Dear HSC Participants,
Welcome to the BERMUN2 2026 conference!
This year’s conference theme is “Decolonize.”, which will focus on colonialism and its modern effects. The era and concept of modern-day colonialism first began with the establishment of new trade outposts by Portugal and Spain in the 15th century. What followed were centuries of oppression, which enriched Western nations such as the United Kingdom and Spain at the expense of those who had been colonized, leading these colonized countries to fall behind in global development. Colonization is, however, not only a problem of the past. Many authors have not only criticised how previous colonized nations still suffer from the effects of colonialism, but also how the power structures in international organizations favor Western nations and Western culture. They deem it necessary to address colonialism in the contemporary world, which will be the aim of each committee.
In the Historical Security Council, we will simulate the Security Council’s discussion on the topic of “The Suez Canal Crisis - on the date of October 31, 1956”. The conflict was sparked by the newly created post-World War II Middle East, when newly liberated Egypt hoped to nationalize the Suez Canal, one of the most important waterways globally connecting Europe with Asia. This, however, faced strong opposition from both France and the United Kingdom, which hoped to strengthen their own presence in the Middle East and Asia by oppressing the newly formed Egyptian government. This conflict, rooted in modern-day imperialism, ultimately culminated in an armed conflict between the two Western powers and Egypt, but also a proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union, bringing the international community to the Security Council to search for a solution to sustainable peace.
On a personal note, I am a 16-year-old German-American in 11th grade at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin, which I have been attending since 6th grade. I have lived in Berlin my whole life and in my free time enjoy cooking, biking with friends, and playing guitar. I have been a part of the MUN program for almost four years now, and this year’s conference will be my seventh BERMUN conference, as well as my fifth time chairing.
I look forward to seeing you all in February, and I hope that we can make this a memorable conference for everyone!
Sincerely,
Benno Thomas
