It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Model United Nations Conference 2008. My name is Charles Harris, and I will be your chair for what will undoubtedly be an exciting weekend at UPMUNC in November.
Throughout the history of the United Nations, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee has performed vital work for the betterment of our world. Grappling issues from refugees to regional conflicts to the peaceful uses of outer space, SPECPOL has a scope that is expansive and consequential. This year’s offerings, The Palestinian Question, and Peacekeeping Operations in Post-Colonial Territories, are no exception.
Personally, this will be my final UPMUNC, so I’m looking forward to hosting a really exciting committee and going out with a bang. For UPMUNC 2007, I was the Chair for the Global Summit on Environmental Sustainability, and I served as a Vice Chair and a dais staffer in the two years before that. For ILMUNC (Penn’s conference for high-schoolers in January), I have served as the Director-General and the Undersecretary-General for General Assembly Committees. Though Model UN is a big part of my life here, I also manage to squeeze in some time for my fraternity, and spend the remainder of my time working in the architecture studio or just hanging out with friends.
I look forward to meeting working with each and every one of you throughout the course of the conference, and I hope that you will join me for what will be the most exciting session of UPMUNC to date. In the meantime, feel free to email me with any questions or concerns, and I look forward to seeing everyone in November.
Charles Harris
charleslh@gmail.com