Happy Holidays!  I hope December is treating you well, and that you are all happy and healthy!

~Lena

Get a grasp on global with the fascinating World Clock from Poodwaddle!  It estimates ever-changing numbers for farming to bicycles production to diseases up to the second.  Check it out: http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf.

Also, this wonderful page provides another look at our world, bending space, size, and time: http://primaxstudio.com/stuff/scale_of_universe/.

~Lena

~Lena

P.S. I’m so sorry for the absence of posts lately–we have been crazy busy preparing for MUN conferences (look for a play-by-play diary from one later this month) and thus off the blog!  Apologies again.

Here’s a shout-out to great ideas!  We are all thankful for new innovations and advances that make the world better.  Celebrate this by visiting TED.com–with the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conferences–which holds countless videos of inspiring and informative talks on entertainment, science, business, global issues, and more from speakers like Steve Jobs and Dave Eggers.  One to start with: a funny and fascinating speech by Sugata Mitra on child-driven education.

~Lena

Check out Business Attire, a blog with tons of news about business fashion!

~Lena

DECORUM! will be on break for the next three weeks.  See you in August, and hope  you’re having a great summer so far!

~Lena

The amazing Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last month!!!!  YAY!!!  What a great job those guys did.  The city went wild over it: I went to the homecoming rally downtown the Friday after the victory, and 2 million of us banded together to scream and shout for our team and for what’s now OUR CUP!

In honor of the Hawks’ achievement, let’s a bit about sports and diplomacy.

Sports are often used as diplomatic exercises.  They encourage teamwork, foster friendly competition, but most important of all in such a situation, they can bring people together around a common interest.  In other words, even if two nations are each rooting for their own separate teams, they are united for 3 periods, 9 innings, or minutes with the same interests.  Some examples include  cricket matches between India and Pakistan, Armenia and Turkey starting negotiations with a soccer game, and President Obama playing basketball with Russian students.  Of course, there is also the unfailingly awe-inspiring Olympics (http://www.olympic.org/en/).

Anyone have thoughts on or examples of this they’d like to share?  If so, please comment!

For internationally-themed sports links and stories, click here.

~Lena

Please visit this great website: EmilyPost.com, home of the Emily Post Institute, which was founded by Emily Post in 1946 to continue her work in teaching etiquette (and many of the Institute’s  books and articles are still written by her lovely family members!).  You can’t go wrong following her guidelines!

Ladies: for more great manners scoop, check out this 1938 book Better Than Beauty: A Guide To Charm.  The writing in it is wonderfully articulate and strong, and though some of the scenarios discussed are dated or quaint, many of the examples and almost all of the principles remain the same today!

~Lena

Have a wonderful Fourth of July!

~Lena

1. http://www.kiva.org/, the website of the internet-based microlending organization Kiva,

2. https://www.microplace.com/, the site for MicroPlace, another global group “enabling everyday people to make investments in the world’s working poor,”

3. And http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0107/050.html, an article from Forbes explaining how to be cautious when participating in microfinancing.

For more information and resources, visit http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/about/ or http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/.

In the theme of one of DECORUM!’s earlier posts, I’d like to share the website of another group harnessing the power of optimism: http://www.optimist.org/.  Optimist International is an association of  “adult volunteers [who] join Optimist Clubs to conduct positive service projects in their communities aimed at providing a helping hand to youth.”  All right!

~Lena

One of my best friends sent me this e-mail forward a while ago.  It’s a bittersweet story reminding us to help others and make changes for the better.  It doesn’t say squat about international relations (plus it’s kind of manipulative and overly sentimental like most of those circulating messages seem to be), but it does reflect a principle that is key to diplomacy: each interaction is important.  Every word counts, every moment matters.  The next step in your dialogue could make for a new connection or a new discovery.  And these outcomes can be effected by our choices, our decisions on what to do and say.  A director of mine often told our cast to “do it good.”  That’s what we all shoot for in diplomatic action.  Will we make this person feel comfortable,  gain an ally, reach a compromise, achieve a goal?

Jane Goodall once said, “Every individual matters.  Every individual has a role to play.  Every individual makes a difference.  And we have a choice: what sort of difference do we want to make?”

~Lena

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Imagine you are meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon for a casual business lunch.  What do you pull out of your closet to wear?

This may seem like a trivial decision that only people like the fashion-savvy Elle Woods of “Legally Blonde” seriously consider, but such clothing choices are important for anyone, diplomats certainly included.  Dressing with class gives a striking, good first impression to those you’re going to be interacting with.  It will boost your confidence; when you are making a speech, working a room, you will have no reason to be distracted by or nervous regarding any mistakes in or bad comments about your look.  Nice pieces can also make for casual ice breakers such as, “Nice tie!” or “I love your earrings!  Where did you get them?”.  The list of reasons to commit to trying to look your best–and, when working, your most professional–each day  goes on and on.

In our example of meeting the Secretary-General (and for all other business occasions a diplomat would encounter), western business attire is required.  UNA-USA offers a handy reference chart of what falls into this category and what doesn’t:

(This information and more can be found at http://www.unausa.org/munpreparation/dressing.)

Note to participants of Model UN: As you probably know, these are the standards followed at MUN conferences, too!  At the last conference I attended, one of my vice chairs frequently complained about how many girls were clad inappropriately in sundresses.  You don’t want to earn that negative attention!  Additionally, if you are on a committee with an after-hours crisis simulation, expect to be changing out of those pajamas!  Business attire is not required for a midnight session at all conferences (another delegate and I were the only 2 out of  about 15 kids that wore formal clothes instead of street clothes at one back in December, and he said, “Well, I guess everyone can tell we’re new to this!”), but it’s safer to change back into your professional apparel anyway (“Hilary Clinton probably sleeps in her suits,” joked one vice chair).

Neutrals like black, white, cream, gray, and brown are good for basic pieces like suits.  Accents of color–maybe on a tie or vest for men and on a shirt, scarf, or hangbag for women–will make you stand out from the crowd and look confident.  Deep teal, classic red, rose, and eggplant are universally flattering colors that look good on all skin types (see http://www.stylelist.com/2009/08/11/four-colors-that-flatter-everyone/ and http://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/wardrobe-basics/4-universally-flattering-clothing-colors-10000001584157/)   Color pyschology is also a factor we can throw into the mix.  Check out http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html and http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm for organized and fun facts on the common or universal associations with and impressions given by different hues.  (Blue seems like a good pick for diplomatic relations.)

For more inspiration, check out the TV show What Not To Wear, in which hilarious style experts Stacy and Clinton take on fashion-challenged folks and help them change their look.  Besides offering great advice and lots of laughs, the show demonstrates how much of an effect clothing style can have on your lifestyle in an honest, heartwarming way.

Also, check out these wonderful organizations: Dress For Success and Career Gear.  Both are non-profits that work to improve the economic independence of disadvantaged people (Dress For Success helping women, Career Gear helping men) by supplying business attire along with other support networks and tools.  See how much one suit can do? =)

~Lena

Please read this great post from the terrific website BestDelegate.com about committee etiquette.  Mr. Vlahakis addresses being courteous in the Model UN setting, but I think these principles apply to real-life meetings, too!

You can also read this article on the original blog page: http://www.bestdelegate.com/2008/02/committee-etiquette.html.

~Lena

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Committee Etiquette

I have my next guest post! Meet Aryestis Vlahakis, a junior at Yale who competes with the Model UN Team. He’s originally from Greece, and he also serves on this year’s Secretariat for the Security Council Simulation at Yale (SCSY).

Committee Etiquette
By Aryestis Vlahakis, Yale University, Timothy Dwight College ‘09Delegates often overlook the issue of committee etiquette. How should one behave towards fellow delegates? How should one behave towards the chair and the rest of the dais staff? Etiquette means respecting your fellow delegates’ positions and opinions even though you may not agree with them or—be honest here—even if you don’t like some of them. And excellent etiquette can help you win Best Delegate.

In any committee, particularly General Assembly committees, you want to make your presence known to the chair. Although good chairs will familiarize themselves with everyone in committee, you might have bad chairs or a big committee. So, you need to take that extra step to make yourself known.

Before the first session of the conference, walk in a little early and introduce yourself. You don’t have to get into a deep philosophical debate; just offer a couple of words about you, your country, and your school. And speak with confidence.

“Hi, I’m Aryestis and I’m representing Greece. I actually do come from Greece, but right now I’m studying at Yale. I just wanted to introduce myself. It was nice to meet you.”

You are now one step ahead.

If you have a question about the committee or the topic matter, now is an excellent time to ask, but do not make up a meaningless question on the spot. Good chairs see right through this, and then you look like a “suck up.”

Doing this will not guarantee a win, but it certainly grabs the chair’s attention. Impressed chairs will look forward to hearing you speak. They may even offer you an advantage when calling on delegates during moderated caucus and pick you first.

This should be your attitude towards the chair throughout the committee. You should not be afraid to approach him. Chairs are generally very knowledgeable on the subject and offer good advice when you are stuck in committee.

But do not, under any circumstances, suck up to the chair. Although this may sometimes work, the chair will see right through it and you will look like a complete fool.

The whole idea is to present yourself as a team player, not as someone who is trying to leverage an unfair advantage because the chair knows him.

The same goes for interactions with your fellow delegates. You have to present yourself as an easily approachable, easy-going person who is willing to discuss other people’s ideas and compromise on them.

In most cases, the delegate who wins the committee is the one who leads it to a consensus. You cannot be that person if you refuse to work with other delegates, especially the delegates who have all the good ideas. Even if you do not like other delegates, you need to overcome your personal likes and dislikes and be an effective diplomat. Remember that Model UN is not a naturally competitive activity, but one that demands negotiation and consensus.

The best way to present yourself to other delegates is the same way you should present yourself to your chair. Get to your committee room early, reserve yourself a good seat, then walk around the room and introduce yourself to the other delegates. You can ask them what they think about the topics or Britney Spears’ latest nervous breakdown. The point is to get out there and get to know your fellow delegates.

Because all this may be hard to remember when you get into the hustle and bustle of committee, when you are not sure how to act or what to do, just think of these three things:

1. Don’t be afraid to go up and talk to the chair and fellow delegates;
2. Be confident and polite;
3. Be diplomatic and willing to compromise.

Posted by Ryan Villanueva at 3:54 PM

My apologies again for the serious delay in new entries here!  Some random notes:

• Please send questions/comments about this blog to our new address, lena.juniordiplomats@gmail.com! =)
• Gals, check out these resources promoting true “girl power”: Global Girl Media, an organization helping “young women around the world to find and share their authentic voice” in journalism and other leadership (http://www.globalgirlmedia.org/); Teen Voices, a magazine that fights for “improving young women’s social and economic status” by challenging, changing,  and contributing to media in a fresh way (http://www.teenvoices.com/); Girls For A Change, a great national group that “empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change” (http://www.girlsforachange.org/); and the Seventeen Magazine Project, a blog that documents one girl’s experiment following all the advice of Seventeen to call attention to how media can misrepresent and mislead young women (http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com/)
• I picked up the book Quick Spanish for Emergency Responders by David B. Dees at my local library recently.  I’m not planning to be an EMT, but the book seemed like a useful review of important words needed to ask about someone’s condition, explain directions, or alert people of an accident.  And indeed it is!  It also has a handy index of slang words, so you can tell whether you are being flattered, insulted, etc.  I highly recommend that folks learning Spanish pick up a copy if possible!  (Readers learning another foreign language: do you have any recommendations for similar books?  I’ll keep looking, too!)
• Check back  soon for DECORUM!’s first interview, a post about apparel, and more!

~Lena

1. The 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament begins tomorrow in South Africa!  For more information, visit http://www.fifa.com/.  (Also, check out this awe-inspiring ad for the games: http://www.slate.com/id/2256074/.)

2. Check out JD Walsh Basketball School, which is promoting social change and world peace by spreading basketball through India and other countries: http://jdbasketball.com/.

3.  Learn about the Olympics at http://www.olympic.org/en/.

4. Read about Nelson Mandela’s diplomatic achievements in rugby: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1143996/index.htm.  (Also, catch the movie based off this incredible story, “Invictus”!  More information can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/.)

5. Cricket has also been used to promote diplomacy, especially in India and Pakistan.  Get an overview here: http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog_detail/cricket_diplomacy_and_pakistan/.

6. Additionally, soccer/football has been building friendly international relations for many years.  Learn how and why with this bestseller: http://www.amazon.com/SOCCER-EXPLAINS-WORLD-Franklin-Foer/dp/0061978051/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276212477&sr=8-1.

]]> http://juniordiplomats.com/2010/06/10/the-thursday-three-5/feed/ 0 http://juniordiplomats.com/2010/05/14/the-thursday-three-one-day-late/ http://juniordiplomats.com/2010/05/14/the-thursday-three-one-day-late/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 21:21:55 +0000 lena http://juniordiplomats.com/?p=197 1. Get a comprehensive, balanced lowdown on nearly any controversial issue with the nonprofit charity ProCon.org: http://www.procon.org/.

2. Check out the online, interactive Global Challenge Award, a program which “empowers students to believe that they can make a difference not only on their own lives and national economies but on the planet itself”: http://www.globalchallengeaward.org/display/public/Home.

3. Learn about holidays around the world on Earth Calendar: http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php.

I’m so sorry for the recent lack of posts here!  Life has been really busy lately with end-of-the-school-year exams, projects, and performances.  Look out for new entries later this week.  Thanks, and my apologies again!

~Lena

P.S. Happy Belated Mother’s Day! <3

1. What if there was a strategy game that, instead of teaching players how to win with machine guns and full-scale war, taught players how to win with nonviolent civic action?  Check out this video game by the incredible A Force More Powerful project and the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict: http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/game/index.php.

2. Give your mom a great gift and also make a difference with this Mother’s Day ideas from blogger Britt Bravo: http://havefundogood.blogspot.com/2010/04/do-good-mothers-day-gift-and-donation.html.

3. Find out how your favorite celebrities are making the world a better place with news and databases from Look To The Stars, a sweet site devoted to celebrity giving: http://www.looktothestars.org/.