Dear Delegates,
Welcome to BERMUN 2024!
This year in the Special Conference we will be discussing the topic ”Equitably Governing Diversifying Societies”. According to the Migration Policy Institute, the number of international migrants has tripled from 1970 to 2020. This has led to more diversity as reflected by a 2019 survey of 27 countries by Pew Research Center in which 69% of respondents said that they felt their country was growing more diverse. Due to growing migration and globalization, societies are rapidly growing more diverse, this diversity is then reflected in politics as different identities with different values, goals, and experiences cross paths. This can have an enormous destabilizing effect as individuals begin to feel that who they are is threatened, this then puts considerable strain on governing institutions which can then create instability.
This directly connects to our conference theme “Fostering Global Citizenship among Identities and Responsibilities”. Echoing the sentiment of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, the basis of equitable good governance as opposed to bad governance is that the governed are citizens and not subjects. To have governance at any scale global or national we need citizenship, and creating that common citizenship in a world of rapid diversification where identities and responsibilities become ever more fractured is the problem at the heart of our committee and conference. The task of our delegates is to unify populations without erasing identities, within nations and across them. We must forge communities that are resilient although the members of the community have huge differences. Be it across race, religion, or ethnicity, we need to find what unites not divides.
On a personal note, I am in the 10th grade at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin, Germany, and this is my 11th conference. I grew up in Berlin, Germany and Vermont, USA. I have family in the UK, Canada, USA, Portugal, Israel, Austria, and South Africa. I am a huge politics nerd, whether it is in student council, MUN, or real-world politics. I also play basketball and the cello and enjoy good food, views, and books. I am excited to be chairing the Special Conference with Lioba and look forward to meeting all of you in November!
Sincerely,
James Simanowitz
