An Anniversary, Another Anniversary, and Kim Il-Sung
NAMUN's All-Staff Meeting Kicks off Conference Preparations
The Charter of the United Nations entered into force on October 24, 1945. On its 69th Anniversary, the 2015 North American Model United Nations (NAMUN) staff met in the Bahen Centre for its first meeting.
Secretary-General Larysa Workewych expressed her hopes and expectations for this year’s Conference at the beginning of the evening, urging staff members to cherish the friendships they'd make and experiences they'd have.
“When you join NAMUN, you're not just joining a club," she said. "You're joining a community.” After Workewych’s speech, the staff divided into nine teams to compete to build the best Play-Doh sculpture of a famous landmark, icon, or symbol.
The results ranged from a collapsing statue of Kim Il-Sung, symbolizing North Korea’s collapsing regime, to a Big Mac with fries in homage to the world's globalized, capitalist society, to the album cover of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.” Ultimately, a monument of Godzilla ravaging the city of Tokyo stole the spotlight and the prize. At the end of the competition, it was clear that NAMUN is a Conference built on a strong sense of community, with a healthy mix of class and sass.
Most members of the team come to the Conference with their own goals, from the desire to gain experience and meet new people, to the ambition to outdo previous years’ secretariats in hosting a fantastic Conference.
This is a special year for the North American Model United Nations team. The 2015 edition will be the 30th Anniversary of the Conference. Schools from McGill, to Brown, to the London School of Economics, and so many more have attended and have loved past conferences. The NAMUN team hopes that this year will be its finest effort yet.