[IMPORTANT] Position Paper Updates and Last Minute Conference Tips

Hi delegates, 2 DAYS UNTIL BMUN 67 I HOPE YOU ARE ALL AS EXCITED AS WE ARE!! Before conference officially begins on Friday, I just wanted to give you all a quick update regarding position paper grades and some last minute tips and advice for conference.

Regarding position papers, you should all have already received your graded work with feedback through our online portal Huxley. If you do not see your paper, please email us at wholxvii@gmail.com, and we will figure out what happened. We strongly suggest reviewing some of our comments to help finalize your research and prep before conference begins. Also note that when you receive your grades, don't think of it so much as a percentage. Our papers are graded on a very coarse scale per section, with 1-5 being the entire range. The average grade is somewhere in the 60s or so - this does NOT mean that it's a D grade paper; in fact, it means that you had a great start to your work and indeed met many of the expectations that we set, but we encourage you further research relevant specifics and develop your solutions more fully.

After going through all the research papers, there are a few clarifications that we wanted to make regarding our two topics:

1. The genomic medicine topic will encompass three broad areas: how to regulate genetic technology, how to address the bioethical implications of gene editing, and how to overcome current scientific and infrastructural challenges in order to make genomic medicine more efficient and more accessible. With this being said, our committee will not be discussing GMOs, agriculture, cloning, or any other uses of genetic technology other than for medicinal/healthcare purposes. We also encourage you to explore genomic and genetic medicine beyond just CRISPR and gene editing - genomic medicine encompasses a broad range of practices that include gene therapy, personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics, and much more (basically anything that uses genetic principles and applies it to medicine). 
2. The mental health topic will primarily address 2 aspects: 1) mental health in conflict zones, from a human rights perspective, and 2) mental health in post-conflict zones, from an infrastructural perspective. We encourage you all to research the nuances of conflict zones, and why these circumstances are not only so unique, but so difficult to reach. Your solutions should address how we can scale up mental health services to improve mental health and close the epidemiological disparity within these two avenues. 
3. Remember - your solutions should be as specific as possible! A good acronym to keep in mind is SMART: specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound. This can help give you an idea of what we are looking for in resolutions during conference. The most important thing to keep in mind is how your solution can be implemented - be sure to consider all the logistics and difficulties, and convince your fellow delegates that your solution will work.

Now that that's all out of the way, here's a bit of last minute advice:

1. We strongly recommend bringing a prepared speech that's about 1 min to 1.5 min speaking time. We will definitively be prioritizing the speaker's list for the mental health topic in order to give everyone an equal and equitable chance to speak. For the genomics medicine topic, there is a good chance that we won't get to everyone on the speaker's list because of the different way that this topic will be chaired (although speeches during mods will count the same for grading purposes), so we would also recommend bringing a list of main talking points in case your speech gets relegated to a mod. Just be prepared to think on your feet each time a new crisis arises!
2. In each of your speeches, be sure to bring something new or interesting to debate, like a perspective that no one else has brought up or some interesting facts or solutions that haven't yet been considered. Originality is something that we really look for, since it pushes debate forward. Most of debate will be substantive, meaning that the majority of your speeches should be very solutions-oriented. In the event that your delegation may be later on the speaker's list, we recommend having variations of your opening speech so that you can dedicate as much speaking time as possible to moving debate forward. 
3. In unmoderated caucuses, BMUN really really prioritizes diplomacy, cooperation, and leadership. We highly recommend using this time to speak with other delegates and gain perspective on where their delegations stand on each of the topics. What we look for most when evaluating performance in unmods is demonstration of leadership. This does not necessarily mean that you are speaking the most, nor does it mean that your solutions comprise the majority of the resolution. Instead, a true leader values collaboration, and works with other delegates to bring out the best of them; the best leaders in unmods create an empowering environment where all ideas can be heard.
4. The members of the dais are all resources at your disposal! Please don't hesitate to ask us any questions or for advice; we are always happy to give feedback and are very excited to meet and talk to you all. 
5. Finally, and most importantly, we hope that you come with an open mind! In the end, BMUN is a learning conference. We hope that you come into conference on Friday and leave each day having learned something new or had your ideas challenged. In the end, the most important thing is that you've learned a little bit more about our world today, grew as a speaker, or developed as a diplomat. 

With all of that being said, we are incredibly excited to meet you in just two days!! It's going to be a great weekend!