Welcome to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization! My name is Danica, and I am so excited to be your chair for ILMUNC XXIX. I am a sophomore in the Management and Technology program studying Computer Science in the Engineering School and Operations and Information Management in Wharton.
I am originally from New York City, and I have been doing Model UN since high school, although I usually stuck to SOCHUM and the Security Council. I joined Penn’s International Affairs Association as a freshman, and I have been involved in many conferences since. This year, however, will be my first time chairing a committee! Apart from Model UN, I love going to spin classes, watching old seasons of 30 Rock, and actively following the Kardashians’ lives.
My love for travel, especially to developing countries, is what initially sparked my interest in UNESCO, and I could not be more excited to be a part of this committee. This year, we have two incredibly multifaceted and controversial topics, which will definitely lead to a weekend of interesting debate, and hopefully culminate in some innovative resolutions.
As we prepare for conference, I hope you will find the background guide useful as a basis for further research. Since these topics are so current and take place in such turbulent environments, I encourage you to look beyond the background guide to give yourselves the opportunity to come up with relevant and original resolutions. I really hope to see every single delegate involved, so even if you are new to Model UN, make sure you know about the topics. Please do not be intimidated by parliamentary procedure or very intense and experienced delegates — I want our committee to be a welcoming environment for everyone. If you have any questions about the conference, the topics, or just want to introduce yourself, please feel free to contact your USG, Chloe Petrich, who will relay the information over to me.
I am so excited to be chairing UNESCO, and I absolutely cannot wait to meet all of you in January!
Your chair,
Danica Bassman
Chair, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXIX
Topic Summaries
Topic A: Protection of Culture and Heritage of Minority Groups
In today’s globalized world, national cultures and minority groups are being threatened by other more present and overbearing ones and are risking homogeneity. UNESCO allocates a lot of time and resources to the preservation of popular and traditional culture for human development. Indeed, studies have shown that folklore is often the source behind cultural revival and economic development. Cultural heritage is threatened by environmental deterioration; however, at the same time, its revitalization can provide the means to creating a better environment, as well as forming a part of human identity and dignity. At conference, delegates will think of ways to avoid this phenomenon of homogenization of cultures, as well as ways to promote the identity of a minority as a separate entity. This committee will focus especially on indigenous people or ethnic groups that are still marginalized in certain countries.
Topic B: Education of Women
As gender equality is an important human rights condition, the promotion of gender equality worldwide is central to UNESCO. Though instruments now exist to promote and defend women’s rights worldwide, gender inequalities still prevail. Overcoming these inequalities requires profound transformations in social structures and relations between men and women. One way that UNESCO has thought of dealing with this issue is through education. Education is a human right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development and peace. Non-discriminatory education, which benefits children of both genders, contributes to more equal relationships between women and men. In today’s modern world, technology has a tremendous impact on the expansion of women’s education. At conference, delegates will be asked to think of ways to promote education for women using the technology that is available to us in today’s world.