Mr. Andrew Hudson is the Head of Water & Ocean Governance United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He initiated several signature UNDP water and ocean programmes including MDG GoAL-WaSH (Governance, Advocacy and Leadership for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), global scaling up of UNDP-Coca Cola Company Every Drop Matters Partnership, UNDP Shared Waters Partnership, GEF International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) and the 2020 launch of UNDP Ocean Innovation Challenge. He presented on Session 1 on the first day of our Global Summit.

When you think of the environmental crisis, does ocean pollution and overfishing come to mind? While often overlooked, oceans absorb around 40% of carbon dioxide emitted every year. Moreover, marine ecosystems host approximately 17,000 species. Threats to oceans include pollution, overfishing, and acidification which would pose a plethora of issues for humans and nature. Our esteemed guest speaker, Mr. Hudson noted that the damage to marine ecosystems costs 13 billion dollars every year.

The focus of Mr. Hudson’s presentation was on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal SDG 14 ‘conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Among the many things that Mr Hudson discussed, were the different SDG 14 targets, the progress of achieving SDG 14 targets, and the multi-dimensional threats posed of not address the ocean crisis.  His presentation was very inspiring and informative, with plenty of graphs and charts to demonstrate the urgency of achieving SDG 14. 

For your reference, these are the SDG targets that were discussed. 

14.1: Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds 

14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, and take action for their restoration to achieve healthy and productive oceans 

14.3: Minimize and address the effects of ocean acidification 

14.4: Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans 

14.5: Conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas

14.6: Prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies

14.7: Increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources

According to National Geographic, ocean overfishing is simply the taking of wildlife from the sea at rates too high for fished species to replace themselves. Mr. Hudson warns that unsustainable fishing practices may both harm the environment and the economy. For example, big industrial fishing operations that aggressively catch large amounts of fish through new technology, disadvantage millions as many local communities rely on fishing for their livelihood and diet. 

Mr. Hudson suggests that tackling ocean pollution and overfishing should be through technical, political, economical, and financial facets. In his own words “multiple sectors are needed at all levels of governance”. This is to ensure long-term solutions in achieving SDG 14. He also advises individuals to participate in initiatives such as the Ocean Innovation Challenge by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and partnerships to increase the efforts in tackling threats to the ocean. Most importantly, Mr Hudson advocates that incentives should be given to encourage environmentally-friendly practices. 

Mr. Hudson’s presentation thoroughly explained why the protection of oceans should be a priority on our agenda. Overlooking this matter would have harsh consequences on our planet because oceans are largely interconnected with the climate. We would like to truly thank Mr. Hudson for presenting at our Summit.

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By Omayma Cherkaoui

MUN debates are excellent at coming up with ideas and initiatives, but a lot of those ideas get left behind and never get implemented. However, two MUN delegates, Ella and Vivian break that norm by taking their passion for MUN beyond conferences and debate to their initiative, Project Aquascope. The project, which is based on three pillars, Environmental Sustainability, STEM Education, and Youth Empowerment, aims to make education and innovation accessible to all. All three of those pillars were very present in the talk. 

The project originated from the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) orientated initiative, Project Foldscope, which aimed to solve an accessibility problem in science through the creation of an affordable $1 origami microscope which helped make STEM education widely accessible.  However, Ella and Vivian decided to change the focus of the project to be more environmentally orientated. Project Foldscope had made massive advances in lowering boundaries in STEM, but the duo believed a re-evaluation was necessary to make Project Foldscope even more successful. This was particularly evident on a trip to Panama where Ella and Vivian found that students were more interested in the microscope than the actual science that they were supposed to be studying. 

Upon a re-evaluation of the program, three traits were decided on to try to make STEM even more accessible to students. These are, Practical, Beneficial, and Engaging. These traits were important in getting students involved and helped lead them to find an aim for this redesigned program. Therefore, Project Aquascope aims to try and reduce food scarcity through Aquaponics, an innovative agriculture process where plants sit on top of fish tanks and as a result the plants draw nutrients from the animal waste in the tanks below them. This creates an organic method of fertilization for the plants and is very cost and space effective. Project Aquascope is also driven by the SDGs and the project’s Three Pillars can be linked very closely to the goals. This was important for Ella and Vivian as SDGs 4 & 10, in particular, have a very close relationship to them. 

After a very informative description of their project, the talk then took a turn towards a more interactive workshop, focusing on their third pillar, Youth Empowerment. Some advice they gave to attendees was to talk to people about your ideas and take risks to get your projects running. Following some advice, a mix and match activity aimed to get participants thinking about how they could turn their passions and skills into projects which would help tackle the globes’ issues and could even be linked to the SDGs. For example, one idea turned a person’s interest in music and their passion for different cultures into a multicultural music festival with the focus of celebrating our diversity as humans.

Ella and Vivian’s workshop reminded attendees of the impact humans, and the youth, can have and served as an inspiration for many other MUN delegates to take their skills and ideas, and use them to make a difference for others.

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By William W.

Arya Kanade presented her workshop, Ladies First, to not only a female audience, but also male students and guests as a way to explain that feminism does not have one of its definitions as specific to females, and much more. Neha Varadharajan interviewed her:

1. How did you find out about the Global Summit?

-I found out about the Global Summit from MUN Impact’s Instagram profile.

2. How are you associated with MUN Impact?

– I am currently serving as the Diplomat to the MENA region, and I am also serving as the Debates Mentor Officer of E4J with OMUN

3.What was the brainchild of your workshop?

– I was scrolling through Instagram (which is something i have been doing with increasing frequency)

There, i came across a video of a boy talking about why he was not a feminist. That intrigued me, and got me thinking about the reason I am a feminist. That made me decide to present my workshop at the Global Summit on modern day implications of feminism.

4. Why did you find it relevant to present at the Global Summit?

-I found it to be rather relevant because gender equality or SDG 5 has major importance in today’s world for two reasons:

A) even though patriarchy isn’t blatantly seen in our society, its subtle signs are still very prevalent. Female politicians still have to care more about their appearance, and female workers still have to fight for equal pay

B) in LEDCs, even basic rights like the right to bodily autonomy, the right to education and many others aren’t available for girls and women.

Hence, i found the issue of gender inequality to be all the more pressing, because people think it has been solved; but that couldn’t be farther away from the true implications of gender inequality in our society.

5. How far do you think we are from associating equality between men and women?

-I have hope, of course, that we aren’t very far away. I imagine that we all will soon realize how ridiculous it is to ostracize people just because of something that’s not even in their control.

If people start taking gender inequality seriously, then we can achieve the SDG 5 within the next 10 years. But the slight, nuanced implications that are very subtle, will take a lot longer to get rid of.

6. Would you like to describe feminism in a few sentences of your own?

Feminism is an ideology that predominantly focuses on maintaining equality between different genders across the board. That’s it. According to me, feminism is a rather simple concept that has been complicated beyond requirement, which is what makes the whole concept sound complicated, which it truly is not. Even though everyone’s definition of what feminism means may vary, at the end of the day, the goal of the movement is common; equality between all genders.

7. Who are some of the women you admire?

There are so many women who inspire me, mostly because they were pioneers in their respective fields, even if they were predominantly male-dominated

For example; Frida Kahlo, Malala Yousufzai, Olympe de gouges, Marie curie and the list can go on and on for miles

8. What inspiring quote (of your own/favorite) would you tell ladies first?

My favourite quote has to be “Ladies first. Not because ladies are more important. But because ladies are equally important.”

This is my own quote, and i genuinely think it states the difference between equity and equality pretty well, which was one of the goals of my workshop!

During the third session on the first day of the Global Summit, Dr. Anthony Speca, an accomplished professor, teacher, and activist spoke to a group of MUN delegates about his work with the Arctic. Speca is an Adjunct Professor of Canadian studies at Trent University in Canada, as well as a teacher of PPE and Geography at Norwich school in the UK. He is also a formal civil servant within the government of Nunavut in Canadian Arctic. He is a strong advocate for Arctic environments as well as Arctic residents, as he founded a consultancy in 2012 called Principal of Polar Aspect. He also created and launched a secondary school Model Arctic Council (MAC) that currently collaborates with different universities in both Canada and the UK. 

Dr. Speca himself is a resident of Canadian Arctic and is very passionate about introducing the Arctic to today’s youth. He believes that the Arctic should first and foremost be seen as a homeland rather than a pristine wilderness prone to climate change. While it is true that the Arctic is in some sense, a fragile environment due to increasing temperatures, it is also a land that is home to over 4 million people. He wants to change the image that comes to mind when people think of the Arctic and shine more light upon the people who live there. 

Speca jumped into his presentation by explaining what the Arctic is seen as in western culture. He gave a few examples of stereotypes given to the environment. One was that the Arctic is seen as a very fragile ecosystem that needs to be protected from both industrialism and climate change. Next, he said that it is seen as a place where human limits are tested by the inhospitable wilderness of terrain and dangerous animals- a place where only explorers travel on expeditions. Then Speca spoke about how it is a global treasure chest where resources need to be exploited because the Arctic is an environment that is “untouched by man”.  Lastly, he explained how it is most commonly seen as a climate disaster and it is our only shot of redemption to stop climate change and all of its effects. Dr. Speca went on to discuss how the Arctic is not these things. He said that all the stereotypes western culture has labeled the Arctic fail to represent the people who actually live there. 

Dr. Speca’s goal is not only to fight climate change in the Arctic, but also fight for the rights of indigenous people who live there. He shined light upon issues that are often overlooked by outsiders and have not been advocated for. For example, threats to indigenous people and their cultures, how climate change has affected infrastructure and the safety of citizens, high cost of living, limited access to public goods such as health care and education, and above average poverty rates. However, Speca made it evident that public officials and other people outside of the Arctic are only concerned about the wilderness aspect. For instance, a ban was put on seal hunting in the 1970s however, this tremendously affected the way of life for indigenous people, as they could no longer use the pelts or meat the seals, which were both necessary for living. Unfortunately, people did not see the effects of this legal ban and livelihoods were destroyed. This is only one example of how “imaginaries” of the Arctic affect policy decisions.

In conclusion, Dr. Speca created an interesting presentation that built a better understanding of the reality of life in the Arctic. His speech helped his audience understand that it is not just a delicate environment in need of help, but it is a place where people live day to day and experience life just as everyone else. He unbunked many stereotypes that portray the Arctic in unrealistic ways that have led to many misconceptions. Dr. Speca was a great person to present in the Global Summit because he was very passionate about his work and did a great job of introducing the Arctic to the youth of the MUN program.

On the first day of the Summit, Dr. Walter Simonsen gave a presentation during the fourth and final session, about his personal experiences with the MUN program and how it has impacted his professional life as a musician and educator. Simonsen grew up in Mission Viejo, California where he attended high school and became active in the MUN program as a delegate. He later went on to graduate from North Texas University in 2000 where he studied jazz. He became the Assistant Director of the USC Marching Band and helped them to perform at large events such as major football games. Simonsen has had many opportunities to travel the world as he’s been to places such as Singapore, London, and Germany. He’s also worked with very well known musicians and artists such as Alicia Keys and Micheal Buble! 

As stated before, Simonsen became active in MUN during his high school years in California. The program allowed him to find a love for travel as he attended conferences in Beijing and New York City, as well as Harvard and Berkeley school of music. By becoming introduced to travel, he learned more about international relations concerning how the world connects. He explained that MUN helped him learn about different world perspectives which ultimately broadened his mindset about the world. 

Along with learning about different places around the world, Simonsen also worked on individual skills such as organization, public speaking, and collaborating with others. He described to his audience that he has always been a shy person, but MUN created a space where he was able to break out of his comfort zone and do things he never thought he could do. He described how MUN has taught him collaboration, leadership skills, and improvisation which are all things he uses in his professional life. For example, Simonsen talked about how he’s now able to show up to a gig and easily work with others for a show or performance while still making sure everyone feels included. He also explained that he has a strong understanding of how to handle different types of people based on how they learn. He acknowledges that different people receive and obtain information in different ways, so he has to be patient while adapting to new learning styles. 

Throughout his presentation, Simonsen showed videos of himself playing the trumpet both for his band called “The Red Light Brass Band”, and for the USC Marching Band. He also engaged the delegates in his live zoom performance of a song from 1952, called “Bernie’s Tune”. The audience loved it! 

When asked the question, “How do you think music can create social change?” he replied, “Music always has a goal. So for example, during the Civil Rights Movement, people created music about being black in that time and it helped motivate people to make a change. Also, people crave honesty, and music is nothing but raw emotion that reveals the truth. That’s what makes it so beautiful.” From this quote alone, it is obvious that Dr. Simonsen has a strong passion for music and how it can be seen in the bigger picture. He closed his presentation by stating that hate has no place in our world and that educated individuals are the ones who will bring us all together.

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By Audrey Pinson