- Secretary-General's Good Offices
- Modern Simulations
- Historical Simuations
- Future Simulations
- Joint Simulations
- 1980s ETA Crisis
- The Somali Pirates
Note: Full committe information will be posted shortly. Background guides will be posted in the Spring.
Secretary-General's Good Offices
Secretary-General’s Good Offices*
~ Chaired by Suneil Vemuru (suneil@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The Secretary-General's Good Offices Committee is intended to be the flagship committee of the Virginia International Committee Simulation. Schools should consider sending their most experienced delegates to participate in this simulation. While the exact nature of the committee will not be revealed to delegates until 2-3 weeks leading up to the conference, delegates attending should expect the simulation to be an extremely challenging and dynamic but wholly unique experience that will force participants to be quick on their feet and adapt to a great deal of change over the course of the weekend.
*This committee requires an additional application process. Application forms would be emailed to registered delegations.
Modern Simulations
New York Times Editorial Board
~ Chaired by Charlotte Slaiman (css6x@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The New York Times Editorial Board committee will run as much like a real editorial board as possible. Most of the participants will be editors of a particular page, and you will have to make tough editorial decisions about what news is "fit to print." You will combat accusations of bias, recent and continuing changes in the news industry, as well as outside pressures. Keep up the prestige of the New York Times. Stay ahead of the curve, but don't fall prey to short term trends.
Casino Owners of Las Vegas
~ Chaired by Caitlin Cummings (cdc8s@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The Casino Owners of Las Vegas committee will take a unique perspective on world affairs, specifically the economic impact of the American recession within the resort casino business in Las Vegas, as well as national security issues as typified by the internal security threats that these resorts address. The committee will model an annual meeting discussing cooperative action between different resort casinos, and individuals will have to work both individually for the benefit of their own hotels as well as compromise with their competitors in order to maintain a secure environment and increase revenues coming into the Strip.
Executive Yuan of the Republic of China
~ Chaired by John Hohen
Background Guide: Click here
The Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (ROC) is a future simulation set in 2013 and contains both military and non-military positions. There will be four topics of strategic importance to be discussed: independence from mainland China, ROC-US relations, nuclear proliferation, and economic interdependence. The goal of this committee is to provide a forum for discussions that lead to a well-defined national policy on these four issues. Crises will be trilateral involving, the ROC, the US and Peoples Republic of China.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
~ Chaired by Anna Mohan (aom6z@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The United Nations Security Council established The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in November of 1994 to judge cases involving perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide. The ICTR consists of four chambers, each responsible for specific levels of crime. In this committee, delegates will serve as prosecutors, defense, and judges, considering evidence and ultimately reaching verdicts about the fate of genocidaires.
Islamic Development Bank
~ Chaired by Zach Oliver
Background Guide: Click here
The Islamic Development Bank is an international financial organization based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that has 56 nations as members. Its purpose is to meet the unique challenges to development in the Muslim world and do so according to Islamic Law. The bank provides countries with loans for projects that are important for improving their infrastructures and are vital for economic development. The bank also provides special funds for projects in Muslim communities throughout the worlds that will strengthen the worldwide Muslim community as a whole.
Amerindian Council of Guyana: North Rupununi District Development Board
~ Chaired by Lilly Frost (lcf2n@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The NRDDB is a regional council in the heart of Guyana among many Makushi districts. The council makes decisions and solves problems between the local Makushi villages in the region and the state government. A man named Sidney Allicock from Surama was central in creating the Board with the intention of keeping Amerindians in charge of the surrounding land and villages. The committee offers a different perspective on development, globalization, and leadership that anthropology enthusiasts and non-western culture lovers will enjoy. Each delegate will act as a senior counselor from one of the North Rupununi villages and must represent the concerns and desires of their respective village. The committee takes place in present time, though it deals with issues of the past, present, and future as well as the complexities involved with the mingling of "modern" Western and traditional Amerindian perspectives of the world.
Mugabe-Tsvangirai Zimbabwe Cabinet
~ Chaired by Betsy Graves (blg3q@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
This committee will focus of the new distribution of party power in Zimbabwe's government between the parties of President Robert Mugabe (Zanu-PF) and current Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC). Following the highly contested outcome of the 2008 elections, Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing agreement on September 15, 2008, which allowed Mugabe to remain president but required him to work more cooperatively with Tsavangirai and his party. This agreement marked a significant step in the country's history, but has posed to be fairly ineffective as time goes on, and with the urging of Western powers and Zimbabwe's neighboring African countries, the country is seeking a more balanced distribution of power across the cabinet. Once one of the most prosperous in Africa, Zimbabwe now has the highest rate of inflation in the world, as well as over half of the population below the poverty rate and completely dependent on foreign aid for essential resources such as food, water, and medical supplies.
Historical Simulations
Carter's Cabinet: Iran Hostage Crisis
~ Chaired by Anant Shukla (as5cb@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The Carter Presidential Cabinet is a historical simulation revolving around the 1979 takeover of the American embassy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage crisis. The cabinet begins its special meeting on November 4, 1979, the day the embassy was stormed. The objective of the cabinet members is to negotiate the safe return of the 52 U.S. diplomats, using political, social, economic, and military means deemed necessary. Topics of interest will include the stability of the Iranian government, domestic issues at home, including the backlash of the Persian-American community, and the role of Iran and the United States in Middle-Eastern politics.
Generals of Alexander the Great
~ Chaired by Drew McBride (acm2m@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The New York Mafia (1930)
~ Chaired by Mark Goldberg (mhg8r@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
At the height of Prohibition and the "Roaring Twenties," the Five Families effectively ran all crime in New York City. Large swaths of the city were dependent for municipal functions on the Mafiosi and their subsidiaries; in the face of the 1929 stock market crash, the Mafia became one of the few prosperous entities in an otherwise depressed metropolis. Naturally, not all aspects of Family life were so appealing-corruption, robbery, barbarity, and murder all appeared. The vendettas of Sicilian culture traveled across the Atlantic as well; internecine struggles prompted the Five Families to convene for the first time as a distinct, unified identity. Delegates will be presented with issues relating to family consolidation, as well as the ongoing struggle against law enforcement, rival criminal entities, and the constant drive to expand the Mafia empire.
Crusader States of 1170
~ Chaired by James Thomas (jft8f@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
1956 Soviet Space Program
~ Chaired by Brian Wolin (baw6p@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
In 1956 our beloved Soviet Union is beating the United States in the space race and stands poised to assert its technological domination for good. Fear not, however; our Capitalist adversaries across the ocean are not standing idly by. Join the 1956 Soviet Space Program and do your part in leading the Motherland to success and glory!
Future Simulations
Reunification of the Koreas
~ Chaired by Sarah Kim
Background Guide: Click here
The Reunification of the Koreas will be stimulating a discussion occurring in 2039. In the last thirty years there has been many new variables in dealing with North Korea, especially when the purpose of dialogue is to unify the peninsula. In addition, the unification of the Koreas does not simply involve the two directly-involved states. All these complications make the discussion more volatile, dynamic, and unpredictable. It is the responsibility of this committee to set plans and goals in order to minimize economic, social, and cultural downfall and maximize the positive effect of the unification.
Joint Simulations
1980s ETA Crisis
Leadership of the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna
~ Chaired by Prashanth Parameswaran (pp3g@virginia.edu) and Samantha Sisisky (sls2bs@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
Set in the tumultuous period of 1982-1996, ETA's Zuba (committee) must continue its armed struggle for an independent Basque state in the face of paramilitaries, intra-group splits, and the ever-brutal and heavy-handed Spanish government. In the words of our great leaders: Gora ETA!
Spanish Council of Ministers
~ Chaired by Malerie Ma (mm8hd@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The Spanish Council of Ministers is a historical simulation of the cabinet from 1982-1996. The government will have to work to preserve the integrity of the constitutional monarchy and prevent terrorist organizations, like Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), from threatening the unity of the kingdom. This cabinet will consist of civil and military positions and delegates must be prepared to address terrorist threats, domestic problems, international affairs, as well as other issues from international and domestic sources. While dealing with these topics the council will strive to sustain the political system outlined by the Constitution of 1978 after the death of Franco.
The Somali Pirates
Coalition Forces of the All-Fisherman's League
~ Chaired by Emma King (ekk5q@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The All-Fisherman's League is the governing body of a loosely organized system of pirates, numbering in the thousands, who frequently seize ships operating in the shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia. Led by local warlords and tribal figures, the Fisherman's League considers itself a "coast guard" for the otherwise anarchistic Somalia. Issues to confront are conflicts with foreign nations whose ships have been seized, combating illegal fishing in Somali waters, and providing a comfortable standard of living for fisherman and their families - by whatever means necessary. Delegates should prepare for a fast-paced committee dealing with this rapidly developing, real-world conflict.
International Maritime Bureau
~ Chaired by Anna Coogan (acc3t@virginia.edu)
Background Guide: Click here
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is a specific branch of the International Chamber Of Commerce (ICC) that deals with the growing threat of maritime crime. Established in 1981, the IMB works to ensure safe passage for public and private vessels worldwide. Currently, the most pressing issue facing the IMB is that of piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Delegates will be faced with the challenge of ending ship seizures and piracy in the future, as well as finding a practical and realistic way of bringing pirates to international justice while working to stabilize maritime issues in Somalia.
Please direct all general enquiries about committees, background guides and conference protocols to the Director-General, Brian Gomez, at big3s@virginia.edu.
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