APQ

When I first arrived, the delegates were lobbying. Lobbying is when people share solutions and come up with resolutions for debate. My assigned committee was the Advisory Panel Question (APQ). This year, APQ’s main focus point is technology. People were also discussing and sharing ideas respectfully, not really interrupting, and were being very civilized. They were also talking about their resolution and which clauses they would use. One of the most common ways to improve technology is to use friendly policy and another one I heard a lot was also how to fix the fact that technology sometimes discriminates against disabled people. Like how many vehicles don’t have any ramps for those in wheelchairs and how technology should be for everyone. Another one I heard a lot was about relationships between nations and peace, raising awareness among different people, and laws about the SDGs.

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People were starting to form alliances or groups with each other like Sweden, Australia, Belgium, France, and Albania.

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During lobbying, the committee split into several groups. People were also putting their resolutions together to make a SUPER resolution. They had many clauses; some were similar, like two ideas that would help SDG 6, but they were also very different at the same time. The groups managed to stay pretty focused on their task, but not without a few bumps along the way. However, they spent a total of almost 4 hours on their resolutions so that is understandable.

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Sometimes they would split them into two different types of clauses. One type supports SDGs and the other supports the whole picture. Soon enough, they were ready to start the debate! The debate started off slow but soon became very productive and many people argued their ideas. Denmark made an amendment. The votes across the countries were unanimous. People were sharing their ideas or resolutions. 

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People took turns debating; it wasn’t like one person talked a lot. It was pretty equal. People would ask their questions freely and the speaker would reply confidently; it was clear that they had spent a lot of time on this. Some topics I have heard a lot about were sustainable development goals, combining clauses to make a better one, and sound and touch devices to aid their loss of vision.