Informal speeches during the Sudan conference!

- We have talked vaguely about what preemptive actions we are taking to implement the usage of BIOFUELS. Sudan is currently working on certain operative clauses with the fellow delegates of Uruguay. In these resolution we include most of the infrastructural development to implement the usage of BIOFUELS. We encourage all nations to voice your opinion as well, and start the work in progress!

- Sudan has appealed to the usage of microloans to fund the productivity of these substainable energy sources. In fact in Europe 2/3 of the population is working, but they continue to be poor. We need to understand that being a developing country doesn't mean we are poor, and by the government giving funds to the working class, in this case farmers, we can make a lucrative outflow to the economy!

-Just to clarify upon micro financing, these individual loans given to the local people, are other alternatives for developing countries to estimulate their economy. Bearing in mind that we need funds to allocate water facilities, and other factors needed to feed animals in order to extract the fat and use the rest for edible products, we need to come with a consensus to meet all of these standards.

- We need to be less inclined on first generation BIOFUELS which involve edible resources like corn, and think about other alternatives. We have talked to Iran, China, Chad, Uruguay and others, whom have really great points. As Sudan we stand in a neutral state and are open to other resolutions as well. Sudan also believes that we need to think about other fundamental issues such as education, food security, allocation of water and other substanable energy resources not including tallow.

- I believe we are here to discuss the importancy of BIOFUELS and not infringe upon internal deputies, we need to respect a countries popular sovereignty and not call them out. We should all focus our attention in the problem at hand, which is BIOFUELS!

Economics class essay!

Date: 4/27/09 Economics 101

The article “Burgernomics says currencies are very dear in Europe but cheap in Asia” refers to the principles of the Big Mac Index and the ramifications that could emerge if certain currencies are undervalued by the International monetary Fund (IMF). In the article, the theory of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is introduced, and it showed how the only reason why the PPP existed was to reach a stalemate in world economics, and find a way in which “exchange rates could move to make the price of a basket of goods the same in each country”. According to the article only a hand full of currencies are close to the Big Mac PPP, and from the seven most predominant currencies, only Australia (10%), South Korea (12%) and Singapore (18%) have had an undervalue in their Big Mac prices. The other countries are suffering greatly the overvalued prices of their currency referring to the Big Mac. At this time the U.S. is one of the fortunate countries to have a fair opportunity, and could buy lots of Burgers in the rest of Asia at a justifiable price. Which makes the USA dollar “Sandwiched in between”, and since the big drop in 2002, it “was left close to its medium-term equilibrium level”- said Mr. John Lipsky.

What economists are not taking in consideration is that not all theories are constant and there might be other factors that play a role in the aftermath of these pivotal events in International economics. Just as humans are imperfect, theories can also have their flaws, for example, the PPP may measure where the currencies would end up in the future, but they cannot control what goes on in domestic affairs, such as rents, low wages, and poor countries that have a hard time upgrading their currencies. In my opinion I believe that economists can’t only base their assumptions in old theories because nothing is perfect, and sometimes intuition or experience in a criterion can lead us in the right way. I don’t completely oppose the idea of using theories, because they do have a reason, and economic theories have shaped the way the economy is run today, but relaying too much on one theory is very narrowed minded and may sometimes benefit some but not others. I also agree that it is very arbitrary that only certain countries have the opportunity to prosper economically while others plummet economically. Every nation should have an equal opportunity in the Big Mac Index and their currencies should be balanced out, but since that it impossible, it would at least be rational to address these issues and for the International Monetary Fund to come up with a solution that involves equity.

Opening Speech for the UNA_USA Conference

  Good afternoon fellow delegates;

            The country of Sudan is gradually being submerged by the Saharan desert, which by now covers most of North Africa. Due to this natural catastrophe the ramifications are severely damaging Sudan in various ways, one way is that desertification dries the land, and two, necessary resources are scarce to feed our people. Certain key points that we need to address would be the unequal hand of which many countries have dealt with, when discussing BIOFUELS.  This source of green energy does not only take time, but also land and many resources. We all need to bare in mind the fact, that not all countries have been geographically favored by nature; therefore it becomes a laborious task to allocate resources for the people. We are not to judge anyone for how little or much support they have contributed to the production of BIOFUELS, because we cannot categorize every country as an illustrious one, in fact the GDP per average person in Sudan is 1900, while in the USA is 46,000, which is 24 x what a Sudanese person can make. We as a developing country cannot leave our people to starve, and spend our scant resources on BIOFUELS, which is not a necessity for us in the short term. The transition between using oil to operate machinery and using agri-fuels is not written on stone, it is more as an ultimatum that not every individual would consider as right.

     Countries like China and Great Britain have industrialized thanks to the burning of fossil fuels, and even though the government might put certain restrictions on the usage of these un-renewable resources, it is very doubtful that every Corporation will consider this as the righteous thing to do. Sudan being a dependent user of crude oil for exporting facilities, cannot drift away from the idea of using oil, because that is the only way our GDP can grow. But we do not completely oppose the thought of using green energy to reduce carbon foot prints, in fact in 2008 we signed a bilateral agreement with Egypt, which states that we will invest 150 million for producing ethanol, (a source of BIOFUEL), which is still a work in progress. The country of Sudan encourages the members of the United Nations to be unbiased when agreeing upon the usage of BIOFUELS, and to also consider other organic energy resources such as Solar power, which cannot become scarce unless the sun is completely vanished from the Solar System.

Thank you for your time, and I yield my time to questions!  

"Informal debate notes"

Left corner note (up):
To: Kuwait
From: Sudan
We saw that you were already writting the draft resolution, we just wanted to know if you still wanted to include the communicating network idea. Also, if we continue being sponsors to your resolution!
Response: After merging with the Saudi Arabia group, there is room for it in the resolution.If you would like to be sponsors or signatories we would "welcome" your support.
Left corner note (down):

To: Kuwait

From: Sudan

Ok we'd still like to be sponsors then!

Response:Great, thank you for your support!

Right corner note (up):

To: Sudan

From: Uruguay
During the unmoderated caucus, meet in the back of the room!

Right corner note (down):

To: Sudan

From: United Kingdom

What are the main points of your resolution? And if your only for 3rd generation and 2nd generation BIOFUELS, then we encourage 1st to 2nd now, and in the future 3rd generation!

Pictures with my MUN delegates!

Draft Resolutions

Reflection of the Model UN experience

My introduction to the UN Nations at my school was not what I expected it to be. For starters I didn’t know it was going to be a class and that I had to do as much work as I did in my regular classes. For some reason I always visualizes the Model UN as a club which people attend to, in order to debate and simulate abstract ideas about the world. And what I mean by abstract, is probably any given issue concerning anyone in the world, would be a good enough issue to debate. Before learning about the horizons the Model UN would provide me, I felt indecisive and lost interest in what lay ahead, I was a lost soul in the center of the universe. I continued to feel disengaged, until my teacher advised us that our first conference would be held in December. By then my heart started pounding, and I felt weak in the knees, I had never in my life stepped out of my comfort zone, which has always been a challenge for me. Every day my classmates and I prepared our prelude, encouraged each other to persevere and researched as much information about our topics as possible. After an extensive research, and plenty of motivational pads in the back, I gained comfort and promised not to give up; little did I know that this prolonged journey had just begun.

In our way to the Harvard United Nations held in the Sheraton Hotel, Boston, we reread all our notes and prepared for the battle that awaited us. Even though I was aware of what I was up to, I quite didn’t understand how to cope with everything. I knew that the kids I would be debating against came from private schools and that they had been trained all along, but I quite didn’t understand the whole idea of continuously debating for almost thirteen hours straight, with intervals of 2 hours, in order to eat. As I first arrived to my committee, which to my surprise was the biggest one of them all, the historical general assembly, my nervous system shut down immediately. There were about FIVE HUNDRED students in that committee, and in order to speak we had to stand on a podium and speak in front of a microphone. “Talk about getting out of your comfort zone”. You see that’s the thing with us, instead of going from easy to hardest, we just threw our self in the deep end without a life vest. Later I understood that the best way to confront your fears is to challenge yourself, and not be afraid of the simple things in life, but the hard ones you are indifferent to. The Harvard conference was the first one I ever attended, and the one that taught me a life lesson which is; life is a struggle and if you whine all the time you’re not being productive, and inefficiency leads to inactivity, which I am not going to do. Even though my school didn’t win a price, we got plenty out of it; we were introduced to a different environment, and travelled out of state, which I had not accomplished before.

Leaving Harvard was a little depressing because we had a great time and we felt like we deserved awards; but it did not damage my motivation in the class. I understood that winners are not the ones who are acknowledge for their victory, but the ones that learn a lesson and apply to their life. The fact that I didn’t win didn’t make me less smart than the other students, because I know what I am capable of accomplishing in life, and if wining metals is not one of them, I hope that my life lessons help others strive with their struggles in life. Our arrival at school was probably a very difficult time for us, because not only were we physically tired, but also mentally. The truth is that in the Model UN you learn more than in a day at school, and the interesting part of it, is that the students are the ones teaching each other.

In our second attempt to push ourselves even further, my school enlisted us in the Philadelphia UN, sponsored by the IDIA. The ride to arrive there was only two hours long, and when we got there we encountered a less intense environment. Already trained from my past conferences I had grasped new ideas and let go of my fears, but still I was contending with my discomfort with large crowds. When my partner and I were guided to our destinations my confidence started to dwindle, and I feared that I was not going to be able to persist in this longstanding battle. Again my will power had betrayed me, and I felt like a coward. I couldn’t believe how kids who were younger of age than me, and who barely had much experience as I did in this ground, defeated me with their glib articulation. Every day I tried my best, but I fell short from my goals, this negativity had overshadowed my other skills, and I couldn’t brake from this vicious cycle. Even though I do not personally apply the adage “ignorance is bliss” in this case I used the power of elasticity and did apply it, it was disappointing to see myself not stand up for myself when I had the tools to do so. It’s like going to a battle with a gun in your hand, and letting someone bit you with a stick, it is just sad to watch.

Already in the committee I started to let my fears blockade my knowledge, and even though I tried to vindicate myself I just couldn’t do it. I understood everything that the delegates in the committee were saying, but I feared to speak up and make a fool of myself. My committee was about poverty in Eastern Europe and we had to find resolutions to the economic irony going on in Europe; the truth is that in Europe most of the population is employed, but yet lack plenty of economic growth. With the overthrow of the Russian government, the economy fell deeply and it has become a laborious task to boost the economy. The funny part of it all is that I had a superfluous amount of knowledge on regards to the economy, because I’ve been taking Micro and Macro economic courses long before I was in the conference. I wanted to talk about the use of micro loans and the transparency governments should have before they could ever progress, but I was too late with my speech and other students took my ideas and reworded them to write their draft resolutions. Oh yes, did I forget to say, this was the second time I contributed to a draft resolutions, and another person took my ideas.

Our last conference was held in New York City in the United Nations. Since we were in the City, there was no need to sleep in a hotel; therefore we commuted there for the conferences. This time I had a more positive attitude and persevered that we could win something. But unfortunately we didn’t and I realized that probably the reason why I never won an award was because I wasn’t as assertive as the other kids. Even though the whole purpose of the United Nation is to bring peace in countries, sometimes the people who make those decisions are quite ambiguous. The truth is that inside the conference it becomes a battle of the fittest and at the end only those who spoke more fluently and took credit for the draft resolutions won. Even though I did as much work as the other kids, my efficiency was not so vigorous and I ended up loosing. But even though I didn’t get recognitions, I still think I won a better award, and that is humbleness and compassion for others.

Being in the Model United Nations has made me realize many qualities about myself that I never knew existed. For example, I didn’t know that I could let go of my fears and speak in front of large crowds without stuttering. As well it helped in an academic level, because thanks to all the conferences I went to I became more articulate and participated more in class debates. The truth is that such experiences, like being in a club, may not make you a winner in the sense of winning an award, but at least for me it helped me become a better human being with others. In the United Nations I learned about border disputes, microloans, and the use of BIOFUELS, something that would take me months to learn in a regular school year. The Model UN helped me find a niche that I could fit in, and that is why I encourage other people to give it a try, and step out of their mental box in order to travel the horizons of the world.