Special Political and Decolonization Committee

 
 
Background Guide

Topic Summary

In this committee, delegates will address the challenges of balancing national security with the protection of privacy and free expression. In an era of expanding surveillance technologies, governments increasingly rely on the role of AI and digital technologies to monitor threats. In this environment, questions of transparency and accountability are essential to address. In the October session, delegates will address how mass surveillance can undermine political thought and action from a framework of civil liberties. In the December session, delegates will explore the role of mass corporations in enabling surveillance and explore how international standards can promote accountability and privacy. Delegates will work to create solutions that balance human rights and security concerns.

 

My name is Sydney Burns and I am super excited to serve as your director of SPECPOL this year at HMUN online! I am from Milton, Massachusetts which is a suburb just south of Boston. At Harvard, I am planning on studying either Social Studies or Government, with a citation in French. I especially have a keen interest in international development, which is what drew me to Model UN in the first place. Other than Model UN, here at Harvard I’m involved with the Public Opinion Project, the Harvard Organization for Prison Education, Harvard Model Congress, and serving as the clerk for Harvard’s International Relations Council. In my free time, I love to go on long walks, get sweet treats with my friends, and swim recreationally.

Model UN has been a huge part of both my high school and college experiences. I competed all four years in high school (and even attended HMUN as a delegate three times!), and here at Harvard I’ve been able to travel across the country attending conferences with our competitive team, ICMUN. I have always preferred GA committees, and have a special love for the chaos a double delegate committee brings. I also have extensive staffing experience, serving as an Assistant Director at HMUN and HNMUN last year, serving as a Director at HMUN China 2026, and also serving as a Director at HNMUN 2027(our college conference). Simply put, I love the bonds I have made and the culture I have interacted with throughout my Model UN career. I can’t wait to take my enthusiasm for Model UN to HMUN 2027 and direct the SPECPOL committee this year!