African Union
African Union (AU)
Benjamin Hsu, Director
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to HMUN 2012 and the African Union! It is my great pleasure to serve as your director this year and I am sure we are going to have a blast.
Let me introduce myself first. My name is Benjamin Hsu and I hail all the way across the world from the beautiful island of Taiwan. I am currently a rising junior and am majoring in statistics. Here at Harvard, I’m involved with HMUN, HNMUN, WorldMUN, Mission Hill Afterschool Program, and Asian American Christian Fellowship. Being part of MUN has been very exciting and rewarding, and I look forward to sharing in your MUN experience in this upcoming conference.
The first topic we will be discussing in committee is climate change and its effects on hunger and malnourishment. This is a very important topic for Africa today as it brings together two important issues and aims to search out the connection between the two and find solutions. Extreme hunger is one of the most pressing issues today in much of Africa and there are so many facets to this problem that it would be impossible to have a comprehensive discussion about extreme hunger in only one conference. In our committee, we aim to narrow the debate, as well as make it more interesting, by focusing in on one cause: climate change. Looking at the issue from this perspective will bring many more perspectives to the issue at hand, as well as help us tackle this big problem starting on a smaller scale.
However, this issue is by no means small. Climate change itself exacerbates the problem of hunger in so many ways. Some key issues we will try to address are short-term and long-term steps we can take to mitigate the problem including (but definitely not limited to) policies that target energy consumption and exploitation, and the rebuilding of ecosystems and farmland damaged by climate change. This issue has a very wide scope and I look forward to seeing resolutions that tackle climate change in light of its effect of extreme hunger and malnourishment from all different directions in the context of Africa.
Next, the second topic concerns China’s role in Africa. Most obviously, China plays an important role in Africa’s economy. China is one of Africa’s biggest traders, and the economic ties Africa maintains with China is vital to its growth. However, there also emerges a political side to this relationship as China has been accused of selling arms to dictatorial regimes. In addition, the economic relationship is sometimes accused of being exploitive. I hope to address both the economic and political implications of China’s involvement in Africa and any necessary steps Africa must take in order to ensure its future prosperity.
I am very excited to work on these two topics with all of you. I hope you enjoy researching the topics before conference and I look forward to meeting you all in February!
Sincerely,
Benjamin Hsu
About Me
Class Year: 2013
Concentration: Statistics
Hometown: Hsinchu, Taiwan
Favorite Place: Hsinchu, Taiwan
Favorite Food: fried pancakes, street food in general
Favorite MUN Moment: My favorite MUN moment is the heated argument I had in committee with my older brother, with me as the delegate of the DPRK and my brother as the delegate of Canada, on the issue of the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program.
Why did you choose these topics? I chose these topics because I think they are topics that are very important in today’s world but overlooked, or just not thought about as much. With both China and Africa on the rise in this century, I believe it is important to examine the connection between the two. The first topic of the connection between climate change and hunger brings together two important issues in Africa and I am excited about delving into the connection between the two issues.
Some advice for new delegates: Do your research well. Read up on a lot of UN documents as well as non-UN documents, the news, etc. Know your country through and through and don’t be afraid to reach out and speak up during the conference. Everyone is vital to the committee and any individual not contributing to debate and discussions means the committee can’t reach its full potential.
HMUN is the best because… It brings together so many people from all around the world for a meaningful and fun conference!
Topics
Topic A: Climate Change
Tackling the problem of hunger and malnourishment is of utmost importance in Africa, and climate change is one of the biggest obstacles in the way. Changing weather patterns, floods, droughts, and other phenomena caused by climate change are exacerbating the problem. This committee will discuss both short term and long term policies and measures we must take in order to ensure the welfare of the impoverished and hungry in Africa.
Topic B: The Role of China in Africa
With China’s rise in the past decade, Africa has grown closer and closer to China both politically and economically. The political and economic implications of developing a deeper relationship with China are huge and will greatly influence the future of Africa as a whole. Some issues include China’s controversial political moves, China’s dominance in economic affairs, among many others. How much involvement is too much, how much involvement is too little?