Peek into PANAMUN's newest special committee: IPC

by Citlacti Carrera-López

PANAMUN 2021 is the year of recovering hope and evolving from previous years of PANAMUN. In agreement with this evolution PANAMUN has expanded their list of committees, and introduced special committees. These are committees that differ from your typical committees debate style. A new committee that is making its first appearance this year in PANAMUN is the International Press Corps committee.

This special committee focuses on news outlets in the media. It is when delegates adopt a news source bias and write from its point of view about any committee that they wish to join so that they are more contextualized with the issue. I had the pleasure of interviewing the chair of this new committee, Quetzalli Carrera-López, on what to expect from IPC and all about its importance of representation within PANAMUN this year.

From this conversation, we’re able to get some insight into what IPC is all about. According to Quetzalli, “I feel super excited because this is something that is almost historical. I was speaking with the DSG of special committees, Arhan, and we were talking about how this is a huge step in PANAMUN because press and the news in general is a key factor in democracy. The fact that we are pushing forward this idea of this committee really does show how we are becoming even more progressive”. She goes on to mention how IPC brings the perspective of a news source as well as an external perspective on the delegations and the Committees regarding what they discuss.

After talking about the functionality of IPC, this brings up the question as to how IPC differs from other special committees and how big of a role its representation plays within PANAMUN. Quetzalli comments on how IPC differs from other special committees in that they don't have to choose a person or a delegation but rather adopt the bias of a news source. She highlights how this is what makes IPC so unique since delegates get to study a news source which is an abstract concept in society and highlights one of the key factors of democracy. “The press plays a huge role when it comes to the news simply because there's this thing called media bias . Media bias surrounds us daily and it is a subconscious factor in our lives that influences the way we view politics or anything that's on the news. It plays a huge role in our opinions, perspectives and views of the world. Which is why for me IPC represents a medium for delegates and students to be able to write about what is discussed in committees and their news sources point of view. So I think that's what makes IPC truly unique”

This insightful interview concludes with one last question about what IPC is hoping to accomplish this year and any future plans Quetzalli might have for upcoming years. “I do hope IPC will be able to expand next year and grow bigger in size of delegates. I hope to see enthusiasm from my delegates and enriched articles that depict the issues that are discussed during the day. I hope to see many people engaged with this kind of PANAMUN press and seeing them read the articles and engage with what's going on around them”. She concludes with one last comment “I know that my delegates are very energized and they are very passionate about writing and I do think it'll be a success.”