Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM)

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Letter from the Chair dear delegates, It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee at World Model United Nations 2013! My name is Sam Pokross, and I am excited to serve as your chair for the week that you will spend in Melbourne next March. This conference will be my second WorldMUN and my first trip to Australia, and I am looking forward to sharing my experience with all of you on this committee! I am a senior at Harvard, concentrating in Linguistics with a focus on the psychological aspects of language cognition. Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, i went to high school in Cambridge, right down the street from Harvard. I participated as a delegate at Model UN conferences in high school, but, since coming to college, I have focused my time and energy on being a staffer. By the time we all arrive in Melbourne in March, I will have staffed thirteen conferences both on the substantive and the executive side, including as the Director-General for Harvard National Model United Nations 2013. Overall, WorldMUN 2013 will be my 22nd and final Model UN conference. Outside of Model UN, I conduct research on language development in a psychology laboratory and participate in the International Relations Council, the umbrella organization for IR-related groups on campus. When I am not doing work for my classes or for my extracurricular activities, I enjoy watching mind-numbing reality TV, eating delicious food, and going for long walks along the Charles River. I chose to chair SOCHUM for WorldMUN 2013 because I think that the issues that fall under the committee’s mandate are those for which the United Nations can have the greatest impact. While it is difficult to solve complicated geopolitical problems, you, as representatives of the nations of the world, can work together to draft a plan to improve the quality of life of a certain population segment or to protect the world’s cultural heritage. The two topics up for debate are the fate of dying languages and the role of ethnic minorities in development. The first topic concerns a key facet of the protection of cultural heritage. With about half of the world’s languages spoken by fewer than 3,000 people, there is substantial risk that these languages will go extinct in the 21st century, taking with them a significant part of the cultures associated with their respective language groups. The second topic addresses a serious problem facing the rapidly developing countries of Asia and Africa. As citizens of the majority ethnic group gain more wealth, members of indigenous minorities are often left behind, without access to the same infrastructural improvements, governmental services, or educational and employment opportunities. Both of these topics call for innovative and thorough solutions, and I am confident that Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design 6
Letter from the Chair you will be able to work together to develop an effective plan during the four days of debate. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about these topics areas or Model UN in general. I hope you enjoy learning about these topics, and I look forward to seeing you in Melbourne! Sincerely, Sam Pokross Chair, SOCHUM World Model united Nations 2013 Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design 7
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