A Brief Introduction to the European Crisis Council
What is the European Council? What does it do in the broader institutional framework of the EU? What are the Council’s tasks, and what does the crisis element consist of? TEIMUN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Nathan Lauer, explains.
On the ECC’s Agenda: The European Pandemic Response
“In the blink of an eye, a virus that started on the other side of the world has become a deadly pandemic with tragic consequences also here in Europe.” (Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission)
One year since the global pandemic started, the tragedy of its escalation is still very much enshrined in European memory. What started out as naïve optimism that the virus will blow over by summer has turned into bleak cynicism over time. With healthcare systems all across Europe being overwhelmed, political leaders have been called to account.
As the European people looked to their representatives and the European Union for a way out of the pandemic, governments went into full crisis mode. One year later, the question arises: Have European institutions done their best to overcome the challenges that the pandemic has posed? Did they provide a useful forum for cross-country coordination or did they merely provide a stage for national representatives to voice their discontent?
In the European Crisis Council, delegates will be tasked with answering this question directly. Representing heads of states or one of three high-level European representatives, they will have to step into the shoes of European leaders during the crucial early months of the 2020 pandemic (March to July). With infection counts and economic effects simulated in real-time, delegates will be faced with the same issues that the European leaders faced, and will have to find ways to cooperate in this time of crisis. Otherwise, history will repeat itself.
Meet Your Chair:
Philippe Lefèvre
Hello! I am Philippe and I’m a half-French, half-British student of IR and Diplomacy at the College of Europe in Bruges, with a previous degree in obsessive amounts of MUN (and some IR and History on the side). I’ve been doing MUN now for just over 4 years and TEIMUN is likely going to be my 50th and final conference, holding a very special place in my heart. I’ll be directing the European Crisis Council in the strange situation where crises just seem to be popping up all over the place, making my job in this conference very difficult indeed. Nevertheless, myself and the crisis team hope to put together a wonderful experience for all delegates to learn what it is really like in the heart of European crisis scenarios.
Outside of MUN I also run a think tank, the Institute for a Greater Europe, and run several non-profit projects with whatever other time I pretend to have. I look forward to seeing everyone in person and having a great time in The Hague (if possible).
Fun Fact: I’ve met most of the cast of Harry Potter (in case you were doubting my Britishness).
Meet Your Chair:
Rizqi Zulkarnain
Hey, my name is Rizqi. I am a graduate of International Relations and Organization from the University of Groningen. I was a former Deputy Secretary-General of TEIMUN and I currently work as a Media Analyst at a consulting firm in Jakarta. I have had 20+ experiences in the European MUN circuit. Obviously, TEIMUN is my favourite MUN, and that is why I am here to make my final return.
My background is International Relations and International Organization. I have a particular soft spot for the study of neocolonialism and regionalism but lately due to my job I have been really focused on understanding how the media and the digital world shape our reality. On a side note, my current hobby is photography.
Fun Fact: I was once a background extra for a South Korean daytime soap opera.
Meet Your Chair:
Maryia Ditchkowska
Hi, my name is Maryia Ditchkowska, and I will be one of the chairs at the European Council Crisis at TEIMUN, which I am very much looking forward to. I have been doing MUN since 2016, chairing more than half a dozen times, and this will be my second TEIMUN conference.
I am currently a second-year Masters student in International Relations and Diplomacy at Leiden University. Before that, I have completed my Bachelors in Political Science and Business Studies at Trinity College Dublin. On top of that, I am part of the research team of the Institute for Internet and the Just Society. My main academic interests include political communication, disinformation and propaganda, and I specialise on European politics.
Fun Fact: Originally, I have started my higher education path in graphic design, but then dropped out. I am still painting with watercolours and doing photography, and won some prizes in the past.
Shane Goodman
Hey, I’m Shane and I’ve already been in the Model UN circuit for three years and counting. My first international MUN was at HamMUN 2018 in Hamburg and it was here that I really got interested in Model UN! From there I went on to serve as Secretary-General of the National Model UN conference at University College Cork, which is the largest Model UN conference in Ireland.
I’m currently taking part in the Erasmus programme at Charles University where I study Law. Outside of MUN, I can be found cooking, debating in a moot court, or pulling an all-nighter in the library!
Fun Fact: I speak fluent Irish.
Meet Your Chair:
Luis Eduardo Silva Matias
Hello there, I’m Luis Eduardo. I’m from Brazil, and I have been attending a range of different MUNs over the past five years. WIMUN NY was my first international conference, and it gave me the opportunity to visit the UN headquarters, as well as meet a ton of different people. Safe to say that after visiting the United Nations HQ I just couldn’t quit anymore, I was in too deep.
I’m a student of Film & TV here in São Paulo, and while that doesn’t sound like your typical MUN attendee, bear with me here. I’m deeply interested in history, new ways to educate, and especially giving back. That’s why I love MUNs, they give me the opportunity for all of that, and my background of voluntary work makes me more than capable to provide the best experience I can give. Other than that, I’m a huge RPG nerd, theatre nerd, and a nerd in general, so I couldn’t go without saying “may the force be with you”.
Fun Fact: I absolutely love Funko Pops! I got to the point where I even have one of myself.
