Dear Delegates,
I am honored to co-chair this year’s World Trade Organisation committee at the BERMUN conference that is grappling with the topic of “Building a Rules-Based Order to Withstand Autocracies”.
Currently our world is facing extreme changes in power dynamics within and between countries, power dynamics that will influence how our global trade system works. Thus, the reason for the rules-based order needs to be rethought: so countries cannot profit off the mercy of the other. An example of this is the fast fashion industry where annually 100 billion tons of garments are created yet the payment per hour for the garment worker can be as little as $1 (Greenpeace). The example illuminates the inequality behind the industry and, generally, between the consumer versus the worker. Eventually, this can lead to unequal living standards.
Such unequal living standards between countries in the Global North versus the Global South has long instilled a sense of guilt in me. Whilst I live with the ability to go to school, buy clothes, and taste the food from India, there are those who live creating the clothes I wear and are living off of minimal amounts of food. Why can, for example, countries like the U.S. have such a profound impact on countries like Vietnam? Why does one have the right to decide the living standards of another? Moreover, partially due to the colonial past, countries in the Global North have the superiority in trade. How can we solve this issue of exploitation less economically developed countries (LEDCs) face whilst also protecting them? Exactly this question is what we aim to debate, compromise, and begin to solve during this BERMUN conference.
I currently attend 11th grade at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin. Joining MUN has offered me new perspectives on international issues. I thoroughly believe that debating is one of the most important life skills, so being able to foster this skill in others as a co-chair of this committee brings me great joy. MUN has been one of the activities that has challenged me to deepen my critical thinking skills. I hope this conference will be another opportunity for growth for us all.
This will be my second time chairing at an MUN conference. I hope to share with you a similar love for global and challenging discussions others have offered me. Other than taking part in MUN, I co-lead the school’s literary arts magazine, lead a school journal, and participate in volunteering groups. I enjoy philosophical debates, making art, and being in nature.
I look forward to meeting you all in November!
Sincerely,
Aurica Mosse
