Guest Speaker
Ms. Pauline Tamesis
UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam
Ms. Tamesis is a professional with a profound background in development, boasting over a decade of dedicated service with the UN Development Program (UNDP). Her journey began in New York, where she specialized in accountability, transparency, and anti-corruption within the Policy Bureau. With a steadfast commitment to fostering positive change, Ms. Tamesis transitioned to a regional position within UNDP, leading the governance team serving offices across Asia and the Pacific.
Throughout her career, Ms. Tamesis has traversed diverse countries, leaving a significant outcome on each assignment. Her journey as the country director for UNDP in Bangladesh holds special significance, where she discovered her true calling and witnessed firsthand the power of innovation amidst adversity. Inspired by Bangladesh's resilience and innovative spirit, Ms. Tamesis honed her skills in collaborating with young minds, social entrepreneurs, and governmental bodies to effect meaningful change.
Subsequently, Ms. Tamesis assumed the role of resident coordinator in Cambodia and currently serves as the UN representative in Vietnam. Her insightful observations underscore the unique challenges and remarkable progress experienced by these nations in their quest for sustainable development. From spearheading initiatives in digital transformation and energy transition to advocating for inclusive education and social protection, Ms. Tamesis remains at the forefront of driving positive change at both national and local levels.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Ms. Tamesis is a passionate advocate for mentorship and youth empowerment. Her unwavering commitment to sharing knowledge and fostering leadership resonates deeply with aspiring change-makers, inspiring them to seize opportunities and effect meaningful change in their communities.
As a beacon of inspiration and advocate for sustainable development, Ms. Tamesis continues to champion inclusive growth, urging individuals to embrace their role as agents of change and illuminate the path toward a brighter future for all.
Thank you, Ms.Tamesis for being our guest speaker!
Chair Mentor
Mr. Thuy
As a procedural chair for the SDG 11 committee, it was an honor for me to be able to work with Mr. Thuy. Mr. Thuy is a service learning teacher that worked at UNIS for 16 years now. I asked him some questions about himself so I could have a better understanding of who he is as a service learning teacher and also some questions more specific about my topic and his perspective of it.
The first question for him was ‘‘What do you enjoy most about being a service learning teacher?’’ Mr. Thuy said he understands more about global issues and he is cooperating to save these global conflicts. Next, I asked him ‘‘How do you like Hanoi?’’ He likes the food, how Hanoi has lots of lakes, and how this city has an old history, however, he doesn't like how Hanoi is lacking green space and the traffic is very bad. Hanoi is building lots of high towers which is bad for sustainability. We must save the air quality by using public transport, however the problem is that Vietnam does not have public transport. Traffic is getting worse and worse, we must expand the city and move people out of the city.
One last question I asked him about himself is ‘‘What global issues are you passionate about & why? How did you get interested in it?’’ He is passionate about climate change. This is because Vietnamese citizens don't care about that and he wants a change to happen according to Mr. Thuy. He is interested in climate change because he is really worried about Vietnam's future and other countries. He cares about protecting the environment and he said we need to stop destroying our nature.
More to the questions about his perspective of my topic, I asked him ‘‘How do wealthy countries help less wealthy nations with building infrastructures like roads, bridges, and hospitals?’’ According to Mr. Thuy, there are a few different kinds of funds such as ODA from Japan and other aid from the USA. An example of this was when The Vietnamese sky train borrowed money from wealthier countries. Other countries like Africa also get paid from the USA or the EU. One of the requirements when lending money is that you must pay back with interest. For example, Bandung from Indonesia couldn’t grow because the country did not care about growing its economy.
I also asked him ‘‘Is it true that even though wealthy countries are giving monetary support to assist less wealthy nations, it's still not enough to make a big difference? Why is that, and what can be done to change it?’’ He answered they only focus on a few specific parts but to make poorer countries develop, it's not just giving money but how to change the way the government works, and how to change the political systems of those countries because they are not poor countries because they are poor, its because the government might be democratic of dictatorship government. Poverty can be caused by a lot of conflicts such as a lack of natural resources, technology education, or infrastructure. However, the most important thing is the leader of the country.
Lastly, to end it off, I asked him a simple question which was ‘‘What is your perspective on MUN? If you have children in MS/HS, will you encourage your children to attend MUN?’’ He would. He likes MUN because all the countries work together to fix all conflicts. Wars, hunger, climate change, natural disaster, refugees. He thinks mun is a good way for students to understand the importance of countries to work together and help out each other and the world.
Chair Mentor
Mrs. Dore
Mrs. Dore first got interested in teaching in highschool when she taught kickboxing. She had a lot of fun and had never really taught kids before, but she was a competitive fighter and when there was a needed kickboxing teacher to teach evening classes, she got the opportunity. She progressively started teaching more and more and she eventually became UNIS’s service learning teacher.
Mrs. Dore has been teaching for over twenty years, and she enjoys the impact, leadership and partnerships she has been able to play a role in in service learning. She loves being a part of the work to do something positive for our community and hearing the incredible ideas that students come up with to help impact the community in a positive way that most adults would not come up with.
Mrs. Dore plans on being a service learning teacher until she retires as it is one of her passions. She loves Hanoi and it is her seventh year in Hanoi. Mrs. Dore loves the community at UNIS and how they involve everyone in the community working to all support each other. Some of the global issues that Mrs. Dore is passionate about include education sustainability, and just sustainability issues in general which really tie in with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Mrs. Dore used to be in Model United Nations when she was a student, and both of her children also did Model United Nations for a number of years. She believes that Model United Nations gives valuable learning and that it is an amazing opportunity to gather with other youth around the region and talk about issues that you really care about.
Our conference theme for the UNISMUN March 2024 conference is “how can we use multilateral diplomacy to surmount the challenges of rapid societal change?” and Mrs. Dore believes that comfortability and effort into having conversations with people who do not share the same ideas, perspectives, or even values as you is a conversation that is crucial as you can always gain and learn from these conversations even if it is hard at times.
Speaking to people who do not share the same concepts as you is a diplomacy skill that also doubles as a human skill, to always have an open mind and not just focus or lean towards people who have similar ideas about the world. Diplomacy is something that Mrs. Dore believes that it is a human skill and when facing so many changes and unknowns in our world, we need to be able to connect with each other, which is something that everyone should learn how to do.
At UNIS, Mrs. Dore sees these topics displayed all over the different departments and grade levels in many different ways. Sustainable development goal eleven’s mission statement is "making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable" which is exactly what Mrs. Dore does for UNIS. Mrs. Dore helps the UNIS community come together through Service Learning and helps the students be inclusive in their community, making it safe and helping out whenever they can.
Head Chair
Nguyen Phuc Linh
My name is Phuc Linh, a sophomore student at Singapore International School at Gamuda Gardens, and it is my pleasure to be the Head Chair for the SDG 11 Council of March 2024 UNISMUN conference. I have been participating in MUN for 2 years, and this upcoming conference will be my 4th MUN conference and my first experience as a chair.
The three topics discussed in the council are:
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The question of investment in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR),
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The question of official development assistance for infrastructure in low-income and lower economically developed countries,
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The question of high-density housing.
As SDG 11, a committee that entirely focuses on the projection of strong international, national, and regional sustainable developments for urbanization, and mitigating the adverse environmental effects, multilateral diplomacy is crucial in creating policies that strive for the inclusion of all people, which provides an initiative towards addressing the theme, “How can we use multilateral diplomacy to surmount the challenges of rapid societal change?”. Delegates are expected to cooperate to confront significant problems such as extreme poverty, environmental degradation, and threats posed by climate change and natural catastrophes in different regions globally.
In Topic 1, “The question of investment in Disaster Risk Reduction”, delegates should have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives set out in executing the ‘Disaster Risk Reduction’ approaches, including the crucial conferences that have been established to decrease the vulnerability of communities in face of disasters. Delegates should also take important factors such as costs, stakeholders, and timelines when weighing the question of investment.
In Topic 2, “The question of official development assistance for infrastructure in low-income and lower economically developed countries”, delegates are expected to consider the possible frameworks and factors required by LEDCs to develop infrastructure and utilize their nation’s economic stance to assist accordingly.
In Topic 3, “The question of high-density housing”, delegates should consider the advantages and disadvantages of high-density housing, such as but not limited to the accessibility and availability of high-density housing, the quality of life and well-being of citizens, to the population present within the region.
Having said that, I'm looking forward to working with all delegates and the fruitful discussions on important issues at our conference!
Deputy Chair
Hugo Kobayashi
Dear fellow chairs, distinguished delegates and honorable guests,
My name is Hugo Kobayashi, a freshman with 1 year experience of MUN. This is my first time chairing and I am very excited and honored to be a part of this March 2024 conference as the procedural chair for SDG 11.
The theme of this 2024 March conference is ‘‘How can we use multilateral diplomacy to surmount the challenges of rapid societal change?’’ Currently there are lots of conflicts going on in the world such as Russia and Ukraine or Palestine and Israel and the nations must find a peaceful and reasonable solution to stop this economical crisis since these activities are un-human of us.
The SDG 11 committee is to ensure all citizens around the world have a safe and an inclusive environment in the public space. Also for having easy access to public transportation and reducing disaster risk. Some nations are more dangerous than others. Such as Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Mali. These countries have a high danger risk because of constant ongoing conflicts and high level of violence making it hard for tourists and citizens to be safe.
The 3 topics that the delegates will discuss are ‘‘the question of investment in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)’’, ‘‘the question of official development assistance for infrastructure in low-income and lower economically developed countries’’ and ‘‘the question of high-density housing’’. The first topic means investing in infrastructure to build a safer place from natural disaster and my personal connection to this topic is that I am from a nation where natural disaster is a huge problem. The significance of the second topic is how nations assist each other to become economically stable. The significance of the last topic is being able to construct houses while using the least amount of resources and taking up the least amount of space possible.
I will be looking forward to meeting all of you and please feel free to contact us if there are any questions!
Procedural Chair
Vitoria Zarina Lakhavani
Greetings fellow chairs, distinguished delegates, honorable directors and guests,
My name is Vitoria Lakhavani, a sophomore from United Nations International School of Hanoi, and I will be serving as the Procedural Chair for the SDG 11 council in this year's upcoming UNISMUN March 2024 conference. The upcoming UNISMUN March 2024 conference will mark my fourth conference in Model United Nations. I have viewed different perspectives in Model United Nations as a delegate, and admin. This being said, I am extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to witness the work of Model United Nations from a different perspective as a Procedural Chair.
The theme for this March 2024 conference states, “How can we use multilateral diplomacy to surmount the challenges of rapid societal change?”. So many changes are happening in our society today including climate change, policy change, technological change, even the change of growing global tensions. Multilateral diplomacy can help with these difficulties, and countries with similar interests within multilateral diplomacy can unite and share success in solving these major challenges. Coming up with reasonable, manageable solutions for all of these major challenges is what MUN is about. With a great theme and great delegates I cannot wait to hear all the solutions they come up with.
In SDG 11, the three topics that we will be discussing consist of the question of investment in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), the question of official development assistance for infrastructure in low-income and lower economically developed countries, and the question of high-density housing. The investment in Disaster Risk Reduction is a systematic approach to determining, evaluating, and lowering the risks of disaster. By doing this, it makes communities more resilient to potential disasters and strives to advance sustainable development. Government support that particularly targets and encourages the economic development and welfare of developing nations is known as official development assistance, and in those low-income and lower economically developed countries, it continues to be the primary source of funding. The question of high-density housing is a particular type of development meant to support a denser population than usual. All of these topics are of utmost value to the SDG 11 committee.
I am very grateful to be chairing for the SGD 11 committee, and I look forward to seeing you all at the conference!