4-Message+to+Debate+Chairs

Dear Debate Chairs,
====Congratulations once again on being chosen to lead the 2009 West Lake MUN conference. Now let’s get to work! Please read all the material on this wiki thoroughly and several times. Mr. Robinson has spent many hours organizing, writing, and re-writing these words. Please return the favor by reading them carefully.====

====Your role as a debate chair is to prepare delegates for the conference and to run the debates. You are the first person a delegate will contact if he or she has a question. As you do your work, please keep in mind the expectations listed in the table below.====

====Your actions will have a huge impact on this conference. West Lake MUN is only in its third year. You are the people who will help it grow and develop. With each e-mail you send and each chat you join, you are building this conference. Build it well! Be guided by the work that was done last year, but push yourself to do even more than the debate chairs from last year. And, keep your mind on the principles of MUN. In this way, you will make good decisions.====

====There are now two wikis that you must keep check regularly: the debate chairs’ wiki (this one) and the conference wiki, http://westlakemun.wikispaces.com. We will continue to use this wiki as our “office.” You should keep visiting it every few days to read anything new that has been posted here. I will post announcements to you and you can share information with each other. The conference wiki contains information for all delegates and should be treated as a formal place for communication. I am working on a set of guidelines for using the conference wiki and will post them this week. Join the conference wiki if you are not yet a member.====
 * || ===General Expectations for Debate Chairs=== ||
 * 1. || Never forget that you are, literally, the face of West Lake MUN 2009. The delegates, the administrative staff, and the MUN directors will remember this conference by the way you treat them. Even you will remember this conference by the way you treat each other! If you make delegates feel inferior, ignore their contributions, or fail to respect them, they will not have good memories of this conference. ||
 * 2. || Keep all on-line communication polite (please and thank you make a HUGE difference), on the serious side, diplomatic (don’t make assumptions about others), and as timely as possible. However, don’t feel pressured to respond to messages instantly. It is always better to answer wiki-mail, etc., when you have prepared a calm, thorough response. If you aren’t sure how to respond to a question, tell the delegate you’ll get back to them soon and then ask the other debate chairs or Mr. Robinson for advice. ||
 * 3. || Try your best to understand both the spirit and the details of this conference. Read all materials posted on the wikis, especially the handbooks. Reflect on what you have read. Ask Mr. Robinson for clarification, if necessary, before making any conference decisions. ||

====After your issue page is complete, you will generate on-line discussion about your issue. Discussions will take place on this wiki, through wiki-mail, or through other forums such as chat-rooms. More details about this process are being prepared.====
 * || ===Three jobs to do immediately as a debate chair=== ||
 * 1. || Enjoy getting to know one another. Begin with the other debate chairs in your forum. Your wikispace names are listed on page 3 of this wiki. You are, of course, free to use any form of communication you wish. ||
 * 2. || Prepare your issue reports and post them on the conference wiki. If you would like to continue with the issue discussed in your journal, feel free. It is also acceptable to change your issue. Your pages on this wiki have been unlocked. Copy any material you wish to re-use and paste it on the conference wiki. You have been assigned a page on the conference wiki. See page 3, and ask me if you have any questions. As you develop your issue pages, add as many links to articles and websites as you can. You can also paste pdf documents and pictures right onto the wiki page. Remember, you are planting the seeds for a good conference by sharing resources. The more information you can share through the conference wiki, the higher the quality of the debates during the conference. To help guide you, I will leave some of the issue pages from last year’s conference on the conference wiki. Study the type of information that was shared and the discussion it generated on the discussion page. ||
 * 3. || Write a short biography of yourself. Include a welcome message to the delegates in your forum and describe both your hopes for this conference as well as your previous MUN experience. The biography should be limited to 200 words. Paste it into the space under your name on the biographies page of the conference wiki. The biographies from last year will be removed within the next week. ||

====Also, feel free to have a look at the debate chair handbook from LAST year (see below). If you would like to suggest additions or changes, send wiki-mail to Mr. Robinson. Security Council chairs: your rules of procedure will be published in the new version of the handbook. There is more to come on this subject.====

The role of the Conference Director (Mr. Robinson):
====The director keeps an eye on the big picture, coordinating everyone’s efforts and facilitating communication between the debate chairs, directors, and administrative staff. The director manages the conference wiki and serves as editor of the handbooks. The director also oversees preparations for the physical needs of the conference: securing rooms, chairs, badges, and placards, ordering meals and buses, and communicating information about hotels.====

I use the following principles to guide my work in MUN. You will often here me talk about these.
====I’ve been trying to practice what I preach. I always strive to live up to my own principles. If you have any problems with what I am doing, never be afraid to approach me about them. The process of growing and learning does not ever stop. Each conference changes me, too. In the same way, you should help each other. If one of you notices that another debate chair does not appear to be following the guidelines explained on this page, then you should say something to them. Speak diplomatically to other people, and listen to them when they speak diplomatically to you. By working together and encouraging one another, we can create a conference without equal!====
 * || ===Mr. Robinson's Ten Principles for doing MUN=== ||
 * 1. || MUN is a means to an end, not the end in itself. Our goal is to study the world’s problems and discover the reasons these problems are hard to solve. Then comes the hardest part of all, creating realistic solutions to address these challenges. If we are successful, we can turn our attention to other problems. The world will never run out of problems, challenges, or issues. ||
 * 2. || Every second we spend discussing issues and chatting online, billions of other people on this earth are facing difficulties because of conflict, poverty, or illness. They are the reason the UN exists. ||
 * 3. || Each conference is a new beginning, not a completed product. In preparation for the conference, you will learn new skills. At the conference, you will take risks. After the conference, you will be a different person, a person who is ready for new challenges. ||
 * 4. || If you haven’t learned a lot about the United Nations, how it works, and what challenges it faces, then you have missed the point. If you become very good at MUN, especially in university, it will lead to a real job as a real diplomat. This is not just playtime. ||
 * 5. || If you aren’t improving your skills in reading, writing, researching, public speaking, negotiating and being diplomatic, then either you aren’t working hard enough or you aren’t taking enough risks, or both. ||
 * 6. || The conference is like the tip of the iceberg. For every hour of conference time, there should be three to six hours of preparation time. A musician spends many hours preparing for a two-hour concert. A marathon runner trains for months before running the race. You’ll know you are getting it right when you enjoy the training as much as the actual conference. And, you must always ask yourself, honestly, if you are training hard or just hanging out online. ||
 * 7. || Substance is more important than style. When you create issue reports and cultivate your personality as a debate chair, focus on serving others with solid facts and clear communication. Don’t get too distracted by flashy pictures or cool-looking graphics. They should support, not replace, your ideas. And, always cite your references. ||
 * 8. || The fun and the friendships we find in MUN, which are very important, are a by-product of the process. They are like fruits on a tree: gifts that appear almost out of nowhere to give us joy. But don’t get completely sidetracked by the enjoyment of these fruits. Focus on taking care of the tree, which is the conference. ||
 * 9. || We are the lucky ones. We were born into a family that is able to provide us with a comfortable lifestyle. We did not have to work hard to earn this luck. Are we working hard to deserve it? Your parents have raised you and bought nice clothes for you and paid for your trip, your MUN directors have guided you, Hangzhou International School is opening its doors for you, and now what are you going to do in return? ||
 * 10. || The fact that young people are willing to learn about the problems of this world and create possible solutions is a great sign of hope for the future. Our time and our effort are gifts we can give to the world. Sacrificing our personal time to study helps make the world a better place. ||