Dear Delegates, Participants, MUN Directors,
It is our great pleasure to announce that FerMUN 2016, the sixth session of the Model United Nations conference organised by the Lycée International de Ferney-Voltaire will take place this upcoming January in Geneva.
We are extremely grateful to be hosted by the World Meteorological Organisation and the World Trade Organisation at their headquarters, on January 13, 14 and 15 of 2016, where we will debate on the theme of International Migration and Development. This has been enabled in recent years by the opening up of international organisations to the youth, as Kofi-Annan once said: “Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies”. FerMUN is our attempt to seize this occasion, in order to show that we truly are “the forefront of global change and innovation”.
At FerMUN, we believe in the power of diversity. We believe that every participant, no matter what language they speak or what social background they come from, can add to the rewarding experiences that are MUN conferences. This is why we work hard to allow English and French-speaking delegates to exchange ideas freely by making FerMUN a fully bilingual conference, thanks to our interpretation and translation teams, of which you can be part of. Furthermore, throughout the year, we raise funds to make this conference accessible to a range of pupils from our own public school, and this year we are hoping to extend this support to students around the world.
In continuation of those basic principles of social equality and justice, we believe we must face and understand the reality of those whose most basic rights are being baffled everyday: migrants. At FerMUN 2016, you will be able to comprehend the source of international migration, whether it is social, economic, environmental, political or even health-related, and debate potential solutions. Those same rights which are so often cruelly denied to migrants around the world, have also a proclaimed enemy: terrorism. As future citizens, we cannot remain passive in front of such brutality and horror that topples civilisation. We hope to find effective solutions through a special conference, run in parallel, which will consist of defining organisations that shape the military reality of our world: NATO, the Arab League and the African Union.
The first 15 years of the 21st century have already been defining for humanity. It is now our turn, as the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow, to begin facing the challenges we will be confronted to. We believe that FerMUN can be the start of that change, the change we need.
On behalf of the entire FerMUN 2016 team, we truly look forward to seeing you come January, and in the meantime, we send you our warmest regards,
“FerMUN 2016; The Change we need.”
Kilian Bartsch
Secretary General
Sara Luzzatto
Deputy Secretary General