Interview with Christina Chung, PR Director at SSUNS

Friday, October 13th, second day of the highly anticipated SSUNS 2015 conference!

In a private room, away from all the hustle and bustle of the conference, the MIR meets Christina Chung, the SSUNS radiant Deputy Director of Public Relations. Despite being sleep deprived, this Vancouver native was expansive and sharp in responding to our inquiries. This is what Ms. Chung has to say about this year’s exciting SSUNs conference and her message to the delegates.

What would you like to highlight about this year’s SSUNS conference?

Each aspect of the conference was revamped and all our staff went the extra mile to make this conference different and better than previous SSUNs. To move the conference forward, we paid particular attention to last year’s feedback, whether it came from delegates or staff. This year’s Opening Ceremony (OC) was totally different. Although one of SSUNs’ objectives is to be as true to the UN as possible, delegates are part of a generation that has increased access to information and foreign cultures, and we wanted to experiment with that. Therefore this year we invited McGill’s hip hop dance crew Urban Groove to perform and share some local culture with our delegates. The OC was also very special, as our keynote speaker, McGill Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of International Development Patrick Brennan, has previously worked at the United Nations. Later in his career he focussed on international indigenous issues, a subject I believe many people either are not aware of or have forgotten. But these issues are pervasive in our societies, for example, the hotel the conference is being hosted in was built on traditional Mohawk territory like it was mentioned by Mr. Brennan.

What did you feel were the PR team’s biggest successes in the preparation of the conference?

I see essentially two things and would like to emphasize that these would not have been possible without the dedication and perseverance of PR Deputy Directors Casey Wang and Adam Carris. One of our big successes this year is related to sponsorship. We remodelled our entire sponsorship package and earned outstanding funding. Indeed, one sponsor provided us with funding close to SSUNs’ entire funding last year and we also developed a special relationship with Evo. This was not as straightforward as it seems and we were also turned down many times, but because of how our PR team overcame these obstacles, I believe our success is well in tune with this year’s SSUNs theme to push your horizons and defy the odds. The second success I wanted to emphasize was in our granting of scholarships. Because of how we organized it and as a consequence of our outstanding sponsorship, we were able to grant larger scholarships to more students. This touches me personally as my passion for Model UN led me to go on several trips throughout Canada and internationally, but each time money was an issue. I firmly believe that Model UN conferences enable you to develop so many valuable professional and life skills that financial issues should not be a hindrance and that we should accentuate our efforts to make these conferences accessible.

The SSUNs Walkway took place this year once again. How does it function and why is it important in your eyes?

The SSUNS Walkway presents to delegates different universities as well as clubs present in these universities. Our goal is to show high school students on the verge of graduating different opportunities available to them. Each university has a different approach to education and all have different assets that should be emphasized. It was also interesting to have representatives of different student associations, since university is so much more than what happens in the classroom. SSUNS delegates come to the conference to compete, but it is important for them to see other opportunities related to politics, development and history. For example, the MIR was present and it showcased other skills than “Model UN” related skills such journalistic writing and editing.

What was the emphasis put on during the Against the Odds Leadership Panel?

This year we had four enormously successful panel speakers who addressed questions like: what obstacles do you face in what you are trying to accomplish? How did these problems push you to persevere? In this intimate talk, it was emphasized that one doesn’t have to wait decades to consider oneself successful: real life starts in university. It is a time when you learn about yourself and “make” yourself as a person.

What are some of your star committees?

Marko Kasikovic, our Committees Undersecretary-General was adamant on having an NGO Mental Health Committee because it is such a pervasive issue in our society and there is still significant stigma attached to it. Mental health issues can be a huge hindrance in people’s achievement of their goals and it is essential to address this.

Which social media platforms are you using for SSUNS? What role do they play in the conference?

We are currently using Facebook the most but have also increased our use of Instagram and Twitter. We’ve also created a Snapchat account. We use Facebook primarily to reach out to our delegates and faculty advisors to announce upcoming events. Because of the information-intensive world we live in, it only makes sense to take advantage of new technologies.

What are your messages for SSUNS 2015 delegates?

Firstly, our delegates are at an age where they feel pressured to make decisions that they think will impact the rest of their lives. But they should know that it’s alright not to know what they are going to do and where they will be in the next 5 or 10 years! This is especially true as things don’t usually go according to plan. This was emphasized by one of our speakers Nida Nizam who quotes the following Yiddish proverb: “man plans and God laughs”. Furthermore, we all hold high expectations for our surroundings and ourselves, but things change and there is no wrong answer. Whether you want to take a year or more off after high school or directly go to the number one university in a country, both are equally good paths. This is something that many have a hard time seeing in our system where we are being pushed to the limits of our capacities.

Secondly, I would like to tell them that they need to learn about themselves. As we grow older, we tend to believe that it’s stupid to listen to our emotions and tend to suppress them. Sometimes we attempt to do things so far out of our reach: it’s as if someone who didn’t know how to swim would attempt to do synchronized swimming. But it is essential to take care of yourself when you are so hard pushed. Burnouts are real. It is important to know that when you feel stressed out and alone, you have to be attentive to how you feel. It is also good to have figured this out before getting to university so that you are ready to embrace all of the opportunities offered in this new environment.

The last element I would like to touch on is that when we get older, when everyone’s busy, you will realize that some people will not always be there for you, and this can lead to feeling that you don’t matter to them. This affects your perception of yourself, which is the most crucial element of self-esteem. Indeed, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”. Personally, this conference has taught me that when you feel down, there will always be someone exceptional that you can talk to. You can meet people like these anywhere and SSUNs has been one of those places where I have met incredible and sincere friends. Go out and network, and you will create so many important new friendships!

Photo credits to Matthew Meyer