At the Conference
Scheduled Speakers at Conf. B
Each year we are privileged to host an array of speakers at our NMUN conferences.
We encourage all delegates, faculty, and guests to take advantage of these unique educational opportunities.
Additional speakers will be added to this page as they are confirmed.
Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu assumed her position as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs on 1 May 2017. Prior to taking on this post, Ms. Nakamitsu served as Assistant Administrator of the Crisis Response Unit at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2014.
She has many years of experience within and outside the United Nations system, most recently as Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants between 2016 and 2017. She was previously Director of the Asia and the Middle East Division of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations between 2012 and 2014, and Director of the Department’s Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training, from 2008 to 2012.
Between 2005 and 2008, Ms. Nakamitsu was Professor of International Relations at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, where she also served as a member of the Foreign Exchange Council to Japan’s Foreign Minister, and as a visiting senior adviser on peacebuilding at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Between 1998 and 2004, she was the Chef de Cabinet and Director of Planning and Coordination at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Nakamitsu was a member of the United Nations Reform Team of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. She also held positions with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), including within the office of Assistant High Commissioner for Policy and Operations Sergio Vieira de Mello, and in UNHCR field operations in the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and northern Iraq.
Born in 1963, Ms. Nakamitsu holds a Master of Science degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Law degree from Waseda University in Tokyo.
She is married and has two daughters.
Delegate Seminar
Delegates, Head Delegates, Faculty, and Guests who were not able to secure a Mission Briefing at this time are all encouraged to attend.
Monday, 6 April at 10:00 am
2nd Floor Sheraton Hotel, Metropolitan East
The UN at 75
Room: Metropolitan East
As the United Nations marks its 75th anniversary, our panel will discuss some of the UN's strengths and weakness, how things get done, and what the future may hold. Join journalist Linda Fasulo, who represents NPR News at the UN and is author of "An Insider's Guide to the UN," along with UN officials and experts in a candid discussion of these topics. Questions from the audience will be solicited.
Karen J. Vogel Faculty Seminar
US Politics and the United Nations
Faculty, Guests, and Head Delegates not assigned to a committee are encouraged to attend.
Monday, 6 April at 8:00 pm
2nd Floor Sheraton Hotel, Central Park West
Join Alynna J. Lyon for a discussion of her book US Politics and the United Nations: A Tale of Dysfunctional Dynamics (Lynne Rienner, 2016). Alynna is a Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. She is also a co-author of The United Nations in the 21 Century, 5th ed. (Westview, 2016) with Karen Mingst and Margaret Karns, and co-editor of two books, Pope Francis as a Global Actor: Where Politics and Theology Meet (Palgrave 2018) and Religion and Politics in a Global Society (Lexington 2013). Her research focus includes the United Nations, U.S. Foreign Policy, multilateralism and moral authority at the global level. She is past chair of the International Organization section of the International Studies Association (2016-2018). She is currently co-Editor-in-Chief for the journal Global Governance and serves on the Editorial Board of International Studies Quarterly. In her teaching, Professor Lyon is an advocate of experiential learning and has served as a Faculty Advisor for Model United Nations since 2000.