Thank you Singapore

A speaker at Plenary

Milena De Silva was chosen to make a formal speech at Plenary. This is a first for PLC Sydney. Milena extended her ideas outlined earlier in the week on the use of drones in conflict. She spoke in front of approximately 1200 people.

The Delegation of Moldova were very excited.

Plenary

Plenary is an opportunity for all students to come together as a group to debate some of the best resolutions that have been past in individual GAs during the week. It is also the first time that students debate as a complete national team.

A successful resolution

A happy team of submitters celebrated in GA6 after their resolution on international terrorism past with a convincing majority of votes.

Great team work in GA6

The dynamic duo of Ellise Papanikolas and Zoe Marandos have been waiting patiently all week to debate their resolution on international terrorism. This was a hotly contested issue and popular during debate. Zoe was selected to speak and delivered a pointed and succinct speech on one particular clause. She followed by answering a difficult point of information. Then, in an act of good team work, she yielded the floor to Ellise so that she could continue to plead their case. A returning THIMUN participant, Ellise approached the stage confidently and spoke without a microphone. She answered her points of information convincingly and it looks as if this resolution has a very good chance of passing. Good team work PLC!

Belles of the ball

The girls looked beautiful at the dinner dance and demonstrated some serious skills on the dance floor too!

A brave act

Something magical happened in General Assembly 5 this morning. Isobel McKenzie was nominated as the main submitter for a resolution on financing the assistance mission in Afghanistan. The day after this resolution was submitted, almost all of Isobel's co-submitters decided to drop their support and turn their backs on the resolution. Understandably, this was very difficult and disheartening. However, instead of giving up, Isobel has spent the last 24 hours constructing a plan by which a number of amendments would be made to strengthen the resolution. This was a very strategic and carefully thought out mission. Very rarely do we see this at THIMUN. Normally delegates tend to employ the usual debating tactics and it was pleasing to see someone really engage with the process of lobbying and negociaton and not just rely on public speaking techniques.

I am happy to report that a number of amendments were made and most past with a unanimous vote to the affirmative. Most speakers refused to answer points of information so as to not take time away from the group debate for the good of the resolution. This displayed excellent collegiality.

This was certainly one of the most lively and engaging sessions of the conference. The resolution was not passed, however, this proves the adage that an experience doesn't always have to be completely positive or planned for it to be worthwhile.

On the question of drones

Milena De Silva opened the debate in General Assembly 1 by presenting a well detailed and balanced resolution on the use of drones. Milena did well to explain that irradicating drones completely would be difficult, however the need to monitor and suppress their use is still necessary. A fault of the Chair meant that she ended up facing two huge rounds of questions. Milena did well to answer all of these and kept a cool head the entire time.

Dealing with the Syrian crisis

The Human Rights Council has opened debate this morning by discussing the difficult issue of human rights violations in Syria. Edwina Hobson and Despina Bouletos, representing Switzerland, were part of the preparation of this resolution. Edwina was nominated as co-submitter and delivered an excellent speech. She then took five questions from the floor, silencing all her doubters with detailed and convincing answers!

The sign of a good resolution is one that sparks high quality debate. This resolution was debated for well over an hour.

A special dinner

We were treated to a special dinner on the 11th floor of Orchard Central. We enjoyed a brilliant view of the city and a delicious meal. This dinner was arranged by Sophie's aunt Elizabeth who now lives in Singapore. We couldn't believe how much food was brought out! Dish after dish of lovely Chinese food was enjoyed by all. However, the jewel in the crown of this banquet was the traditional dish of chili crab. Thank you Aunty Betty for a great night!

Night Safari

After our first day at the THIMUN conference, we went on the night safari tram ride. We embarked on a 40 minute tram ride which took us around the zoo, allowing us to view numerous wildlife in close proximity, of which many were free roaming. The animals we saw included giraffes, elephants, lions, hyenas, a hippopotamus, a rhinoceros, a tiger and many deers. The tour guide also presented us with a lot of information on each of the animals.

Afterwards, we were also given the opportunity to go on one of the trails, which also allowed us to further observe the animals in their habitat or to watch the Thumbuakar performance. The Thumbuakar performance was a fire show, with 4 'pyro warriors' who displayed their cultural dance moves and also fire-eating skills. Their performance was amazing and the crowd was stunned.

Overall, the night safari and fire show was a very unique and memorable experience.

Opening speeches by our Ambassadors

Our heads of delegation Betty Fei and Ellise Papanikolas presented outstanding speeches during the opening session today. Ellise did well to cover a range of issues that are important to Moldova at this conference. She was calm and measured in her presentation. This is Ellise's second THIMUN experience and it is wonderful to see how her skills have developed. Betty opened with an amusing joke about the Swiss flag which was very well received by the audience and students who actually live in Switzerland! She should be congratulated on her poise and confidence.

Debate begins

There has been an impressive start to debate today with all students involving themselves either by asking points of information, lobbying in note form or making speeches. One such student was Sarah Lowe who made an impressive speech on the question of human trafficking. Sarah and her team created an excellent resolution. She was then chosen to make a speech in which she spoke to specific clauses in this resolution. Sarah was brave enough to answer questions from the floor after her speech. Some of these were very complex, but Sarah responded with grace and intelligence. 

The Opening Ceremony and life at Hwa Chong Institution

Yesterday afternoon all delegates attended the official opening ceremony of the conference. After speeches were made by both the Secretary General and a local Government representative, the Chair of the General Assembly announced the assembly officially open with two resounding hits of her gavel. We were then treated to an outstanding performance by students from Hwa Chong Institution, our host school. The boys played traditional drums, symbols and performed a Chinese Dragon dance. The crowd were entertained by their skill and energy.

Hwa Chong students are on holidays and yet there are so many students on campus training in gymnastics, traditional sports and doing extra academic work. The campus is huge, more like a university.

More lobbying success

Students have continued to show great negotiation skills during the second lobbying session. Isobel McKenzie has been named as another main submitter of a resolution. As a first time MUNA candidate, this demonstrates excellent skill and confidence. The photos below how quickly PLC students have involved themselves in the process.

Lobbying is in full swing

The delegates from PLC Sydney have proved to be very persuasive this morning in lobbying. It is only two hours into the first session and already Milena De Silva has been selected as the main submitter for her resolution. All students are engrossed in negotiation and conversation. It is so impressive to see the poise and confidence that these young women possess.

Day 2-Raffles Hotel

After the Singapore Museum we arrived at the historic Raffles hotel, named after Stanford Raffles the founder of Singapore. It is a landmark in Singapore along with the Merlion and the Night Zoo so we were all very excited. Raffles is an old Colonial hotel that has been well maintained and kept much the same as it was at the turn of the century. We had a buffet lunch at the Tiffin room and everyone went back for seconds plus desert. There was amazing dal, curry and roti and lots of authentic sweets. After lunch we took a walk around the hotel and grounds which where beautiful and a strong contrast to the modern Singapore which could be seen over the terracotta roofs and white terraces.

Day 2- National museum of Singapore

The national museum of Singapore is definitely one of the highlights of this trip. Through studying and observing the different artefacts, paintings, pictures and films, we were able to gain an insight into Singapore's history and the traditional ways of life. The national museum consisted of three levels:

Exhibition Gallery 2

This particular exhibition was one of my favourite. It had a variety of different paintings, ranging from block paintings to oil paintings. A common theme for these paintings was the changing nature of Singapore art in light of the rapid changes that took place in Singapore after world war II. Some of the paintings here are permanently on display, therefore, it was a particular rare opportunity to view these paintings in real life. Some paintings became inspirational resources for the VA girls. For me, the paintings were definitely good supplementary materials for Advanced English.

Singapore living Gallery

The vibrancy of Singapore's street life came to life as we immersed ourselves in the display of food-related artefacts and sound installations. There was a cool machine where by a herb scent was released when the trigger was pulled. The ethnic diversity, cross-cultural exchanges and cultural innovations are truly reflected in variety of street foods.

Singapore History Gallery

We each collected an audio-guide which took a story-telling approach, unveiling different perspectives of the tales of the past. We were taken to see through the drama of major national events as well as the personal stories of individuals. We are studying Romanticism in both advanced and extension English, most famous poets like Coleridge took opium which inspired them to write poems. We were given the chance to see opium pipes and chambers which related really well to what we are doing in class.