Andre Smith

Al Jazeera

Many argue that it is a human right to have access to Internet. I believe that it is a right to have access to Internet if the Internet is available. However, in a few third world countries Internet is not available over the whole country, but if a country has Internet and restricts of blocks people from using it, then I think they are violating a human right. As Internet access enables you to exercise the other rights, such as freedom of speech or freedom of development.

I believe that providing free Internet access universally would be a great initiative, as many people especially in third world countries either do not have access where they are located, or just cannot afford it. So by providing free and effective Internet access we would be connecting the whole world together and allowing everyone to experience the same benefits and opportunities online.

In 2016 Tesla CEO and SpaceX owner Elon Musk and wanted permission from the US Government to launch over 4000 satellites into space in order to provide global internet coverage. This includes remote/rural areas, boats at sea and aircrafts. Operations for this idea have taken place, but no official date has been given for when it’ll be ready. Musk says it will take several years for the first 800 satellites to be launched. However, this Internet service will still cost money. I believe that every government in the world should strive towards paying for country wide Internet so that their population can enjoy free access.

Andre Smith

Al Jazeera

Crypto currency is a digital currency, which has a private, non-governmental block chain,
which means that all transactions made through crypto currency are undetectable and
anonymous. A block chain is a list of records called blocks, which contain history of all
transactions made. Through crypto currency many illegal transactions are made but because
of the private block chain no one can trace who those transactions were made by. This is the
same case with fiscal fraud. With the growing use of crypto currency, the rise of fiscal fraud
increases, as it is very easy to bypass the system and evade paying taxes. This is why
governments and banks fear the growth of crypto currency, as there is no way of monitoring
and ensuring the payment of taxes.

It is difficult to combat fiscal fraud through crypto currency; however, there is a measure that
can be taken to reduce the amount of fiscal fraud. If crypto currencies implement a KYC
policy, then people would be forced to pay taxes, as their transactions would no longer be
hidden and unrecorded. KYC (Know Your Customer) policy is the process of identifying and
verifying the identity of customers. So by introducing a KYC all transactions could be
checked. This method of preventing fiscal fraud takes the anonymity away from crypto
currency, and would eradicate all forms of illegal activity through crypto currency.

Ashley Makuwa

Reuters Newspaper

 

Technological development has significantly increased since the late 90’s and has continued to skyrocket upwards with the introduction of robots. Artificial intelligence is the up and coming industry and it has already began to take over. AI does a lot of jobs that people used to do and this has become a concern for many people and governments. The Finnish government has been one of the first countries to begin Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI is the concept of guaranteed income to ensure nobody lives in poverty. Since jobs are viewed as being taken left, right and center by artificial intelligence, UBI sounds like a viable option, and it appears to be going well in Finland. However; this “scare” may not be as scary as the general populous thinks it is, because a similar situation has happened before during the industrial revolution.

But as we all know, the Industrial revolution ended up creating more jobs with the advancements in technology. To some, the answer to automation is UBI, that way nobody lives in poverty and everyone has a steady income while still having their basic needs provided for by AI. On the other hand this could devalue a good work ethic, and promote a sedentary lifestyle. The development of technology could also lead to more jobs opening up. Since robots can malfunction companies will need someone to make sure that these machines are in proper working order. To conclude, it all depends on the circumstances, beliefs and how the pros and cons are weighed.

Tingting Wu

Al  Jazeera

For the first day of ZIMUN the Human Rights Commission is discussion resolutions between countries. There are two topics which will be discussed during this Event, Child Marriage in Africa, and slave trade in Lybia. Currently the delegates cannot disclose any information on their discussion until the official ceremony starting tomorrow.

The first issue tomorrow, on child marriage in Africa, will be focused on delegates of the African nations present. The primary focus is on the increase of legal age of marriage in countries with high child marriage rates. Chair Joel Nzisabira states “The solution of the issue can be solved through legal means, one of the main causes of the issue is the fact that internal legislation of some countries allow children to be wed.” He says that “The issue is mainly internal and I will focus on solutions that can be impacted through internal legislation.”

The second issue presented to the committee is the slave trade in Libya and ensuring its cessation. As of right now the large number of refugees in Libya threatens Libya’s economy, and human rights, as they cannot cross into EU nations. “The issue mainly involves Libya, North Africa and the EU” states Chair David C. Uličný, “The best solutions will involve more interaction and cooperation between Libya and other North African countries, and the cooperation of the EU to except refugees.”

ZiMUN is just around the corner, and this past Saturday the chairs of all committees came together to discuss the conference and receive some crucial conference related materials. During their meeting, the chairs have all agreed that in order of the conference to be as collaborative and as constructive as possible, instead of writing a full resolution, as had been asked from all delegates before, each delegate should aim to only write four clauses. These clauses will be shared with other members of the room while merging, and will lead to collaborative resolutions.

Additionally, following the chair meeting, the ZiMUN 2017 committee would like to clarify the dress code of the conference. For the registration and initial committee introductions, which will take place on Thursday the 16th of March, the dress code will be either uniforms or formalwear.

The decision on the dress code for the first day is up to delegations, and they will decide on whether uniforms or formalwear are to be worn. For Friday through Sunday, formalwear would be in play. There will be no restriction on colors, however all men must bring a jacket which is to be worn when they stand up to speak, and women’s skirts should not be more than an inch (2.5cm) above the knee. Additionally, women’s tops must be conservative.

Lastly, here is a list of all the participating schools:
Arundel School- Zimbabwe
Chisipite Senior School- Zimbabwe
Harare International School- Zimbabwe
Hellenic Academy- Zimbabwe
International English School of Abidjan- Côte d’Ivoire
Jean De La Fontaine- Zimbabwe
Peterhouse Boys School- Zimbabwe
Peterhouse Girls School- Zimbabwe
Prince Edward School- Zimbabwe
St. John’s College- Zimbabwe
St. George’s College- Zimbabwe

The ZiMUN 2017 committee has been working around the clock making final decisions regarding the conference. We are pleased to announce that the HIS high school newspaper, Warthogs’ World, will be running press at ZiMUN. The Warthogs’ World press team will be taking photographs and creating daily news broadcasts throughout the conference, all which will be published or linked to on the Warthogs’ World Facebook page.

With only three weeks to go, here is a partial line-up of the committees’ guest speakers:

Anna Brazier (GA3): Sustainable Agriculture / Natural resource management consultant.

Ms. Brazier is a published author on climate change providing resources for Zimbabwean planners and decision-makers. During the past couple of years she has been running workshops for young people and media professionals on climate change issues impacting Zimbabwe and southern Africa.

Gus Le Breton:

Gladys Senderayi (HRC):

Mrs. Senderayi is a Programmes Officer at Veritas. She has been heavily involved in Veritas’ work to end child marriage in Zimbabwe, and has been instrumental in bringing it to the constitutional courts for legislation.  

Dr. Christen Monberg (ECOSOC):

Dr. Monberg, Red Cross delegate and engineer, works on the management of development projects and operation of IT infrastructure and servers in the fields of renewable power engineering.

Philippe Van Damme:

Mr. Van DAmme is the EU Ambassador in Zimbabwe. He will speak on the African Currency Union.

Ellen Connelly (Environmental Commission):

Ms. Connelly is a Conservation Zoologist who has been working with wildlife for the past 16 years, protecting Elephants, Lions & Rhinos all the way to Hedgehogs and Pangolins. Over the last 10 years she has been working with the Tikki Hywood Trust, rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife, and specializing in the highly endangered ground pangolins.

Gera Sneller (Security Council):

Ms. Sneller is the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe. She was involved in the establishment of the Special African Court that trailed the former dictator of Chad, Hissene Habre, in Dakar. With the Netherlands and Italy sharing a term as non-permanent Security Council members, as well as the Netherlands role in international justice with the ICC, Ms. Sneller is well placed to be speaking about the topics at this conference.

Additionally, all delegates are reminded that they are responsible for two position papers (one on each topic in their committee) and one draft resolution.

 

Sign ups for ZiMUN 2017 are now closed, with an impressive number of 164 participants who will be taking part in the event. The conference would like to congratulate all participants for making the deadline, and is eager to announce that in addition to eight Zimbabwean schools that will be attending, twelve delegates who will be travelling to us all the way from the other of the continent from the International English School of Abidjan in Ivory Coast will join the traditionally all-Zimbabwean conference.

At this time, the conference team would also like to reveal details about the grand-General Assembly (GA4) which will be the culminating event of ZiMUN 2017. The grand GA will involve delegates teaming up to create country delegation crews that will debate the topic of “Coordinating international responses to epidemics”. This event will bring together all 117 delegates into one room, and will truly embrace the theme of the conference by uniting us all.

All delegations are to be reminded that topics for debate can be found on the 2017.zimun.org website under committees in the conference tab. Additionally, the ZiMUN procedure does not allow electronic devices of any sort to be present during debate time. However, a dedicated Internet hotspot will be available for delegates’ personal usage as well as conference-related usage.

With ZiMUN approaching in full speed, the conference committee would like to launch a weekly update segment which will brief participants about progress of the conference.

Currently countries and committees are being assigned and participating schools are asked to ensure that all members of their delegation have submitted the online Delegate Sign Up. Any delegates do not submit their applications by Friday are not guaranteed a spot in the conference. Furthermore, all chair positions have been occupied.

The ZiMUN committee has prepared a few surprises in order to ensure that ZiMUN 2017 offers an innovative and enriching experience to all delegates. The conference will offer a variety of expert guest speakers, adding depth to committee topics by giving participants the access to real-life leaders in the fields of debate. Additionally, as HIS is hoping to offer “a slightly different format to bring out guests together”, the committee is planning a “grand General Assembly” event as the final debate for ZiMUN 2017.

The list of the participating guest speakers as well as more details about the “grand General Assembly” will be revealed in future updates, so directors, Secretary Generals, and delegates are all encouraged to check the 2017.zimun.org every Wednesday.