YMUN Korea 2014 Opening Ceremony
After
an afternoon of registration, fun and engaging ice-breakers, and a pre-conference
training workshop, delegates of YMUN Korea 2014 filed into room 401 at the COEX for the
Opening Ceremony. After a brief introduction about the conference, the
secretariat members and the innovative changes for YMUN Korea 2014, the Secretary
General, Sabina Lee introduced this year’s keynote speaker to loud applause.
The
keynote speaker, Ms. Jenny Kim, is the Director for Strategy, Policy, and
Communication at the Global Green Growth Institute. After graduating from
Yonsei University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Diplomacy,
and a Master’s degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ms. Kim worked
as a career diplomat for South Korea, and has held numerous positions that helped
her acquire a
unique set of skills related to diplomacy, international organizations, and
green issues.
Charlotte Finegold, the Under Secretary General for
Services and the chair of UNICEF for this conference, was the primary figure in
asking Ms. Kim to be the keynote speaker. Charlotte thought that Ms. Kim would be a great keynote speaker
as she has an engaging personality and has had extensive experience in global affairs and international relations, having worked in the United Nations and other human rights and environmental organizations.
Ms. Kim was every bit as charming
and articulate as Charlotte had predicted, delivering an inspiring speech where
she shared her past experiences and the knowledge she accumulated over her past
years working in international affairs. Ms. Kim believed that international and
civil society organizations play crucial roles in shaping a world that is
becoming increasingly globalized. While she did acknowledge that there are
cynical attitudes towards such organizations because of their inefficiency and
the failure to live up to expectations, she argued that these sentiments
represented only one side of the story. She believed that “the positive impact that the UN and
other international organizations have made and continue to make is evident in
our world every day.”
And in
her view, this is the reason why this conference, and other Model UN conferences, is important. She believes
that students have the potential to make small changes that might lead to
greater things in the future. Quoting Robert F. Kennedy, Ms. Kim expressed her
hopes that the experiences at YMUN Korea 2014 will inspire the delegates to
take those small steps. She said, “ The world faces numerous challenges, and it will always face
challenges. We cannot solve every issue at once. But this does not mean that we
should not try. Small changes now can and does lead to great change in time. We
must always remember this as we seek to design and create a world that is more
secure, more just, and more sustainable.”
She
ended her speech with an inspiration quote that a senior diplomat once told her,
“The biggest temptation we often face in a difficult situation is just to let
it go. But do not fall into the temptation. You must, and can solve it. There
is always a solution.”
After Ms. Kim’s speech, the Under Secretary General of
Committees, Miranda Melcher introduced the chairs and vice-chairs of the nine
committees. After that, the Secretary General officially opened
YMUN Korea 2014 by announcing, “I declare Yale Model United Nations Korea 2014
in session!”
by Yoonjie Park
by Yoonjie Park
