Dear Delegates,

Welcome to UPMUNC 58! I’m Lisel Ndrecka and I’ll be your chair for this Crisis on the 2019 Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On behalf of me and your staffers, I would like to express how excited we are to welcome you to the conference!

Unlike your ordinary crisis topic, this committee will place you at the very center of the CCP’s most powerful decision-making body during a moment of extraordinary uncertainty post-Covid. As delegates, you will be tasked with navigating high-stakes questions of governance, political legitimacy, and China’s future path in the face of internal and external pressures. The issues before you will range from corruption and economic instability to factional rivalries and the possibility of foreign involvement. We encourage you to think beyond the immediate challenges and ask whether or not it is worth it to preserve stability, maintain your power, or instill reform. Cindy and I are excited to see how you work as a team, and, of course, as a party.

A bit about me: I’m currently a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Economics and data analytics. On campus, I am also involved in INTERCOL, Penn’s Model UN team, and many of you may recognize me as last year’s Chief of Staff of UPMUNC. Outside of campus, you’ll likely find me running on various city paths around Philadelphia, volunteering, and travelling.

I love my home-city of Philadelphia (go Birds) and have grown to love Penn (go Quakers) so I’m incredibly excited to extend a warm welcome to you all for my last UPMUNC. Please feel free to email me, Cindy, or any of your staffers regarding questions about committee. We look forward to seeing you in November!

Lisel Ndrecka

liselndr@sas.upenn.edu