Welcome address by the IMZMUN 2021 President Chair woman

Honourable delegates, esteemed guests,

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I, Elektra Antoniou, am honoured to once again be the President Chairwoman at an IMZMUN conference, this time being the IMZMUN 2021! As this is my senior year, this will be my last year of chairing at an IMZMUM conference and as every year, it is mine and my Deputy Chairmen’s intentions to create a stimulating and creative debating environment.

 

In this day and age, technological advancements are more rapid than ever before and its rate of change is ever accelerating. We have reached a crossroad where we must ask ourselves whether these advancements are overall beneficial or detrimental and how we should proceed with regulating them.

 

Should scientists continue to explore potentially dangerous inventions? Is it only up to the scientists to consider the potential effects/use of their inventions? Can new developments, such as gene manipulation, be ethically and morally justified? Does such legitimacy or justification provide enough ground for legal endorsement? At what point must governments intervene and if they do, how? Should we be satisfied if the overall effect is positive and accept that negative results are “the necessary evil” of technological advancements?

 

These questions may seem daunting and complex, not meant for young Gen Z students like us at the IMZMUN 2021. They are complex issues which require wide knowledge, thorough attention, sensible compromises to come up with satisfying solutions. However, I am confident that, though lobbying, debating and working together, the Delegates of the IMZMUN 2021 will lead the way to important conversations and come to agreement on robust resolutions.