.
Obviously oil and gas are integral parts of country development, but Indonesian government is well aware of the fact that oil processing causes water pollution, among other things.
However, the article also discusses the political situation of Indonesia, which makes everything much more complicated (than it should be, perhaps).

Issues like this is definitely something that you, as UNDP delegates, have to think about.

Less than a week left!
If you have last minute questions about the conference, feel free to ask us.

RW

Hi Delegates!

I hope you’ve been following the news in recent days because there is an exciting election fast approaching in Iraq. The documentary nominated for an Academy Award in 2007, No End in Sight, covers issues of American Occupation in Iraq from 2003. These include lack of planning (U.S. officials spent only 60 days coming up with OHRA- Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs- when they spent 2 years post-WWII coming up with an occupation plan for Germany).

The violence and insurgency that ensued in Iraq is directly tied to the lack of a strong development plan, affecting health and environmental standards of the entire population. Unemployment, food shortages, lack of clean water and sanitation, and the absence of city-planning all are examples of the hardships the people have been dealing with since America invaded. Many of the post-war issues are still rampant and are becoming deciding factors in the election for pathways to reconstruction and development.

Please review this article and think about the impact such localized programs as the “Iraqi Center for Women’s Rehabilitation and Employment” have on the future of gender equalization and political-economic development. Contrast these grassroots programs to national-level policy and the importance of international influence:
After the fall of Mr. Hussein in 2003, when women’s groups called for a quota in Parliament — originally seeking 40 percent of seats — they expected support from the United States, Ms. Souhail said (Safia Taleb al-Souhail, a member of Parliament whose father was killed after plotting a coup against Saddam Hussein, and who is now seeking re-election). But American officials put other priorities ahead of women’s rights, Ms. Souhail and others said.

Yesterday, an article in the NY Times mentioned the increase in violence in Iraq. How important is the stabilization of society in the Middle East for the rest of the world? Is this a good model for development? What steps are necessary for long-term success?

Happy Friday Delegates!

India might offer tax break for women in an effort to encourage investment, etc, by women.

What do you think of the idea?
While it is a great idea, is monetary advantage all that women need? What about cultural view towards women in these areas?
Also, there’s a difference between feminism and discrimination towards men. Is tax break crossing the line?

Just thought it’ll be a good food for thought over the weekend.

RW

Hello delegates!

With only sixteen more days until BMUN 58, I thought I’d just share an article that deals more generally with the effects of micro-finance on women. Entitled CARE Empowers Women and Girls with Microfinance, the article’s pays particular interest to the impact it has on fighting extremism, aiding in development, and the attention microfinance as a viable solution to poverty alleviation.

I hope you are all as excited as we are for the upcoming conference! Remember if you have any trouble posting a comment, you can always email it to he committee email!

Ryan Mattison

Hi Delegates!

Now’s the time in your research process that you should be investigating previous papers/resolutions/publications from the United Nations to get ideas for your resolutions. I found this draft paper particularly pertinent to our committee because it shows how inter-related the two topics are. I hope that you take some time to look it over.

“The draft discussion paper addresses: health impacts; social and human consequences of climate change, including migration and displacement, shifts in farming and land use, and increased livelihood, household and caring burdens; responses to climate change; and gaps in understanding and urgent needs to be addressed.”

As we review your policy papers, please continue to stay on top of your current events.

The blog should be working now, so continue to post! And as always, feel free to contact us with any questions.

Erin
Head Chair
UNDP, BMUN
bmun58undp@gmail.com

Hey Delegates,

BMUN Blog as a whole has been dealing with comments issue a lot, and I’m aware of the fact that some of you are tough time figuring out what’s going on.

Basically, once you submit a comment, it has to be approved by the moderators (chairs) of the blog. This prevents spams from showing up (and trust me we’ve had a good amount in this blog so far). So don’t worry if your comment doesn’t show up right away; Ryan, Erin or I will approve it as soon as possible.

If for some reason your comment was completely rejected, just send it to our email address (bmun58undp[at]gmail.com).

Stay tuned for more updates!

Ryo W.

Hey guys,
Though this doesn’t directly relate to development, female presence in politics is something to take notice, especially in developing countries where females have had little power in the past.
New York Times has a series called Female Factor that deals with women in politics, and last Sunday they posted an article on women and politics in Bulgaria and many countries in Asia, with some emphasis on Muslim nations.

Decision-makers can, and do, affect development of countries, and it is interesting to see that women, so far, do not really rule that much differently compared to men. But I just thought I’d share with this you all anyway.

Oh, and uh, balancing development and environment is really tough. In case you didn’t know that already.

Three day weekend is almost there, so keep up your good work in school!

Hey folks,
I hope you are all enjoying the Super Bowl now.

I’m going to take advantage of the halftime to give you guys a rather encouraging article. BBC reports Costa Rica’s effort on going green.
While the regulation seems to be a obstacle in development, Costa Rica seems to be doing just fine balancing development and environmental sustainability.

How can other countries, like China, follow suit? Is it possible to balance development and sustainability in larger countries?

This article presents an argument from the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, saying “Industrialised countries should recognise their role in the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and respond with bolder initiatives to cut back on future emissions.” Considering the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its Indian chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, have come “under intense criticism for a false claim in its 2007 report that Himalayan glaciers would disappear as early as 2035,” do you think Indian officials have the authority to be making such comments? How would your nation respond? What kind of global policy action would be appropriate?

Delegates, as we get closer to the conference it is important to keep in mind that it is your job to use your research to come up with policy suggestions. Really think about the issues covered in the synopses and these posts and try to address them while staying within your country’s policy.