Hi all!
My name is Mahveen, and I am the Model UN instructor for this term at Bayview Glen. We have made a great start, and I am excited to continue to work on our debate skills! There is a lot of important information in this message, so please make sure you read it all the way through.
Here is the debate topic for our next class. Please come prepared with your respective parts, which are outlined below! We will have a few minutes at the start of class to put all the students’ individual parts together to formulate our complete opening statement. There is a thorough explanation of roles and research tips towards the end of the message.
Topic: We should eliminate single use plastics by the year 2040, and instead search for more sustainable replacements.
Teams and Roles:
Sweden:
Adeline - Greeting and Point - what position does your country take? Can your country realistically eliminate single use plastics by the year 2040? What is the main reason they can/cannot?
Anna - One piece of Evidence, and an Explanation for it
One for an affirmative position, one for a negative position
Matteo - One piece of Evidence, and an Explanation for it
One for an affirmative position, one for a negative position
Tash - Link back to the point, and provide a Solution - come up with a replacement for the current plastic situation
India:
Evelyn - Greeting and point - what position does your country take? Can your country realistically eliminate single use plastics by the year 2040? What is the main reason they can/cannot?
Arya - One piece of Evidence, and an Explanation for it
One for an affirmative position, one for a negative position
Julia - One piece of Evidence, and an Explanation for it
One for an affirmative position, one for a negative position
Margaret - Link back to the point, and provide a Solution - come up with a replacement for the current plastic situation
For EVERYONE - regardless of what role you have been assigned, please do some general research into the topic so that you know whether or not your country can realistically achieve the goal of eliminating single use plastics by 2040. Here are some guiding questions to help if you are stuck.
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How much plastic is produced/consumed in the country I was assigned?
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What is the country already doing to reduce plastic production/consumption?
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What are the other major ongoing issues in the country, and do they take priority over sustainable production/consumption?
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How is the country doing financially? You may want to look into GDP - gross domestic product, which is the total value of goods and services produced in a country within the year. You can also consider income inequality in your country.
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What are the potential consequences of plastic production and consumption? Consider climate change.
If you are responsible for the GREETING and the POINT - please ensure you begin formally, e.g. Hello my esteemed opponents…, and make your point as clear as possible. Please make sure you decide whether your team appears to be affirmative or negative based on the research you have done!
If you are collecting EVIDENCE and EXPLANATIONS - the reason why I have asked for one affirmative and one negative piece of evidence is so that when you meet with your team at the start of class next week, you can collaborate as a team to decide whether the evidence indicates agreement or disagreement with the statement.
If you are creating the LINK and SOLUTION - you will be doing this at the start of class next week once your team has decided whether they are affirmative or negative. Please come prepared with a potential SOLUTION to plastic usage, regardless of whether your team is affirmative or negative.
Below is an example of a finished opening statement.
GREETING - Hello my esteemed opponents. Today, I take the position that zoos are cruel and must be fixed in order to make sure animals live a healthy life.
POINT - Zoos in India are cruel because they do not provide a good living environment for animals in the zoos. Zoos often overcrowd living spaces.
EVIDENCE - According to the Deccan Herald, around ¼ of animals in zoos in India are endangered species.
EXPLANATION - This means that if we do not treat these species with care, our endangered species will go extinct. This may affect other animals and humans as well!
LINK - This proves that overcrowding zoos is a cruel thing to do.
SOLUTION - Zoos must consider that different animals may require different types of living space. For example, a monkey may need trees to swing on, whereas a tiger may need lots of space to move freely, as they run and hunt in the wild. This means zoos will need to make sure animals have a similar environment to where they live in the wild. This means that governments around the world must invest more money into creating larger habitats in the zoos.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to me at mahveen@explorerhop.com. See you all next week!