ECOFIN

Welcome Delegates!

My name is Victor Villalobos and I am a third–year student majoring in Political Science (with an emphasis in international relations) as well as a minor in Political Economy! Originally, I was born in Los Angeles, but I moved to a small town called Worthington in Minnesota before coming to Berkeley! I have been competing in the MUN circuit over the past three years and in that time, I have had the honor and privilege to be a vice–chair and chair of various GA committees for UCBMUN and our high school conference BearMUN respectively. I look forward to all of the fun and collaborative debate that I know each and everyone of you will bring to the conference! A fun (but useless) fact about me is that I am the unofficial world record holder for naming ALL the flags of the world.

Warmest greetings, delegates!

My name is Lance Dy (he/him/his), and I have the pleasure of serving as one of your chairs for ECOFIN, the United Nations General Assembly’s Second Committee. A little bit about me—I am a second–year student studying Business Administration and Political Economy with a concentration in Development and Globalization. I started doing Model UN three years ago as a member of my high school’s competitive team, which I led in my senior year and whose delegates I trained until only fairly recently. Since attending my first conference, Model UN has seen me through thick and thin—from the countless leisurely Zoom calls turned emergency meetings to the thrill of running around campus during conference with math textbooks and past—due worksheets in tow. In my spare time, you will find me perusing random articles for hours on end, indulging in philosophical banter, curating itineraries for my next getaway, overanalyzing the occasional documentary or hit TV series, or spending time with family and friends.

Having lived in the Philippines for most of my life, my first–hand exposure to issues affecting the Global South is perhaps the main reason why I took such a great interest in global politics. Not only am I academically interested in the field of international development (and much less enthusiastic about dabbling in numbers and computer code), my stake in the issues to be discussed in committee is very personal. Countries like mine are still reeling from the generational effects of colonialism—how expropriation, systemic corruption, and the like have created a forced legacy of underdevelopment—one that haunts communities to this day. The technological advances and geopolitical structures of today are a far cry from the development landscape of merely a few decades ago, and have brought us even the slightest bit closer to a future we once could have only dreamed of. I am eager to see how you will harness these tools to craft innovative solutions and leave your mark on the committee. Until then, I wish you the best of luck!