Tag Archives: united nations

Año internacional de los idiomas de la UNESCO

La Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura ha lanzado el año internacional de los idiomas, en el que habrá varias actividades para promocionar el concepto de la diversidad lingüística.

Esperemos no se queden sólo en buenas intenciones, aunque es un hecho que hay miles de idiomas que estána punto de extinguirse, dada la falta de hablantes.

Once upon a time, there was a Model United Nations

Goofing around with google I found that finally the model united nations that pretty much marked my high school experience has a webpage.  A torrent of memories ensued, and I just had to send them an e-mail, whose translation is below:

"Hi guys,

I found out that slightly over a month ago you had your conference.  Probably the most difficult stages of post-conference syndrome are over (except for the high school seniors, for whom it is always a little rougher).  I simply wanted to know how did it go this time around.

Maybe you're asking yourselves who is this guy and why does he care about what happens in TECMUN.  Tha answer is very simple: I was secretary-general (more secretary than general) during the 98-99 school year, the first page that reached the position, and even though it's been a while I still remember it sometimes and I still care.  My secretariat was very tighly knit and we did well, we had around 700 delegates from Mexico, Canada and Argentina (just before their peso crash), and I still get along with some of them (to the extent that my ECOSOC undersecretary will be the best man at my wedding and my predecessor at the job will also be there, even though the ceremony will take place in Finland).  I cannot give you any lessons about what you have lived and learned, I can simply tell you that it will be useful the rest of your lives.  Keep those friendships and continue learning.

Some of you (especially those in your last semester) are probably wondering what is next in your life.  I can simply tell you that a lot of things.  Some of you may go abroad to study, some may stay, some may get into diplomacy, other lean towards political sciences, others might venture into engineering, business or comms.  You will find new friends, your first jobs, and lots and lots of new people.  However, I can guarantee you that you will still remember what you felt in the closing ceremony, when you saw the ending video, and many of you cried.

Those who stay, take care of the MUN.  It has had good times and bad times, growth and contraction.  I don't know what is its current state, but I ask you to put it in good hands.  There is a lot of people that wants to receive the learnings of this experience and may not even know it.

The world is a pale blue dot, take advantage of the opportunities that you find.  What you are now is, in one way or another, what you will be in the future (even though you might only see small signs of it such as a terrible addiction to watching the news).  Remember who you are and keep on fighting."