timuntimes18-blog

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Interview With The SG

by Nisa Ceylan

TIMUN TIMES: Can you tell us a bit about your position as SG?

KAAN ERTURK: I’m basically the head of the conference. I oversee everything, and I am responsible for directing an executive team of 15 to organize a conference for 400.

TT: What are some difficulties you’ve had while getting ready for the conference?

KE: Because the Ministry of Education had changed some rules for events organized on school premises, we had a change in how the finances would be taken care of. It was slightly difficult to get to know the new system and adapt to this system with the rest of the participant schools.

TT: What advice would you give to future SG’s if they were going to fill your role?

KE: I think communication is very critical, both with the advisors and with the executive team. It is very critical during the conference to make sure that everyone is on the same page with all the changes happening. So I would advise them to keep track of all the emails and to do all the changes as a group.

TT: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

KE: Vanilla.

TT: What are your biggest ups and downs in MUN?

KE: My biggest down was when we thought we lost the taxi footage for the closing video, and my biggest up was when our fellow TIMUN participants told me how much they enjoyed this year’s conference.

TT: What is your funniest MUN memory?

KE: This one is a classic. When we were in Haarlem at Esmee’s house, Timur stole our blanket, so Eran and I had to sleep snuggling the whole night under one blanket.

TT: Do you have any pet peeves?

KE: I am too organized; lack of organization really bothers me.

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Interview With The Executive Coordinator

by Mehmet Ekin Doğan

TIMUN TIMES: Can you introduce yourself?... Your contribution to TIMUN?... Your personal traits?

İrem Kaki: I’m İrem Kaki, the executive coordinator at TIMUN. I’m a member of the secretariat, I help Kaan and Mey with the organizational matters, everything regarding TIMUN’s organization basically and also content. During TIMUN, I am usually in charge of the approvals of the resolutions. I also handle whichever crisis that occurs. Before the conference, during the preparations, as I have stated I am a key part in the organization.

I like to think of myself as a loyal person, and I’m kind of emotional. Not emotional, as it gets in the way me doing work, because I also like to regard myself as a responsible person. Probably the key defining point of my personality is my perfection. I am a huge perfectionist.

TT: You are coordinating Execs. SG is coordinating the whole conference, but he is an exec. Who is controlling who? I am confused, enlighten me!

IK: Ok! Of course, the secretary general is above me, but people call me the “bain takımı” of the conference as an inside joke within the executive team. There are some small details that sometimes people don’t see, but I’m there whenever someone can’t realize something. I realize it instead and therefore they call me the “beyin takım”.

TT: We know that you are very skilled in computer sciences. You have even prepared the website for TIMUN. My question is, how did your skills contribute to your MUN career?

IK: Actually, not at all! That’s because I have always been interested in, and that’s the discipline I want to study in the future. In fact, I am going to an engineering interview tomorrow. But, the thing is I development skills after I became the exec in charge of the website. So, we can say that my computer skills did not contribute to my MUN career, my MUN career contributed to my computer skills!

TT: Did you participate in JMUN in middle school? Do you think there is a difference between them and the people who started MUN at high school?

IK: I didn’t participate in JMUN at the middle school. Kaan Altınay, our head of admin, Kaan Ertürk, our SG, Mey Abdullahoğlu, our PGA and many others that I can’t think of right now… None of them didn’t participate in JMUN. I see that people who haven’t participated in JMUN are performing the same as the one that did participate. I agree that JMUN gives you some experience, that’s a fact. As a person who has been a JMUN executive member and a JMUN chair multiple times, and I can say that JMUN and MUN are two different affairs.

TT: What was your worst and best MUN moment?

IK: My worst moment: I was terribly ill during the GA in HMUN (Harlem MUN) 2016 which was the year Efe Aydoğu was the PGA. I had a 39 degree fever, I was coughing like I was about to die. Aykan Akyıldırım -our club president- was sitting right next to me, and I had the resolution to present at the GA. I wasn’t the main submitter of the resolution, but that was only because I let another who cried for it to be the main submitter. That was just a fun fact. I had to deliver a speech on the resolution, but I couldn’t because Efe Aydoğu and Zeynep Yeltekin -they are all graduates, I love them very much and I send my kisses and hugs to them -  took me out of the GA to the hotel. They tucked me into the bed and gave me some medicine. Then, I slept

At the end of the day, my best moment will probably be my, or Kaan’s, or Mey’s speech at the end of the closing. Since that didn’t happen yet, my best moment is the moment I had after the closing ceremony in 2016. I was the head of admins and we had the admin debriefing with Deniz Akduman. After everyone was gathered, I told them how well they have performed and how proud I was of them along with Deniz. Because some of them started crying, I joined them as well. When we were all hugging, my head of admin from four years ago, Timur Gordon came in and gave me my exec sweatshirt. Timur was actually the reason why I wanted to be the head of admins and because of that, it was really emotional

TT: What’s the meaning of your surname?

IK: That’s a hard one! In Farsi, it means “tough” and “warrior”, but  my surname is not in Farsi. The thing is that “Kaki” is a proper noun in pure Turkish. It was someone’s name, and the name passed on for generations. When the surname law was introduced, we took it as a family name.

TT: Can you tell us a secret about you?

IK: Hazal, tell me a secret about me.

Hazal Bulut: Uhh… Let me think about it!

TT: Let’s brainstorm! We can say she has glasses while she does not actually need to wear one.

IK: I actually need them… I am literally blind without one. Oh, I found one! I follow around fifty golden retriever accounts on Instagram.

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FASHION POLICE by Sima Akdurak

Our Head of Press, Ms. Yücebaş was turning heads with her floral patterned skorts and a color coordinated beige jumper, bringing back the 70’s vibes.

Mr. Gür, was also one of the most charming delegates ever to walk on the campus of UAA. With his matt black sun glasses he was stealing the lights from the sun! Ladies be aware.

This gorgeous couple was caught on our cameras during the general photoshoot. Their matchy-matchy outfits highlighted their interests towards the global agenda items.

Our dear CM Mr. Mitrani and ambassador Ms. Çetinol were rocking the plaids with colorful touches. Believe me my friends this year is the year for plaids!

The Presidenté of the ICJ was inspiring us with her elegant choice of pearl earrings and a monochromic brown dress and matching high heeled boots.

A trench coat is always the answer! With the chic touch of a cowboy hat this delegate is killing it.

[timuntimes18-blog]

To All the Lady Birds I Loved Before

by Nazlı Adıgüzel

Attention people! Hollywood is craving for adolescent content and dying because of it. The money craving monsters, called producers and managers are trying to destroy the most delicate yet crucial form of art for the youth. I can see the reason why recent coming-of-age movies are not really people’s favorite genre. The concept of coming-of-age movies has changed. I really enjoyed watching movies like Heathers, The Breakfast Club, and Submarine, and, I have to say, it’s nothing like what coming-of-age stories are like nowadays. There are some fundamentals of coming of age stories that the screenwriters and directors haven’t really figured out yet, or have forgotten throughout the years. I have never seen a coming of age movie of Netflix where I can relate a character. As an adolescent, I want to see a character that I can directly connect to a movie. Fictional adolescents seem to be confident and comfortable with themselves. In reality, we are nothing like them. We are just a bunch of young people who are trying to figure out ourselves. Our voice crack, we get nervous talking to the strangers, teachers, and people we like. We don’t have quick comebacks our teachers, we are not fluent in sarcasm. We don’t have an idea what we are supposed to do, we are confused and looking for people like us. So, when we see fictional teenagers just like us, we feel safe and real. We realize that the long phase we are going through is normal. Lady Bird from the movie Lady Bird is one of the perfect examples for young people. Lady Bird has an unstable relationship with her mother. She is trying to find her place in the world and thus, creating an identity for herself, Lady Bird. When I watched this movie, I felt like I was watching myself over a soundtrack and beautiful cinematography. Everything felt natural, from the East Coast application process to heartbreaks. I can’t express my feelings and my reaction when I saw a seventeen-year-old trying to fit into a new group of friends and acting all weird, and not like herself to show that she is just like the rest of the students on white screen. But when I watch To All the Boys I Loved Before or Sierra Burgess Is a Big Loser, all I see is a bunch of young adults looking like the epitome of Hollywood and social media. But that’s not who we are, although we spend most of our time on Instagram and Snapchat we still have a side that just wants to figure ourselves out and overcome our social awkwardness. Even though the actors and actresses are really close to our age they act like as if they are thirty-year-olds who are trying to act “hip” just look realistic and relatable.

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EXEC FUN FACTS

Kaan Altınay: I was once attacked by a homeless person!

Tan Karahasaoğlu: I once broke all the bones in both of my hands.

Irmak Ersöz: My sister’s an admin in this year’s TIMUN!

Kaan Ertürk: I’m addicted to FIFA 19.

Mey Abdullahoğlu: I finished Peaky Blinders (all four seasons) in a week.

Kaya Çolakoğlu: I have such a high understanding of responsibility, that I make sure I faint just before the last stop to school.

Kamil Özkan: I became a legend when I was an admin by sitting on a cupcake.

Eran Kan: I looove Liverpool. The football team.

Kerem Uzdiyen: I like Formula 1.

Can Kerem Akbulut: Kerem Uzdiyen got me into Formula 1.

Deren Alanay: I have the same personality type as Willy Wonka! (ENFP)

İrem Kaki: I'm addicted to Spider Solitaire.

Hazal Bulut: I love soup.

Mark Mitrani: I yawn when I’m thirsty.

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Keeping Up With Head of Admins: Irmak Ersöz & Kaan Altınay

by Sima Akdurak

TIMUN TIMES: How did you establish the discipline of the admin team and their dedication to MUN and speaking English?

KAAN ALTINAY: Now the thing is, we make sure that they understand the importance and value of what TIMUN is and the high regard we hold it, especially since it is the 25th year. Also when they understand how the executive team values TIMUN, they respect that and act accordingly. So it’s not like we’re always on their shoulders telling them to speak in English. They do this voluntarily because they understand the reputation of what they are doing.

IRMAK ERSÖZ: And also we train our admins for a very long time. We have approximately six weeks of training, and during that period they understand the seriousness of it. They should be taking this more seriously than they do their other activities. The admins know the consequences if they don’t speak in English, so we make sure to integrate that into their education as an admin.

TT: You were once an admin and now you are the ones in charge of the admins. How do you feel about that?

IE: For me, it’s very weird because I was a press admin, and it is a different job than being a regular admin. Right now, being the Head of Admin and seeing the others running around and doing what I was doing four years ago, it’s so amazing. At some point I started to see myself in some of them running around, carrying the registration boxes. It feels like they are our kids.

KA: I feel like I am paying my debt back to the system. My admin year was, I wouldn’t lie, my best TIMUN up to date. It was better than my time being a delegate, so the experience that I had was really unforgettable. Being the Head of Admin accomplished my goal of making other people enjoy this experience.

TT: How did you feel about your head of admins? Were they scary or intimidating?

KA: I loved my Head of Admins!!! Mine was İrem Kaki and Deniz. I was good with Deniz but İrem, especially, had a special place in my heart, and she still does. She was like a mother to me in a process that I had no idea about. So in my sessions, I try to make the admins feel the same way as when I worked with Irem. She is my idol in everything.

IE: My head of admins were Mina and Zeynep. Both of them are in very good universities right now. We weren’t as close as Kaan and İrem, but Zeynep was also my idol because she dressed really well and her communication skills were awesome. I saw her as a mother. Mina was also a very beautiful girl, and I think that our year was the best-looking team of the head of admins ever. Their expectations were always high. Although we had a lot of problems during my admin year, they took care of all of them calmly, and they were like role models to us.

TT: How do you portray yourself as head of admins? Do you think you are a little bit scary?

IE: As I said we do a lot of training for the admins before we start. So in the training, you have to be more serious and be fun at the same time so that the kids don't get bored. I feel like I established that groundwork during the training. The admins don't think that I'm their boss but still respect me. We're just like regular friends. I used to make a lot of cookies for them during the training. So our relationship is based on me being like their mother/sister/friend.

KA: To be honest I wasn't as good as Irmak about the relationships with the admins. I was more serious with them, especially before their exam and during the selection process. 70 admins applied and only 30 of them became admins. So it is fair to say that it was a very selective process, but it was worth it because we trained the best admins in the world.

TT: What do you expect from the future Head of Admins?

IE: I would tell them to just be relaxed about it all and take it easy. Don't worry about the people coming in. They'll look up to you no matter what you do during that first period that you meet. The important thing here is to try being an idol for the admins that will be a permanent role model that they will always look up to in the coming years.

KA: I would ask the future Head of Admins not to freak out because the kids usually don’t know anything when they first arrive. I know that it is sometimes hard to l maintain that relationship with people who are much younger than you are, but eventually, as you start to work with them, you develop this relationship that cannot be developed outside, which brings you some different kind of connection. So I would tell them to not worry about that. What I would suggest is that be as open with the admins as possible and not see them as students to boss around, but as their children, sisters and brothers.

TT: How would you describe your relationship?

KA: That's a very tough question. You know I would say that we’ve gotten closer than expected in the last couple of years.

IE: Yeah we've only known each other for like two years, but we're still best friends.   That happened because we had hard times during our relationship. Our troubles both coincided and helped each other during hard times, which made us stronger. Like whenever I had anything happening, even if I like broke my nail, I could just call Kaan. Knowing that I have someone that I can trust so much with everything in my life was very--is a very special thing.

TT: Lastly, what is your favorite ice-cream flavor?

IE: Mine is definitely mint chocolate chip. I have traveled all around the world to find the most perfect mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I have achieved my goal in Zurich.

KA: I don’t know what ice-cream flavor is my favorite actually. I think I like them all.

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Interview With The PGA Mey Abdullahoğlu

by Nisa Ceylan

TIMUN TIMES: So first of all, how is your mental health going?

MEY ABDULLAHOGLU: Very good.

TT: Could you briefly tell us what you do as a PGA?

MA: As the President of the General Assembly, I am in charge of the content side of the conference, so that includes determining the agenda items, student officers. Most importantly, though, I chair the GA.

TT: Did you face any conflicts during and/or before the conference?

MA: Before the conference, especially in one committee (the Special Conference), a lot of chairs canceled, so we had to choose chairs instead of them. This happened three times before the conference. But during the conference, we didn’t really face any challenges.

TT: Do you have any advice for the future PGA’s?

MA: Hmm. Choose the chairs carefully, because they will be the ones that you’ll be dealing with during the whole conference. If you choose the wrong people or assign the wrong chair to the wrong committee, it will just make your job harder.

TT: How do you assign chairs to committees?

MA: The chairs state their preferences. We try to place them in their first choices as much as possible. However, not everyone can get their first choice. We still want to make everyone happy.

TT: Which movie did you most recently watch?

MA: I watched Ayla, which is a story about a Turkish soldier in the Korean War who rescues a little Korean girl and starts to take care of her. She starts to call him “dad” and stuff, but then he has to go back to Turkey, so they get separated. The rest would be a spoiler though!

TT: Can you tell us your highest and lowest moment of your MUN career?

MA: I think that my highest moment is when I carried coffee for an admin to another admin! My lowest point was when I was trying to make the curfew in THIMUN, and I was running so fast that I dropped all my chicken nuggets on the floor. I couldn’t even eat one… That was really sad.

TT: What is your favorite soup?

MA: My favorite soup is chicken and corn soup or regular chicken soup.

TT: Can you share your thoughts about this year's theme “Shaping the Future”?

MA: I really like this year’s theme because I think TIMUN is a platform that allows young people to take part in shaping the future. I think this year’s theme is very special.

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PRESS FUN FACTS

NAZLI: She loves Nick Cave. EKIN: He once almost blew up an entire school. SIMA: She has a twin. DEFNE: She burps a lot. She burped while I was writing this. EDA: She can touch her nose with her tongue. CAN: He plays the sax. ASLI: She can cry anytime she wants and she’s proud of it. BERFU: She’s a dog mom. NISA: She is obsessed with the Scottish accent. CEMRE: She has tens of laugh styles (if that is not a word, it is now). UMUT: He can play the piano while standing upside down. ONUR: He’s been a photographer for 10 years. ELIF: Eats “çiğköfte” three times a day. JUSTIN: Was hit by a car when he was 10. Apparently, it was a hit and run.

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Interview With The Conference Managers Mark Mitrani and Tan Karahasanoğlu

by Mehmet Ekin Doğan

TIMUN TIMES: As the conference manager, what’s your contribution to TIMUN?

MARK MITRANI: Well, my contribution to TIMUN is that anything you see has to be designed, and these designs are made by the CM team. Folders, placards, badges, banners, pins, stickers… Literally, everything comes from us. We are the ones who design and then go order it. We basically prepare everything for the conference.

TT: What kinds of innovations have you brought to our conference?

MM: First of all, we renovated the TIMUN logo. That’s one of the biggest things we have done.

TAN KARAHASANOGLU: It seems simple, but changing a logo while imagining how it might fit the original concept is extremely hard. So, full credit to Mark.

MM: It was a very important change for the 25th year, and we had to specifically give emphasis to the 25th since this was the anniversary of TIMUN. And then we used that logo on pins which are very special. We did not have pins for years, actually. There had been one time where there was a pin, but it had a really bad design. We can say that we have really nice pins and stickers this year.

TK: On further innovations, we generally tried to uphold the values of TIMUN while also trying to incorporate the 25th anniversary. So we tried to make it both entertaining and important. But this conference shouldn’t be the same as what it looked like in 1993. We tried to take our conference at least a step further, and we believe we have done it correctly with every aspect of it.

MM: Also, one last thing. This year we made TIMUN more environmentally friendly. In previous conferences, we used to print booklets for every single participant. This year we didn’t print them.  Instead, we only put welcome sheets in every single folder which had a QR code in it, and thorough this QR code, any participants could reach their booklets on the TIMUN website.

TK: Basically, we tried to ensure that every single tree that could be saved was saved. We tried to make sure that everything that could be done in a digital environment was online. Although there were some pieces which had to be printed, like resolutions which most people take notes on and need to hold. Much more stuff, including the opening sheets, was digitized, and we are very happy with it. We are also recognizing the importance of the future.

MM: The future is now! We will try to make a TIMUN 50, TIMUN 100! Which is always our goal. We are trying to do our part in shaping the future.

TT: What steps did you take in order to come to this position?

MM: Obviously I had to join the MUN club first…(Tan laughs). The year before that, when I was a prep, I was an admin. One of the most important things, when I was an admin, was that I understood how the conference was administered. CM wise- not just Exec wise- it was about my passion for designing stuff. Ever since I got to Uskudar, I have been designing logos, banners, etc. When I went to my exec interview, the auditors had already seen my designs, such as the hiking club logo. I believe the reputation that came with my work on photoshop helped me get chosen as the assistant conference manager.

TT: Do you think there is too much pressure on you? Are you fine with that?

MM: It is true that there is a lot of pressure on us. We are the ones that have to deliver every single material to the conference. It is a lot to do combining with the fact that we are ordering every single material. It does get very stressful at times. It’s hardly relaxing, but generally, it’s not that overwhelming. Specifically, these last two weeks have been… I don’t want to say it was a living hell because it wasn’t bad, I actually enjoyed it.

TK: I would say that it was extremely chaotic because all of the orders we had to follow came at once, so we had to designate every single step. Where the materials are going, filing them all in order and ensuring that everything that was ordered was delivered to us was hard. We were actually lucky in a way because most of our plans didn’t fail, but there were some issues which made the whole process kinda harder than usual. When you wind up with a conference like this, it is all beneficial.

MM: Preparing TIMUN seems like it requires a lot of work, but it actually is worth the experience you get. This is a great conference and activity. It’s wonderful that we have the chance to do this. This is one of the many natural ordeals that will occur to you during life. We get the chance to have this experience earlier in our lives, it prepares us for what’s going to happen the next.

TT: Mark! This Wednesday I saw you at school in Barton 104 at 5:30 pm. What were you doing at school after every service bus had left and there was nothing to do, considering that you live in Nişantaşı?

MM: Before I answer I would like to ask a question: Am I being incriminated for something?

TT: Answer the question, please. It is confidential.

MM: I’ll prepare my answer wisely... I was staying overtime because I was working overtime. It was the last day before TIMUN; I wanted to make sure everything was in the right order. More specifically, at that hour I was trying to put Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posts about TIMUN on various social media accounts.

TT: Tan, do you feel overwhelmed by his expectations?

TK: A we have stated, there is lots of work. However, in each and every step, Mark has been my biggest helper. He never acted like a boss; he was a friend to me. We were “companions” trying to achieve our goal. Even if he requested a lot from me, he would try to help and teach me. He tried to lighten my workload. Even if I missed a deadline, he made sure that I had a couple more days to complete my job. Especially because of that, I am extremely thankful.

TT: What kind of relationship you two have? Did you choose Mark, or did he choose you?

TK: I believe the exec team chose me, but because we are a family we try to ensure that a democratic relationship exists. Nobody’s opinion is discounted. I personally believe that Mark chose me; I kind of admire him for that. He is much more capable in photoshop than I am, but I am planning to improve my skills. I am his assistant, and I am constantly learning from him. It is a relationship that has blossomed into a friendship over time. If I had the chance to change my companion, I would still choose Mark. He handles the CM better than anyone in TIMUN. He knows his responsibility.

TT: So do you think it was destiny for you to be with him?

TK: I guess… Yeah. You know with some people, it just kinda works.

MM: Stars have aligned perfectly for this.

TK:  We just kinda connect, luckily for us. (Everyone in the room laughs)

MM: Can’t a man love another man without being judged?

[timuntimes18-blog]

Notable Former MUN Delegates

by Nazlı Adıgüzel

Do you ever wonder if MUN affects your life and improves your skills? If you didn’t, then you should. After you see the following list of celebrities who have participated in MUN, you might notice the impact it has had on others.

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton

Ban Ki-Moon, current United Nations Secretary-General.

Stephen Breyer, United States of America Supreme Court Justice.

Samuel L. Jackson

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RIDDLE

Here is a challenge for you! Solve this riddle and come to find us in the Press Room for a surprise.

Two girls were born to the same mother, on the same day, at the same time, in the same month and year and yet they're not twins. 

How can this be?

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UAA Rain Drill

by Nazlı Adıgüzel

Although there are benefits to having conferences on campus, it can also be challenging due to the weather conditions. It’s a fact, which everyone has already accepted, that TIMUN is famous for always having rain.

If you are a UAA student, then you are probably used to the rain and know the "secret" locations. To those who are new to our campus, this following will be your guide for the next three days.

- The school lounge is probably the best place to hang around during the breaks when it's raining.

- If you're not a fan of the suffocating crowds in the lounge, there's always the gym.

- If you like to have a near-deafening experience and still not get wet, I present you the cafeteria.

- If you are desperate, then there are the corridors and the bridges between Morgan-Martin and Barton-Bowker.

But remember, if there isn’t any available place you can always recreate the rain scene from The Notebook!

[timuntimes18-blog]

ICJ Opening

by Nisa Ceylan

The opening of 2018 TIMUN International Court of Justice was rather delightful! President Deren Alanay started off by introducing herself and followed by the vice president Can Kerem Akbulut and the registrar Mayra Kalaora. Then all of the judges and advocates stood up to introduce themselves. Everyone gave a fun fact about himself or herself, and we can assure you that the court loves cats and dogs (and horses)!

This year’s ICJ has a lot of first timers! A number of hands were held up when the president asked who were judges for the first time. The president went on to explain the rules of procedure, and I, the clueless press member, tried to make sense of everything she mentioned. Here is a fun fact about the rules of procedure: The court cannot decide to hear a case on its own!

After the presentation, it was time for some icebreakers! Everybody showed their phone wallpapers and explained why they have that photo/picture as their wallpaper. The judges, once again, showed how much they love their pets! In fact, all these talks about pets reminded me of how much I missed my kittens. Anyways, --wipes tears away from thinking about the cute kittens--we as the press team wish all of the entire ICJ--a great conference at TIMUN this year!

[timuntimes18-blog]

The First Step of the Conference: the GA Opening Ceremony

by Sima Akdurak and Can Conger

Welcome to the 25th session of the Turkish International Model United Nations, held annually by Üsküdar American Academy. It is a huge honor to host all of you in this open environment of debate and diverse cultural panel. Since its establishment, TIMUN has been a beacon for many students with its elite guests. After opening remarks by Dr. Peter Coles, the headmaster of the school, and Susan Akyürek, the MUN director, this year’s keynote speaker Mr. Hakan Ateş, the founder president and CEO of Denizbank, the fifth largest private bank in Turkey, greeted the delegates and advisors with his  eloquent speech about “Shaping the Future.”

As mentioned, the floor was first yielded to Dr. Coles by the President of General Assembly,

Mey Abdullahoğlu, who was extremely enthusiastic about the 25th year of TIMUN and its impressive history, acknowledging many of the conference’s role in the development of MUN in Turkey. Even though it was Dr. Coles’ first year at the UAA, his admiration for the students and advisors evident and punctuated during his poignant remarks on the role of youth in changing the future.  He clearly highlighted the fact that he had blind faith in this room full of bright children with stimulating views, who have the capability to become future CEOs, Secretary Generals, and pioneers. He also stated that we wouldn’t be here “literally and metaphorically if it wasn’t for Susan Akyürek and her commitment to MUN.”

The next speech by Susan Akyürek echoed Dr. Coles sentiments and encouraged students to be a part of the changing world. Mrs. Akyürek also emphasized that we should shape the future with our contributions to world politics, environmental issues, and community service. By declaring our significance as individuals, and what we are capable of achieving, Mrs. Akyürek expressed her expectations for the group and implored us to reach out for leadership positions in the future.  She also identified that a single action can have wide-ranging effects on the world when supported by the masses.

Finally, the keynote speaker, Hakan Ateş gave his speech on the emerging technologies and their significance in today’s economies. His interactive presentation started with tables depicting countries that are leaders in the production of various goods. He underlined the main reasons why some of the countries and companies had fallen out of the top ten and why some of them moved up in the rankings.  He then outlined some of the technological highpoints in the past generations and the inventors who brought these technologies to life. From Henry Ford to Steve Jobs, Mr. Ateş talked about what these globally renowned people did to get ahead of their peers. Mr. Ateş ended his presentation by stressing four key principles that any establishment has to internalize if they want to grow: Responsibility, Accountability, Transparency, and most importantly Fairness. He specifically highlighted the importance of fairness, saying that without its presence someone cannot be trusted.

The next speaker was the Secretary-General of TIMUN, Kaan Ertürk. A senior at UAA, Mr. Ertürk had participated in TIMUN for the last five years. He shared his honor of serving as the Secretary-General in TIMUN’s 25th Anniversary and talked about the need for multilateral cooperation. He then gave a quote by Antonio Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, “The world is more connected, yet societies are becoming more fragmented. Challenges are growing outward, while many people are turning inward. Multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most.” He concluded his speech by calling on all the participants of TIMUN ’18 for multilateral cooperation and wished everyone fruitful debates during the next four days.

The final speaker of the GA before the ambassador speeches was the executive coordinator,İrem Kaki. She discussed this year's theme “Shaping the Future” and remarked on the importance of devising innovative and creative solutions for the challenges posed by the ever-changing world.

The opening ceremony concluded with the respective ambassadors emphasizing their country’s policies in relation to the conference’s theme “Shaping the Future” before wishing everyone a fruitful debate.

[timuntimes18-blog]

Interview With the Keynote Speaker Hakan Ateş

by Mehmet Ekin Doğan TIMUN TIMES: From my research, I read that you did not have the intention of becoming a banker. What was your dream job instead? And why did you change your mind to become a banker?

HAKAN ATEŞ: I graduated from Ankara College. Actually, I was interested in dubbing during my high school years. I was dubbing movies and TV series characters like White Shadow, Dallas, Bonanza etc. Those were the years I started earning pocket money, and when I graduated from the Middle East Technical University, I asked my mother’s permission to continue my professional dubbing carrier. She said a big no. She had spent tons of money on my education and didn’t want me to waste my time on an on-and-off (again) business.

There was a janitor whose husband was an auditor working in Iş Bank, who one day convinced my mom that I should be a banker. She explained how her husband got double salaries every few months and all the other benefits. Mom came home with dollar signs in her eyes, and shouted at me: “You have to be like that, so pack up and go take the audit team exams.” I took the exam and got a job, however, things did not go that well for me. Right after I started to work, there was a military coup, and because of that Iş Bank decided to stop paying double salaries. Nevertheless, I had the chance to start my banking career at the biggest private bank in Turkey.

TT: In the past, money used to be tangible, and it was stored in large vaults. There are still some places, in which money is protected in vaults, but we can say that it requires lots of workforce and security. On the other hand, we have intangible cryptocurrencies, online banking services, and sites: Paypal, Bitcoin, Ripple etc. Which one is the best way to handle money? Should it be tangible or intangible?

HA: My friends and I have a special term for modern-day humans: “Digi-sapiens.” There is a big conversion across the world.  We are getting more and more digitized. We have finally reached to a level that these algorithms, what we call “blockchains” have conquered our world. We observe them not only in forms of cryptocurrencies, but while keeping the records, accounting, converting the data, etc. You will witness this phenomenon no matter which sector you are working in.

If we are talking about the money itself, my answer to your question is “yes”. It is easier to secure, transport and handle if it is intangible, but it’s really hard to talk about cryptocurrencies. It’s like a brand new world. IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) used to be much more common in the past, but now we can see that the ICOs (Initial Currency Offerings) have replaced them. There are lots of ICOs in the world.  Iran, for instance, is one of the biggest cryptocurrency manufacturing centers, as are China and Russia.

Ripple and Bitcoin are two popular cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is the most used and the most known. In fact, it’s market cap even reached two trillion dollars! Though its value dramatically came down from 25-27 thousand dollars per bitcoin to four thousand, it is still a valuable currency. Ripple’s format is a little bit different, but it is actually functioning in a very similar way. The interesting fact about the cryptocurrencies is that there is no such regulator standing behind these cryptocurrencies for the time being. There is lots of speculation about these currencies. People say that you can gain five or even ten times the amount you invest in them. But what people don’t see is the other side.  It can suddenly decrease and put you out of business. In my perspective, the question is how will it be commercialized. It will eventually be commercialized, but for this, a regulator should come up and backup these currencies. Like some of the Scandinavian countries like Latvia and Sweden who are trying to adopt a cashless economy.

I have a conspiracy theory. I believe that one day Uncle Sam, the name used for America by the bankers, will come up with a solution: They will decide to back up these cryptocurrencies. Because the dollar is the major reserve currency which makes up %70-%75 of the total reserve currencies, almost all the currencies are dependent on it. If Uncle Sam decides to adopt cryptocurrencies, the whole world will eventually follow this revolution. There are still some governments who are against this idea like China, who tried to ban but failed against the devastating power of cryptocurrencies. This is a good example of a paradigm shift, and how it is happening in the world. I believe in these algorithms. I believe in the blockchain. Thus, I believe in all kinds of derivatives as well.

TT: This year TIMUN’S main focus is shaping the future. What advice do you have for the youth who are responsible for shaping the future, and how can they be motivated to be more active in this process?

HA: First of all, I would like to congratulate you. If I’m not mistaken, this conference is a student initiative. I am happy to see students eager and ready to work. Actually, one of my old acquaintances called me and managed to convince me and my team--my chief economist, my digital CDO, and others--to come to your school. This is the future. You are the future. You have to get in this landscape as soon as possible. What I mean is you should start forming your ideas in early ages. You name it--Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Elon Musk…--they all started at an early age and they became world giants. They have challenged the whole world. Look at Amazon, Alibaba… It is said that are all started in a tiny garage. Whoever gets on the train will be the winner. Life does not forget the ones who have missed the train. The gap between the winners and the losers will be so wide that we can never imagine what type of life we are going to experience in the next ten or twenty years. Maybe it will look like the city in Batman: Gotham. There are elites, people swimming in extreme riches and the poor homeless guys. You have to think about the country, the world as a whole and capture whatever is coming.

TT: From what I have heard you, as an individual who respects culture and art, you have always supported and been interested in literature and art. How have your varied interests benefited you in your professional life?

HA: As I have mentioned, TV and Cinema is considered as the seventh fine art. Television is a derivative of cinema, which includes tv series and shows. It’s all about roleplaying and theater. Then comes opera, ballet, high-level stage performances, painting, sculpture and so on. As humans, what we leave behind is important. Take a look at history, we are still digging up Egyptian, Roman and Hellenic remain, and we are continuously being surprised by the fact that there was a huge and a deep respect towards art in ancient civilizations. That’s the reason why we know the names of the ancient cities like Ephesus and Pergamum. I have recently made a visit to one of the ancient cities, and the reason why I went there was to sponsor a renovation of some ancient remains. Other than renovations, we as DenizBank make lots of other investments in art and culture. What is left from the ancient civilizations mostly do not belong to a nation? They are our world’s keepsakes. Who can beat Leonardo Da Vinci? Who can beat Michelangelo? Who can beat Kafka? They have managed put their signature to the human history. We are the followers of the ancient geniuses and as a social responsibility. We always do consider these sorts of charity works, supports and sponsorships as a part of our duty. That’s the reason why we are almost addicted to such kinds of performances for the sake of this country. We are a very young republic, less than a hundred years old, and we are concerned about the legacy of our current civilization. Hopefully, we will manage to create an eternal mark on human history. The next generations, digi-sapiens, will hopefully look back and memorialize our remains.

TT: Your work helping kids from underserved backgrounds hasn’t gone unnoticed. Can you please talk more about your work with TED?

HA: Actually, that’s the foundation that owned the school I graduated from. The idea comes from the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He asked the ministry of education to initiate a foundation that would support the education of our children. This foundation’s main focus was to provide education in a foreign language, thus introducing the children to global culture. When I was a student, I didn’t know much about the foundation and their aims. Almost fifty percent of the students were getting a free education, while the other ones are paying a regular fee. The foundation helped children who were smart but did not have the money. We were all friends but nobody knew who had a scholarship and who did not. After I graduated and realized how much effort went into the project, I respected it a lot.

There had recently been severe earthquakes in the early 60s in the eastern part of Anatolia. There were twenty-five students who survived the earthquake who later came to our school to be educated for free. I watched them closely and realized that they have all had a bright future. I can finally say that I witnessed with my eyes what it means to invest in a human being.

That’s why we are trying to give similar opportunities and scholarships. There are approximately a hundred and fifty students who can profit from this opportunity each year. We are also providing job security as well, of course after passing some of the qualification exams, which has a very, very high success rate. Some of them even got further help from us, not only during their middle and high school life but during their university life as well they profited from the scholarships.

When they graduate, they usually come back to us and become “sailors.” As you know, our bank’s theme is the sea, and we like to use some of the marine-related terms for our employees. This is why they are usually called captains or sailors. We are enlarging our program year by year by giving more and more help to children from all over the country. We currently help forty different schools other than the Ankara College. They are following a special curriculum designed by specialists and every year they are learning new things. Some of them, who have never had the chance to even see the sea, can now make their dreams true. The first thing we do after the start of the first year is taking the children on a Bosphorus tour. They spend the night in good hotels, being interviewed and entertained.

I can’t forget this one girl who had graduated from our institution. When she was in primary school, we asked her what was her objective. She told us that she wanted to be the prime minister of Turkey. We then asked her how she was going to become one. She started to tell me every single step needed to be taken in order to become the prime minister, from the parliamentary regulations to the campaign tactics, everything! I can eagerly say that I am patriotic. I believe in Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s principles and I am ready to take the necessary steps. I am happy and proud of any kind of help that is given by my institution.

[timuntimes18-blog]

Interview With UAA’s MUN Director Susan Akyürek

by Nisa Ceylan

TIMUN TIMES: For how many years have you been an advisor to the MUN club in UAA?

SUSAN AKYUREK: 12 years now, but I’ve been in charge of TIMUN for the past 8 years.

TT: TIMUN is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! In what ways do you think the conference improved since you started advising the club?

SA: I’m not sure that I would say that it has improved, I think rather it has maintained its standards. It’s always about being the best and putting in the most preparation. I think [the conference] has maintained that level.

TT: Do you think that the conference has changed, or adjusted to change, or not over the years?

SA: I don’t really know… We have changed in the number of foreign schools in the past few years- schools and students attending TIMUN, and now they are only slowly returning… But I think the executive group of TIMUN, whichever year it has been, has always done their best to make sure it’s a successful conference. Whatever the theme, whoever is attending, they have maintained that level of excellence.

TT: Do you like the vanilla or chocolate flavored cupcakes?

SA: Definitely the chocolate ones.

TT: The students are responsible for arranging everything for the conference. What do you think is the biggest strength of this, and in which areas or arrangements do they tend to struggle the most?

SA: The students are always careful and detail-oriented. They always do their best to organize a great conference. I sometimes need to interfere with some of their projects because of financial or administrative reasons, but they have always been creative and cooperative.

My motto is “Don’t meet the deadlines, beat them.”. Sometimes there are so many lists, such as student and school names, that I have to report to so many places: the cafeteria, security, administration… The executive group does meet the deadlines, but sometimes they need to beat them.

TT: Hypothetically speaking: If the intercom system broke down and only one song looped from the speakers throughout the whole day, which song would you like it to be?

SA: I just really hope that never happens, and if it somehow does, I would be running around with scissors in my hand cutting wires...

TT: What do you think of this year’s “Shaping the Future” theme?

SA: I really like it… We have had themes related to change in the past years as well, and this one has a positive feeling to it.

[timuntimes18-blog]

Rembrandt’s Prints

by Nisa Ceylan

I traveled to the Netherlands during the winter break to visit some schools and friends. While in Amsterdam, I decided to make my trip as “artful” as possible. I photographed the street art, bought postcards with Gauguin and Van Gogh paintings printed on the front, even got attacked by pigeons trying to film the Museumplein. Though the most remarkable thing about my artsy adventures in Amsterdam was visiting the Rembrandt Museum--Rembrandt’s  House to be exact.

The house was beautiful. I could imagine Rembrandt painting a portrait in his studio while his students worked on their skills upstairs. One thing about the house particularly interested me: the printmaking room, so when a lady invited us into the room for a demonstration, I did not miss the chance.

To understand his printmaking, I feel the need to talk about Rembrandt and his professional life first. He was born in 1606 in Leiden and died in 1669 in Amsterdam. As an artist, collector, entrepreneur, and teacher, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (that is indeed his real name) is one of the most prominent figures in Dutch and European art. Today, we may recognize him by his high contrast portraits, but in his time, Rembrandt was very famous for his prints. He was so famous that his supposedly inexpensive prints would be auctioned off to three or four times its original price. Some of his most famous prints are his Self-Portrait (1639), A View of Amsterdam (1640), and The Three Trees (1643).

During a printmaking demonstration in Rembrandt's House, the guide related some facts about the history, tools and various styles of printmaking. The printmaking technique Rembrandt used was meant to make cheaper, black and white copies of an original work. During his time, artists like Rembrandt would hire professionals to carve the outline of their paintings onto a thin plate of copper and thus create templates for the prints.

Rembrandt, on the other hand, loved the technique so much that he learned to make the templates himself. The style he used for his prints is called "etching"; its definition is "the act or process of making designs or pictures on a metal plate, glass, etc., by the corrosive action of an acid." Rembrandt would coat his plate of copper with a thin layer of wax, and only scrape off the wax in lines with a special tool where he wanted the acid to corrode the copper. The plate had to be symmetrical to the print, so everything Rembrandt etched on the plate including his signature had to be studied in the mirror. After he's finished "etching", he'd wipe off the wax and thus, have a printing plate ready. Later, he would cover the etched block with a thin layer of printing ink prepared by his students. With a cloth and his fingertips, he'd wipe off the excess ink and then place the plate on the printing machine, covering it with a piece of damp paper (Paper during those times was made by cloth since wood was extremely expensive).

I actually got a chance to use the printing machine. It's a very big cylindric wheel pressing onto the plate to transfer most of the ink left on the plate to the paper. (You can see me in the photo struggling with the machine. The action I was required to do was very simple, yet the muscle strength I have was barely enough to operate the machine whatsoever).

The rudimentary style of etching is neither difficult nor time-consuming task. Rembrandt stood out amongst other printmakers for his attention to detail.  He would put the plate in acid bath multiple times to create lighting and depth in his prints. Art lovers who could not afford to buy paintings were fascinated by Rembrandt's intricate designs. This is why at his time he was very famous for his prints, and even now his works are highly praised by art lovers worldwide. If I somehow managed to pique your interest in the art of printmaking, you can find more information about etching and Rembrandt at www.rembrandthuis.nl/en/ !