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BACKGROUND GUIDE (.pdf) Welcome to the United Nations International Development Organisation! I, your chair, am a senior here at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering with a minor in Economics. Political Science, especially Security Studies, is my hobby; I genuinely enjoy intelligent discussion of the issues confronting our world and it helps me keep my sanity at this institution. Why do I think MUN is important? Because very unfortunate recent events are what have brought America's foreign policy to the forefront of the public consciousness, but public debate of these issues is still lacking. In a post-Cold War environment, the United Nations has its first true chance to fulfill its original mandate. It is critical that the United States support this reemergence and only by vigorous public action can we turn our country to this course of liberal institutionalism and away from the current, self-destructive acts of primacy. Don't let my remarks above frighten you. I'm usually quite an un-serious guy from the Jersey shore. This is my third year of involvement with MITMUN and I have enjoyed it immensely. Besides the clearly expressed rules of the conference, I will not be terribly concerned with parliamentary procedure. For me, the quality of discussion will define the success of this committee and I hope that it will be pointed, intelligent and, on the whole, excellent. More attention will be paid to substance of debate with bonus points for those who ground their arguments in verifiable background research. I hope that you all are excited about the topics as I am. As a first generation Nigerian, bridging the digital divide is extremely important to me personally, but I hope that you all recognize the importance of making sure that no country is left behind in our current technological revolution. The humanitarian aspect is not everything. I think this topic is also useful when examining the current and future global economic situation. If you are truly interested in the economics of it, I suggest you research the emergence of the Far East as a technological power and the economic crises of that region in the last decade. As I mentioned earlier, security studies capture my attention and thus the second topic is an effort to include recent events in our discussion. Most of the papers I have written on this subject are concerned directly with anti-terrorism and the strategies of our (necessary) military response, so this will be a new approach to the topic for me as well. This will be a good opportunity for us to better understand these events and consider the logical responses that come after our visceral reactions. I consider the two topics before us as crucial to the international stability that the UN seeks to maintain and look forward to the new ideas our work will engender. Both topics capture the challenge to the international community that the United Nations is best poised to overcome. Bridging the digital divide will greatly aid our efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of the tragic events we look to remedy in our second topic. Remember this linkage throughout our discussion; look for total solutions that involve short- and long-term components. Well, that's it. If there any questions before the conference begins, please do not hesitate to send me e-mail. Keep checking the website because I will try to add more research sites for both topics as the year progresses. I'll see you all in March.
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