United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
APPROXIMATE COMMITTEE SIZE: 40-60 delegates
NOTE: This is a double-delegation (2 delegates per country) committee.
topic: Determining ownership of archeological sites and cultural artifacts
Cultural heritage plays a vital role in the development and cohesion of societies. However, for as long as cultural artifacts have existed, theft, looting, and trafficking of cultural property have persisted. Regime changes, conflict, and natural disasters are just a few of the factors that can affect the ownership and stewardship of a cultural heritage site. Recent examples range from calls for the repatriation of artifacts in museums to the destruction of historical landmarks like the Bamiyan Buddha statues. Additionally, cultural artifacts are oftentimes viewed as permanently belonging to the past, when in reality many heritage sites today still serve as valuable cultural exchanges and hold meaning to those who inhabit these sites and interact with these objects the most. Ultimately, determining legitimate ownership requires a rethinking of what that ownership entails.
COMMITTEE DETAILS
Delegates in this committee will address the following questions: How can the priorities of cultural artifact preservation be balanced with deriving educational value from cultural artifacts? How can ownership be designed to take into consideration the origin and meaning of artifacts to the people who inhabit, contribute to, and interact with the site and object? Delegates will also discuss how to best assess claims of ownership of illicitly obtained artifacts. Additionally, delegates may touch on the consequences of the illicit circulation of artifacts and the roles of museums, historically and presently, in safeguarding and/or interfering with the ownership of cultural artifacts. Finally, the committee will illustrate the immense value of cultural artifacts in enriching communities around the world in the face of modern challenges, such as conflict, poverty, and inequality.
CHAIR: PEYTON AUSTIN
ABOUT THE CHAIR
Peyton Austin is a member of the Class of 2026 in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, majoring in International Politics and minoring in Chinese. Born and raised in Hong Kong and currently living in Basalt, Colorado, Peyton was introduced to MUN as a sophomore in high school, and since then he’s never looked back. He has competed with Georgetown's collegiate MUN team and served as the Director-General of NAIMUN LXII, Georgetown's high school Model UN conference. He has also staffed both NCSC, Georgetown’s collegiate conference, and DistrictMUN. In his spare time, he works, socializes, and gets the chance to explore the beauty of D.C. (L.A Burdick makes a FANTASTIC hot chocolate if y’all are interested). Peyton is excited to welcome delegates to DistrictMUN V’s UNESCO and hopes they have an amazing time!
CHAIR: REBECCA ZHU
ABOUT THE Crisis Manager
Rebecca Zhu is a member of Georgetown University’s School of Health Class of 2026 majoring in Health Care Management & Policy on the Policy Analysis track. Rebecca is a proud Marylander and DMV local. She was first introduced to Model UN in middle school and the two have been inseparable ever since. This will be Rebecca’s second DistrictMUN. She previously served as Under-Secretary-General of General Assemblies for NAIMUN LXI (Georgetown’s MUN conference for high-schoolers) and chaired NCSC LII (collegiate) and NAIMUN LXII. Outside of Model UN, Rebecca enjoys debating with the Philodemic Society, being the photographer's friend, and writing her heart out in cafes while on the hunt for DC’s best London Fog. She is incredibly excited to chair UNESCO at DistrictMUN V alongside Peyton and can’t wait to meet you all!