Pre-conference lectures

The SMUN Host Team has organized three pre-conference lectures during the weeks prior to the conference. These lectures will give delegates a good introduction to the issues to be discussed in the committees as well as regarding the United Nations.

Monday the 2nd of November

7-8 pm: Historical and Regional Introduction to Afghanistan
For the first hour of this lecture, we are proud to welcome the Secretary-General of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, Mr. Torbjörn Pettersson, who will open our series of lectures with an introduction to the history of Afghanistan and the surrounding region.

8-9 pm: Regional Security Issues
During the second hour, we will focus on the security situation in Afghanistan and the regional security dynamics as we receive H.E. Ann Wilkens, President of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, and former Swedish Ambassador to Pakistan 2003-2007, at the time also responsible for Sweden’s relations to Afghanistan.

Time: 7-9 pm on Monday the 2nd of November.
Location: Lecture room 750 at the Stockholm School of Economics.

Thursday the 5th of November

6-7 pm: Women’s Situation in Afghanistan
We will begin the second pre-conference lecture with an address from Ms. Lotta Hedström, previous spokesperson of the Swedish Green Party and a member of the Board of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, especially dedicated to the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.

7-8 pm: Introduction to the United Nations System
For the remainder of the lecture, we are pleased to welcome Ms. Eleonora Chikuhwa, a former guide at the UN Headquarters in New York, who will speak about the United Nations system.

Time: 6-8 pm on Thursday the 5th of November.
Location: Stockholm University, lecture hall A2 at Södra husen

Monday the 9th of November

7-8.30 pm: The Economic Situation in Afghanistan and the Opium Trade
For our last pre-conference lecture, we are delighted to greet Ms. Christina Gynna-Oguz, former head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ms. Gynna-Oguz will give a brief presentation of the general economic situation in Afghanistan and then proceed to focus her lecture on the opium trade.

Towards the end of the two hours we will go over some practical details ahead of the conference and leave time for questions you might want to pose to the Host Team.

Time: 7-9 pm on Monday the 9th of November.
Location: Lecture room 750 at the Stockholm School of Economics.

The Host Team encourages all delegates to attend these lectures as part of your preparations and research for the conference, and also as your first opportunity to meet other delegates and start feeling the SMUN atmosphere!