Meet the Chairs:
Oktay Çakım
American School of Warsaw Dear Delegates, Welcome to the 2022 ZYGMUN V Disarmament and Security committee. This year, you will be focusing on preventing the illicit small arms trade in the Sahel as well as Addressing Black Market Trade Negotiations with Insurgent Groups. Throughout the conference, you will have the opportunity to come together with delegates from across the world to learn about and discuss these issues. And through collaboration, you will come up with a resolution that brings a peaceful solution to these problems. This year, I will have the privilege of serving as the chair of the Disarmament Committee, an experience that I am looking forward to. Generally, this will be my seventh conference and my first time as a student officer. I am fourteen years old and I go to the American School of Warsaw, I have attended the school for three years and also lived in Turkey, which is where I'm from. Apart from MUN, I like to play video games and go outside with my friends. Oktay Cakim Chair of the Disarmament and International Security Committee |
Alexandra Gliwinski
South Forsyth HS (Cumming, GA) Esteemed Delegates of the Disarmament Committee, It is with the utmost pleasure and honor that I welcome you to the fifth annual ZYGMUN conference! Hailing originally from Poland and the United States, I’ve moved frequently and globally until settling most recently in Atlanta in the United States. Five years ago, I attended the inaugural ZYGMUN conference as a middle school delegate. Over the course of these past five years, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to serve various organs within ZYGMUN ranging from a chair in SPECPOL in 2020, to the Head of Admin in 2021, to now again a chair in the DISEC in 2022! It’s been an immense privilege to attend ZYGMUN in so many different capacities and continue this virtually, despite no longer attending the American School of Warsaw. As a junior in high school, I’ve attended 17 conferences around Europe and the United States. MUN has grown to be an integral part of my life and provided me with a greater worldview and understanding of our complex society. Model UN is a tool for building confidence in our ideas and globalism while teaching us the importance of collaboration in problem-solving. I hope our committee serves as an opportunity to practice and develop these keystone skills as we debate two multifaceted and complex issues. Collaboration is integral as we aim to resolve both our committee's issue and sustainable development goal #17, our conference's theme, revitalizing global partnership. Our first topic, the illicit small arms trade in the Sahel, has been a longstanding plague on Northern Africa that requires global collaboration for an effective and comprehensive solution. Our second topic, Black Market Trade Negotiations with Insurgent Groups, is an increasingly important issue as the black market develops and the threat of insurgent groups endangers prosperity and sustainable development on a global scale. I encourage you all to challenge the presented topics with unique and comprehensive solutions, grounded in collaboration and constructive dialogue. I look forward to meeting you all virtually at the fifth annual ZYGMUN conference! Sincerely, Alexandra Gliwinski Chair of the Disarmament and International Security Committee |
Eva Konstantinidou
Anatolia College Thessaloniki Dear delegates, Hello! It is my greatest honor to announce that I will be serving as your chair for this year’s conference. I began my MUN experience back in 2019 and have attended various conferences ever since (all of them being online, sadly.), this one being my 6th one in total (and my very first time chairing!). It is because of this that I will do my best to offer you all a great experience (especially to the first-time delegates – we have all been there, trust me.) Being able to discuss global topics of huge importance as well as connecting with peers from all over the world was simply enough for me to fall in love with MUN. To me, MUN seems to be the best way for one to develop leadership, critical thinking and communication skills, which is what drew me in participating in the first place. Here’s a piece of advice to the people that are just now starting their MUN journey; open your microphone and just speak, no one will judge you. It is completely normal and understandable that you might be nervous to talk with 30 other people, but once you let go of that anxiety everything will be alright. Both I and the other chairs of our committee are here to answer any questions you might have, so please do not hesitate to ask us anything you want! This year, having picked as a theme the Sustainable goal number 17 (Strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development), we have agreed that our committee will be discussing the two following topics; a)Addressing the illicit small arms trade in the Sahel and b)Addressing Black Market and Dark Web Trade with Insurgent Groups. The reason why I am so excited about my first time serving as a chair in the GA1 committee is because discussing nuclear weapons and arms trades was never really something I met in past conferences (since I have been selected as a delegate for the GA1 committee only once), and doing so is exciting as it is outside my comfort zone (my new year’s resolution was to take place in things that are outside my comfort zone, even in those that I have already participated once.) With that being all, I hope we will be able to find multiple solutions that are capable of tackling both issues. I look forward to meeting and having a fruitful debate with all of you this year! Eva Konstantinidou Chair of the Disarmament and International Security Committee |