Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee! I am incredibly excited for this year’s NAIMUN, as I know that the secretariat and general staff will be working hard to prepare a substantive conference in keeping with NAIMUN’s tradition of excellence. As your chair, I would like to introduce myself here briefly, and I hope this short blurb makes you feel more comfortable approaching me during the conference! I can’t wait to learn more about you and meet you as I chair my last conference at Georgetown.
I am a senior in Georgetown’s College of Arts and Sciences in the Government Honors Program. Originally hailing from tiny Durham, CT, I have relished in the opportunities that Washington offers for those interested in international affairs, from working at the Treasury Department to interning on Capital Hill to working in federal consulting at the Department of Defense. My interests in development continue to grow especially through research on the role of religion in development at the Berkley Center for Peace, Religion, and World Affairs. I also have an affinity for India, after studying urban development in Pune my junior fall semester and researching Jesuit education and social justice in Mumbai during summer 2011. After graduating, I will be teaching secondary math in Washington, DC through Teach for America.
As a participant in Model United Nations since I was 13, I've continued to grow through the experience of debate and analysis. I have staffed NAIMUN and NCSC during my years at Georgetown, most notably designing a United Nations Development Program Committee for last February’s NAIMUN conference. Besides the International Relations Club, I have been involved in teaching millennium development goals in underprivileged DC classrooms through One World Youth Project, and am a current member of the student board of the Georgetown Scholarship Program. I can usually be found baking cupcakes after long runs.
The topics for SPECPOL will be the Rights of Indigenous People and The Conflict in Western Sahara. Both issues will stretch your imaginations to think critically and creatively about the role of diplomacy and the United Nations. My staff and I hope to provide a transformational experience for you through high-quality debate and through the magic of NAIMUN.
In anticipation,
Deven Comen
Chair, Fourth Committee: Special Political and Decolonization
NAIMUN XLIX
deven.comen@gmail.com
