[TIME-SENSITIVE] Upcoming Office Hours, Expectations in Debate, and Position Paper Feedback

 Hello delegates! We hope you are enjoying your preparation for conference next weekend; below are important announcements regarding receiving assistance with research from the dais through our office hours tomorrow and Monday 2/28, in-committee expectations, and an update on position papers.


Office Hours

To interact with the dais and topics more prior to conference, feel free to improve your preparation by meeting with us via our online office hours tomorrow 2/26 and Monday 2/28 from 12-2 pm! Please refer to this Calendly to schedule an appointment within this time. 

If you would like to meet but available slots for your time preferences are full, you can still log onto Zoom with us! Be aware that to accommodate those who scheduled their time, the dais will meet first with scheduled delegates, and any remaining time will be used to talk with those in the online waiting room. Please use this time as a tool to better engage with your research!

When attending office hours, please have prepared what topics you would like to discuss, such as questions on conference procedure/logistics, general tips for research/diplomacy, and anything in between! 


In-Committee Debate Expectations

With both topics directed towards the discussion of decolonization, it is important to highlight that, in committee, our composition of represented delegations include both those at the height of global influence and those impacted by it. Meaningful engagement with every delegate is a significant part of Model UN, and our dais expects everyone to involve all perspectives of various countries impacted by neocolonialism. As a result, even if you feel like your country has historically not had much influence on international politics, this committee is the place for you to voice your opinion with the same level of respect as other delegations.

In addition, both topics have important facets to their discussion that the dais would enjoy seeing in debate - be sure to expand from these subtopics when drafting resolutions! 

For Topic A, important ideas to consider are:

- inability of international media to enter occupied territories in Western Sahara

- nationalism and its impact on Moroccan policy

- demilitarization of conflict areas, Southern Province cities

- failures of past attempts for resolution (i.e. Baker Plan)

- specifics on voter registration in referendum structure

For Topic B:

- downfalls of international aid and investment (structural adjustment programs, overreliance on imported capital, debt repayment, etc.)

- political instability and external influence in state governments (i.e. US/Russian/Chinese-backed leadership, local/indigenous alienation in policy)

- imbalance in trade gains

- nationalism in domestic policy of less developed countries

Each of these subtopics are excellent areas to focus resolution drafting on, but this list is not exhaustive! Be creative with what topics you'd like to discuss!


Position Papers Update

Each delegation, if you have not already, will receive feedback on their papers by EOD Sunday 2/27 based on submission time; please use this feedback to not only better your writing skills for the future, but also to enhance your research on our topics! In addition, we are aware that many of you may be graded on your paper's performance; if this is the case, please contact us at specpolbmunlxx@bmun.org so we can assist!


We look forward to seeing you all soon next weekend - until then, best of luck!

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