Can you do the CanCon?

Hello HSMUN 2011 Delegates!

As you may have heard before, in a lot of countries there exists a content quota for radio and television broadcasters. In Canada, for example, it is required that all channels must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from Canada.

Similar rules are found across the world- in the Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria, France, Israel,Ireland, South Africa, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

Obviously, rules and regulations like this exist to protect and prolong culture. Do you think these means are effective? Are citizens generally influenced by these rules at all, or has media made access to a multitude of outlets so easy that regulations like the aforementioned are ineffective? What are some similar rules/laws exist in your delegation that follow the same mandate?

ECOFIN Takes It Away... Again...

Hello again delegates,

Oversimplification:

Good

Bad

Life is so simple. Although, granted, it is now your job as UN delegates to take on the rather daunting task of avoiding one and pushing for the other. Which is which will be decided in due course. Good luck!

Random Tidbits

Howdy ECOFIN delegates!

So it's almost conference time, and hopefully you guys are all set and ready to go. Just some last-minute notes for you guys to keep in mind:

This is a very random link on sustainability. It doesn't necessarily tell you much about what we're discussing specifically, but it does help put economic, social, and environmental sustainability all in perspective and show how they can work together.

http://anewscafe.com/2011/02/04/turtle-bay-takes-sustainability-beyond-tree-hugging/

And this is just funny (in a sustainable way)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxTNZUhesZk&feature=fvwrel

If you guys have any questions between now and the conference, feel free to email us at hsmun.ecofin@gmail.com

Cheers,

Is Culture Transnational?

In the Global Traffic map above, one can easily see that the world has become increasingly more connected through information sharing/transfers. Telecommunications, digital and internet use, mobile phone use, and the number of computers sold around the world have all played a major factor in connecting people to information and opportunities globally.

Stuart Hall, a cultural theorist, once said "culture is now irrevocably transnational, irrevocably open at the ends, porous and unable to close its borders and its mind, unable to shut out things that will reach over the barriers that are erected...inescapably taking place on a global plane". He speculated that culture is always global, regardless of individual national cultures. He was supportive of globalization, because he felt that "migration and globalization open in the spaces in which a more diverse set of cultural practices night occur has been set in the context of the complementary movement in the other direction towards ethnic and national closure". Cultural diversity can be seen as something to embrace and celebrate as the world moves towards diversity and simulation.

But is this always the case? Some would argue that cultural diversity is as much of a threat as it is a positive opportunity. A common response to globalization and cultural integration is the defensive movement to protect cultural distinctiveness. Some nations do not want to open their cultural borders, fearing that a multicultural society will shift towards Western preferences and ideas. These movements can stem from both positive and negative roots. Each state has the right to preserve its culture, for the sake of its heritage and history. Cultural distinctiveness helps each nation have a global identity that prolongs values and traditions, and also helps the nation's tourism and promotional industries.

Questions to think about:

Do you think cultural integration is inevitable?

Is culture global, or are there still examples of national culture around the world?

How does technology and digital communication help/hinder global relations?

Another Brick in the Blog

Hello Comrades,

Although much of what we've talked about on the sustainable technological development topic so far has been regarding green technological development, there are also other avenues to consider. Both social sustainability and economic sustainability are avenues that should be looked at as well. Social sustainability refers to the ability of a society to maintain or improve the standard of living for its citizens. Economic sustainability refers to the ability of an economy to continue effective functioning indefinitely. Many of the problems in developing and third-world nations stem from the fact that while there can be too little growth, there can also be too much. Case in point - China. China is only now beginning to recover from rapid, unsustainable technological growth. Economies that grow to fast create problems such as rapid inflation, unsafe and unsustainable practices, and inability of markets to absorb the rapid influx of money and resources. Short-term damage is caused, with a significant threat down the road of significantly decreased growth when some sort of capacity is reached. Standard of living also decreases, as pollution increases, investment moves from infrastructure and social services to big business and economic growth. Therefore, developing nations must find a happy medium where they can develop across the board - socially, economically, and environmentally, and are not pushing to 'catch up' to developed nations, such as in the case of China and India.

Something to think about.

New Green Technologies

Linked below is information about a list of new technologies that have large potantials to help make industries cleaner. However, while most people would certainly say that adoption of these technologies is certainly a good thing, the fact remains that many will not see the light of day. This is due in large part to the reluctance of industries and corporations to accept new, more environmentally-friendly methods of production, often because they raise the costs of production and subsequently lower profit margins.

What are some of the ways that industries and corporations can be persuaded to begin to adopt a wider range of these new "green" technologies? Is the most effective way through financial incentives? Through government regulation?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/jan/19/top-10-renewable-energy-companies

ECOFIN Backround Papers

The ECOFIN background papers are now available:
The Question of Sustainable Technological Development
The Question of Globalization of the Cultural Industry

Now is the time to begin your researching and writing for the position papers, as they must be submitted to hsmun.ecofin[at]gmail.com by midnight on February 11th, 2011 to be considered for an award.

Jazz hands and the Cold War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA

What would those two things have anything to do with ECOFIN, you may ask? Well, just to give you a bit of insight in regards to one of the early examples of globalization back in the 1960's, we will take a break from reading and listen to some Louis Armstrong. Yes, that's right. In the 1960's, Louis Armstrong was well renowned for his talents in singing and trumpet playing. He was so talented that the US government decided to enlist Armstrong to serve as "Ambassador Satch," (Satch was his nickname) over in African nations in hopes of spreading good will for America around the globe. State Department-sponsored tours and broadcasts were used in attempts of introducing and swaying foreign citizens towards American culture.Armstrong quickly garnered a large fan base as was soon recognized as an international celebrity and American jazz icon.

Is something like this a positive or negative result of globalization?

How have events like these change cultures across the world?

Do we still observe similar changes today?

Salutations Citizens

I'll keep this one nice and quick to make sure no brains are fried into unduly useless pulp.

So far, for the sustainable technology topic, you're heard about different kinds of energy technologies. Although this is a big issue, there are also other avenues you may want to explore. Climate change, for one, is increasingly a hot topic on the world stage. Many of the solutions to climate change deal with improving technologies, either to release less carbon into the atmosphere or to capture carbon once it is already in the atmosphere.

I probably don't need to do climate change related research for you guys. Just look at Google news and that should keep you busy for a while. But in the spirit of pretending that I actually matter, here is a random link:

http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=173352

Climate change is a big player now, but if you look around there are other problems that either were a big deal at some point in time, such as ozone depletion, problems with nuclear energy/products, or food shortages due to population growth, and problems that are shaping up to eventually be big players such as water shortages and decreases in biodiversity. Ignoring the fact that I am starting to sound like the science student I really am, there is a lot of technology that can be put to good use, so just keep looking around.

Cheers.

Greetings ECOFIN Delegates!

Christmas is almost upon us and you guessed right, that means more HSMUN research (disclaimer: please don't ACTUALLY spend your Christmas break doing research). Just another quick heads up on the sustainable technological development topic.

You've all doubtless heard of the array of energy resources out there. Although this is not the only subtopic you must focus on as ECOFIN delegates, it is certainly one of the most important. Energy resources can be of 3 types - non-renewable, renewable, and perpetual. Non-renewables are the ones we all know and love - oil, natural gas, coal. These resources are dirty in the sense that they release significant carbon and other emissions into the atmosphere when they are burned. They are also limited in supply and will eventually be exhausted. Sustainable technological development focusses on moving from rough non-renewable technologies to cleaner non-renewables to renewables to perpetuals.

Renewable resources are resources that are not limited in supply, as they replenish on a visible timescale. The problem with these resources is that humans can have a significant impact; overuse or degradation of these resources comes with the cost of potentially permanent and severe environmental damage. For example, biomass (burning wood and other vegetation) and water are renewable resources. When these resources are used responsibly, such as planting a tree for every tree harvested, or using water without running rivers dry - they have much less negative environmental impacts than non-renewables (yes, carbon dioxide is still released into the atmosphere when you burn trees, but ideally if you plant one tree for every tree you harvest, the impact is cancelled out). Misusing these resources, such as severe deforestation, can have significant impacts such as desertification, loss of wildlife, changes in weather and water patterns, etc.

The best resources out there are perpetuals. These, like wind, tidal energy, and sunlight, are potentially infinite and cannot be directly impacted by humans. As more efficient technologies develop to harvest these sources, it is more likely that these are the sources our world will depend on centuries, and possibly even decades from now. Making the switch, however, is difficult and costly in the short-term, and that is where your mission lies.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Problems with One Laptop Per Child?

Greetings earthlings!

The debate about the globalization of the cultural industry continues as programs such as the One Laptop Per Child thrive to create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children. Contenders on one side of this issue will argue that this American-made, non-profit organization has created a valuable open source experiment that has made this educational device an affordable commodity to marginalized children around the world. On the other side of the issue, some may argue that although millions of laptops have been distributed, these devices expose children from various developing countries to Western culture. For example, the laptops are wired to connect its user to the internet sources that don’t necessarily reflect comparable educational systems across the globe, but rather a fairly Western approach to learning.

Each laptop has been speculated to cost around $100 USD. The OLPC has stated that its mandate is to:
- Let the kids keep the laptops
- Focus on early education
- Ensure no one gets left out.
- Connection to the internet.
- Free to grow and adapt.

You can learn more about the OLPC program here:
http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child

With these facts in mind, which side do you think each delegation would be in favour of? Do you think this program is effective in terms of promoting education? Do you think money would be better invested elsewhere? How are programs like these effecting cultures across the globe?

ECOFUN

Greetings delegates! For those of you on the ECOFIN committee and those of you who have any interest at all about global environmental or economic issues, this is the place to be.

One of the topics that will be discussed in the ECOFIN committee is the question of sustainable technological development. If you're wondering where to start your research, the International Institute on Sustainable Development is the place to go (www.iisd.org). They've got up-to-date information on most everything involving sustainability worldwide. Do remember, however, that we are discussing technological development, so focus your research there. A good topic to start would be sustainable energy technologies. The Delhi International Conference on Renewable Energy was held in late October (www.iisd.org/ymb/energy/direc2010/) and was the latest in an ongoing series of conferences to address future energy issues. As many of you are aware of, there are countless technological directions within sustainable energy. In general, the struggle at the moment is to convince nations reliant on fossil fuels and non-renewable energy sources that renewables will outweigh short-term economic losses with long-term economic potential. It's not about environment vs economy, rather it's about how we can integrate the two into a satisfying solution.

More to come.

NOTE: As of 9:30 AM on Friday November 19, the ECOFIN committee has brought a new word into the english language. This word *drumroll* is... GLOCAL. Fed up with having to choose between global issues or local ones? Glocal issues integrate all your concerns in one tight, albeit rather heavy, package.

Cheers! Hope you guys are all taking advantage of the snow to go ski/snowboard/sled/snowman-build/snowball fight/skate (might be too early if you don't feel like falling through the ice on that last one)

Welcome to HSMUN 2010!

The Economics and Finance Committee would like to welcome you to the 2010 High School Model United Nations!

My name is Jennifer, and this is my first year being a part of the U of A's annual HSMUN conference. I am a third year science student, and I enjoy hip hop dancing and mexican food.

My name is Alan and this is my fourth year with HSMUN and second as staff. I am a second year Earth Sciences student, and my last near-death experience involved almost falling into a glacier.

Hi, my name is Michael Ceroici, and this is my first year volunteering with HSMUN, and I am the Intervention Attache for the ECOFIN committee. I enjoy traveling and learning new languages.

The Economic and Finance topics for this year's conference will be:
1) The issue of sustainable technological development
2) The issues regarding the globalization of the cultural industry