Historic General Assembly, Special Summit on Technology, 1966 CE

 
 

Topic A: Innovation in Space Exploration

Topic B: Development of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Welcome to 1966 as the Cold War rages and significant developments in technology have altered humanity’s ability to reach the furthest corners of space. The US and Soviet Union are caught in a increasingly worsening struggling of competition for nuclear and space supremacy.

Out of World War II, there were massive leaps in technological innovation and rocketry. Mutually benefiting from this, the US and Soviet Union both sought to expand their reach to this new human realm. New inquiries such as who will be the first to get to the moon and how technologically can be best advanced to the benefit of humanity as a whole drive. By this time, the US was dealing with its success in the Mariner 4 mission which flew by Mars and the USSR had their first soft landing on the moon with the success of Luna 9.

On the other hand, new developments in nuclear technology put the world into a new nuclear golden age, potentially setting the globe for the parallels of a nuclear utopia compared to a nuclear waste land. The superpowers of the era have ICBMs, fast-paced nuclear technlogy with the power to obliterate humanity within hours. The Soviets ran the first successful tests of these weapons in 1957. Nuclear power reactors that can output thousands of times more energy than the next available power source were also in play. Without significant regulation to control their use, the world risks far reaching nuclear disaster without even the use of nuclear weapons as countries may lose control of these forces beyond understanding.

Should the pursuit of space be limited to just the superpowers and how can space be regulated? How many weapons can be countries’ stockpiles and what kind of technologies can they continue to develop? This is something the Special Summit on Technology will have to tackle.

 

Dear Delegates,

I am honored to welcome you to the Historical General Assembly of Harvard Model United Nations 2025. I hope the HMUN conference provides an environment of involved debate, interesting discussions, and a community that allows you to grow and thrive both as a delegate and as a person. As a director, I hope you will have this experience at HMUN by the end of the conference.

This idea of growth stems from my upbringing. I have lived in a small suburb around Chicago all my life (around 25 minutes from Windy City). Growing up in a smaller suburb of Chicago, I quickly learned the importance of community and collaboration in growth. As a proud Midwesterner, my world has been smaller than expected, but I have been lucky enough to experience different parts of the world through travel. The last place I visited was Chennai, India, this past winter, and I plan to continue exploring South India.

Your MUN experience can only continue from where it begins. For me, it began with watching my brother travel nationally and internationally for MUN during his high school and college years. That inspired me to pursue MUN in the future. My sophomore year of college will be my sixth year helping with MUN in some capacity, competing in high school, and helping with HNMUN in college. Outside of HMUN, I also participate as a director for the Harvard Votes Challenge and am a campus member of the Harvard International Review and College Events Board. I also enjoy exploring the greater Boston area and visiting comic book shops in my free time.

This year will be the first time I am directing a committee, and I hope that the topics will allow for the creation of continued debate and discussion for all delegates. Being part of the Historical Security Council means having the interest and skills to fulfill your delegate roles and create a successful committee. I do not doubt that all of you will be able to do this well, and I look forward to a well-paced, energetic, and enjoyable committee this year.

As we approach the conference, I am positive that questions and concerns will arise, so I highly encourage you to email me. This can be both to introduce yourselves and ask any necessary questions. I am usually very quick to communicate, so please reach out if you need any help. I look forward to seeing all of you at HMUN 2025!

Sincerely,

Neeraja Kumar

Director, Historic General Assembly, Special Summit on Technology, 1966 CE

hga@harvardmun.org

Harvard Model United Nations 2025