Over the long weekend of November 7-10, 2019, Cornell International Affairs Society hosted the 10th iteration of the Cornell International Affairs Conference (CIAC). Hosted in snowy Ithaca, New York the weekend took place on campus at Cornell University. This year’s conference was led by Secretary-General Ria Singh as well as a sizable Secretariat. 256 delegates attended CIAC X from 20 different delegations, making this year’s conference the largest CIAC yet.
Attending Delegations
The following delegations were reported to MUN01 as attending CIAC X by the Secretariat:
- SUNY Oswego
- Colgate University
- Georgetown University
- Mount Holyoke College
- Middlebury College
- University of Ottawa
- Gettysburg College
- Wheaton College
- Queen’s University
- Seton Hall University
- Columbia University
- St. Lawrence University
- SUNY Geneseo
- Tufts University
- Bowdoin College
- SUNY Stony Brook
- Ithaca College
- William Paterson University
- Bard College at Simon’s Rock
- Binghamton University
Committee Overview
CIAC X offered 12 committees, with ten Crisis rooms. This includes two JCCs, six single-committee Crisis rooms, and one Ad Hoc. Two specialized committees also were among the options. This year’s CIAC heavily featured fantasy and sci-fi committees with four of the committees (including one JCC) being that genre.
Crisis
- JCC Yakuza – Kobe Clan v. Yamaguchi Family
- JCC Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Alliance v. Fire Nation
- Boxer Rebellion
- Death of Stalin
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Matrix
- Fyre Fest
- Ad-Hoc
Specialized
- International Court of Justice
- UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Committee Comments
As it should always be said, the committee comments section should serve as a balanced critique of the conference. MUN01 recognizes the hardwork and dedication that all Secretariat members put into the weekend. However, MUN01 also believes that delegates should be able to receive honest opinions and conferences gain feedback to grow and improve every year!
Committee Praises
Overall, the front room did a good job. A delegate in the Mad Max committee said his “chair was really cool.” An ICJ delegate praised the committee type, saying even though it was hard work that it was a lot of fun. Overall, the room setups were good and conducive to debate. A non-committee praise was that the Secretariat was incredibly helpful and facilitated head delegate feedback very well.
Committee Critiques
Specialized rules of procedure were unclear from the background guide. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was really just a General Assembly. However, across most committees, it seems that the backroom had the most issues. Delegates main critiques were slow crisis notes and few crisis updates. A suggestion made during head delegate feedback to either switch to a two-notepad system or electronic notes.
Socials
CIAC X provided two socials this year, on Friday and Saturday night, that are staples of the CIAC experience. The first social, on Friday night, was at K-House, a karaoke house located a short walk from the main conference hotel. Delegates had the opportunity to sing their hearts out in many reserved rooms for the event. The second social, on Saturday night, occurred at the BoatYard Grill and provided an opportunity to catch up with committee friends and your own delegation as well as music and space to dance.
Awards
Delegation Awards were given out as follows:
Best Large Delegation: Seton Hall University
Outstanding Large Delegation: Columbia University
Best Small Delegation: Georgetown University
Outstanding Small Delegation: Colgate University
To learn more about CIAC X, click here to see their conference website. This conference was also recapped on Episode #32 of the podcast. Click here to listen or go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Thank you to the teams and delegates who participated in building this article with their comments and critiques. A thank you as well to CIAC for providing conference information. Congrats to all who competed in or staffed the conference!
MUN01 