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Content:
> Promoting Youth Involvement in Economics
> Combating Illiteracy with Special Regards to Ensuring Equal Access to Education for Both Genders
> Establishing a UN Youth Agency to Promote the Political and Economic Empowerment of Youth
> Questions to consider
> Membership
> Functions and Powers
> Voting
> Procedure
> Research Tips
Contact: ecosoc[at]bermun.de
Dear Delegates of the Economic and Social Council,
Our names are Max Jürgens, Christoph Schneider, and Leonard Sandow and it is our honor to serve as your Presidents and Rapporteur in the BERMUN ECOSOC 2007.
The Economic and Social Council of BERMUN 2007 will focus on three main issues:
- Promoting Youth Involvement in Economics
- Combating Illiteracy with Special Regards to Ensuring Equal Access to Education for Both Genders
- Establishing a UN Youth Agency to Promote the Political and Economic Empowerment of Youth (TOPIC CHANGE: Important information below!)
All three issues are vital to the development of a sustainable economy. Youth around the world need to be integrated into economic and political decisions, in order to properly tackle the rapid development of globalization. The ECOSOC takes the initiative to establish these important steps.
We have prepared a brief overview of the individual topics below. All ECOSOC delegates are expected to conduct extensive research on all three topics. The information provided below should only serve as a head-start; it does in no way substitute for all of your research. We believe it goes without saying that plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable (this implies the copying of any clauses or ideas out of original UN resolutions or official documents). We also ask you to write at least one complete resolution on any of the three topics ahead of time and prepare some individual clauses for the remaining two. Once the conference has begun, you can then share your ideas and merge your resolutions. It is always a smart move to start lobbying ahead of time, so please do not forget to sign up in the BERMUN forum. The ECOSOC will have opening speeches! This is not obligatory, but a chance for you to present your policy on the issues at hand. Opening speeches will be held on Wednesday, the 14th of November, after the opening ceremony. Also, as a small side note, it would not be a wrong idea to bring clipboards, as the ECOSOC room will not have any tables.
Promoting Youth Involvement in Economics
There is no question that measures must be taken to promote young people’s involvement in economics. In part 3 of the UN World Youth Report 2005 it is stated that "Globalization has substantially changed the job market", to which young people, as newcomers, are "most vulnerable"." Due to this fact young people have to become familiar with economics as soon as possible, in order not to fall behind the fast pace of modern global economics.
From September 10th until September 11th, a conference entitled "Microenterprise Conference" will be held in Washington, DC, USA. Young adults from all over the world will participate in order to get involved in economic questions. One of the key issues discussed at the debate is "Strategies to Address the Needs of Youth Entrepreneurs". This could possibly be seen as a role model for further conferences. As the organizers of this conference point out, young people must be educated and should have access to mass media in order to promote youth involvement in economics. Several other conferences, similar to this one, are supported by the United Nations in different ways.
Combating Illiteracy with Special Regards to Ensuring Equal Access to Education for Both Genders
There are varying definitions on the term "literacy". Some countries define a literate person as an individual that writes and reads simple sentences and is able to sign documents. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has drafted the following definition: "Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society." This definition naturally brings difficulties when trying to account for the illiteracy rates in various countries, also in regard to the sometimes false information provided by governments. Thus, it is difficult to depict the exact number of illiterate persons.
Education is an important part of human rights in order to secure that every human has the possibility to find his or her talents and potentials. In 2001, the Human Rights Committee states: "Recalling also that everyone shall enjoy the human right to education, which is enshrined, inter alia, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (…)" (Human Rights resolution 2001/29).
There are many different problems when considering the topic of illiteracy. Two thirds of the 781 million illiterate people are women. This gender disparity shows gender suppression constitutes a vital factor in regard to the problem of illiteracy. In many of the less economically developed countries, women do not share the same privileges as men and cannot attend school. A woman’s primary role in these countries is to organize the household and raise the children. Since ancient times there were those patriarchal structures, which suppress women still today. Today, the UN and its organizations face tremendous problems in providing young girls access to education. Often families do not allow the girls to go to school because of religious backgrounds, conservative ideals or economic difficulties. Women empowerment is a key factor in solving the problem of illiteracy.
This year the BERMUN ECOSOC faces a new challenge. We have decided to replace the topic of "Youth Employment" with:
"Establishing a UN Youth Agency to Promote the Political and Economic Empowerment of Youth"
This topic differs in many ways from usual MUN topics. Instead of resolving an issue, we will be creating a new committee, a new United Nations Specialized Agency for youth-oriented issues. You will have the liberty to decide on many various aspects of such an establishment. What kind of objectives will our Youth Agency have? How many members will convene in the committee? How much influence/power will we grant this new Agency? These questions are only examples of the aspects you will need to consider. Before and during the conference you will then merge your ideas with other delegates to create a new international organ of the UN.
You may ask yourself what a "Specialized Agency" actually is. Here an excerpt from "Encyclopedia Britannica- Online": "The specialized agencies report annually to ECOSOC and often cooperate with each other and with various UN organs. However, they also have their own principles, goals, and rules, which at times may conflict with those of other UN organs and agencies. [...] Major specialized agencies and related organs of the UN include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Two of the most powerful specialized agencies, which also are the most independent with respect to UN decision making, are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The United Nations, along with its specialized agencies, is often referred to collectively as the United Nations system." (http://www.britannica.com)
We do not ask you to write a complete charter, but to formulate a few clauses pertaining to the individual sub-points elaborated on below (bear in mind your country’s policy). The procedure of this will be quite different from usual MUN debates. We will structure the debate according to the sub-topics. This means, you will lobby and merge your ideas and come up with a draft clause for the sub-topic. After that we will debate the different ideas presented. For example: In small lobbying groups, you will discuss the sub-topic of "Membership". Then the formulated clauses will be presented to the entire committee, after which we will debate the suggestions, hopefully merge them into a compromise, and finally vote. In essence we will slowly construct a draft charter, one piece after the other.
The charter will be divided into separate sub-points. Below, we have prepared these and a few questions you should consider when brainstorming the respective clauses. The clauses will not be usual UN resolution clauses. Please have a look at the UN Charter, the ECOSOC Charter, and the "Example" section for more information (links below).
Objectives: What is your specialized Agency all about? We have constructed a brief outline of the Agency’s mission in the topic line. You should focus on the political and economic empowerment of youth. In essence, this is what the Agency wants to achieve. The objectives will not, as all the other sub-points, be written in article form, but rather as Perambulatory Clauses (just like in a normal resolution). Here you outline a short mission statement for the Agency. Please try to make this Agency unique to all others. We do not want to have a mirror organization of UNICEF, which means education should not be an issue for this Agency.
Questions to consider:
- What should the Youth Agency accomplish?
- What are its main goals?
Membership: One of the most heated discussion points will be the distribution of seats in the Agency. Think about how your country would like to see the seats be distributed amongst the different regions. Also: will the committee consist of actual youth representatives, or rather normal country representatives?
Questions to consider:
- How many seats will the Agency have?
- Who receives a seat in the Youth Agency?
- Who determines the distribution of seats for the Agency?
- How will the seats be divided upon regions/continents?
Functions and Powers: Essentially, this part determines how much influence and power you grant the Youth Agency.
Questions to consider
- What kind of solutions will the Youth Agency thrust?
- Will it provide and/or initiate reports, resolutions, or proposals?
- How will the proposals be published/presented and where (GA, ECOSOC, other Specialized Agencies, Security Council, Secretariat General)?
- Will it initiate these reports/resolutions/proposals on its own accord or on request?
- How will the Youth Agency cooperate with individual countries and other forums?
- How will it act on those issues?
Voting: Here you set guidelines for the democratic procedure of voting. This part is probably the most straightforward one.
- How will the voting rights be distributed?
- How will decisions pass (simple majority, 2/3 majority, etc.)?
Procedure: One of the most important aspects is the basis on which your Agency will act. Be aware that your country might have special interest in how strong/weak the Agency is. Remember: As a representative of a nation, you will have to consider your individual country’s interests as well as those of the international community as a whole.
- Where will its emphasis lie (what issues in particular)?
- Should the Agency operate under the patronage of the ECOSOC, the GA, or another forum, or should it operate on a sovereign basis?
- Who governs/moderates the Agency? (Chairperson and his/her functions)
- How often and where will the Agency meet?
- Will there be a permanent office?
- How will the agenda be determined?
Research Tips: During your preparation it is advisable to research different committees and their establishment. That way you get an idea of your country’s position on the establishment of a new Agency. A perfect example is the establishment of the new UN Human Rights Council in March 2006. Also try to research UNICEF, UNESCO, and the WHO, as we would like to avoid similarities between the Agencies. Remember: A new Agency should not include topics already addressed in other Agencies. Furthermore, the charter of the ECOSOC, which can be found in any UN Charter, gives you a nice overview of possibilities. This does in no way mean you can simply substitute the clauses from the ECOSOC charter into this new one. Plagiarism is unacceptable!
An example of how the end-product could look can be found under the "Downloads" section.
We strongly urge you to include your own ideas into the topic. The more innovative ideas you bring into the discussion, the merrier the debate. However, in order for us to facilitate a constructive and smooth debate, please stick to the sub-topic division and consider the given objective limitations.
Below are examples of how the end product could look.
As the Presidents and the Rapporteur of the ECOSOC we will naturally open ourselves to any questions. Please feel free to contact us at ecosoc[at]bermun.de. During the conference and the actual debate, the Rapporteur will be able to answer questions and give recommendations.
We are looking forward to meeting you in November,
Max Jürgens, Christoph Schneider, Leonard Sandow
(Presidents and Rapporteur of the ECOSOC)
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