World Trade Organisation
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has served as the focal point of global trade and cooperation since it was established in 1995. Given countries’ social and political interests are reflected by their trade policies, the WTO grapples with the implications of commercial exchange and mediates discourse. Its main priorities fall into five areas: trade negotiations, implementation and monitoring, dispute resolution, building trade capacity, and outreach. BYMUN’s iteration of the WTO promises a special experience for delegates, as non-country stakeholders will be present as delegates too! The WTO is sure to be an exciting and unique for all who take on the challenge.
OVERVIEW
Balancing the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights and Least Developed Countries' (LDC) Access to Vaccines
Delegates of the WTO will be taking on the challenge of balancing the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights with Lesser Developed Country’s Access to Vaccines. As the global economy gradually shifts towards knowledge-based industries such as information technology and pharmaceuticals, the facilitation of intellectual trade becomes paramount through the safeguarding of inventions via patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property protection. Nonetheless, it is imperative to acknowledge that intellectual property rights come with their own set of flaws; over the long term, while they serve to incentivize innovation, they also impede the unfettered flow of information and technology, thereby incurring short-term costs for those in dire need across nations.
The challenge confronting delegates of the WTO at BYMUN lies in the need to redefine the role of intellectual property rights in an omnipresent technological era and establish a more harmonized intellectual property regime among member states.
Meet The Chairs
Beeland Anderson Parker Rogers
Beeland is a Sec 4 student in Nanyang’s Humanities Programme, as well as Nanyang Debate. Often called “Bee” for short, she spends far too much time going on history and literature-related deep dives, listening to Taylor Swift/蔡依林, or continuing her 396 day Duolingo streak learning Spanish. As someone who often has to deny allegations of being a finance bro, she has somehow found herself back in a finance-related council (again), and hopes delegates’ time at the WTO is so memorable that it pulls them into a similar cycle as her. Bee looks forward to meeting delegates at BYMUN ‘24, and hopes they will take on the challenge of joining the WTO!
Yue Jiayuan
Jiayuan is a JC1 student from Hwa Chong Institution. As a Gemini, she has an identity crisis due to juggling multiple passions at once, including but not limited to catching bugs (metallic purple beetles are underrated), watching luxury bag exchanges on TikTok and reading books on mediaeval history and fantasy. Similar to Bee, Jiayuan continues her 417 day Duolingo streak learning French and Japanese and goes for history or TedEd (her favourite being ‘the history of the world according to cats’) deep dives on YouTube. With 2 siblings, 2 cats, 2 terrapins, and the occasional bug or frog, it is safe to say Jiayuan’s home is a farm. Jiayuan hopes to bring the same fun energy to WTO this year and is excited to make many new friends!
Xu Shaozhe
Similar to Jiayuan, Shaozhe has also recently graduated from Nanyang Girls’ High School. Unfortunately for her, she has been receiving death threats from Duolingo since last year and does not plan on visiting the owl soon. You can usually find her watching Going Seventeen while journaling about the latest movie she’s watched or book she’s read. Apart from indulging in literary fiction while listening to Folklore on a rainy day, Shaozhe cannot find a better reason to stay at home. This year, she is thrilled to bring along her 15 carefully curated playlists for any occasion and her insights to BYMUN 2024. She hopes to make new friends and engage in discussions about global issues that spark her curiosity.