Specialized Committees
Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN)
Advanced Committee
In a rapidly modernizing world, who profits from the earth's resources, and who pays for its preservation? If the Global North demands green energy transitions while the Global South is left to navigate the exploitative realities of mineral extraction, how do you bridge the gap between economic growth and ecological survival? Structuring global carbon markets, regulating ethical mineral supply chains, and financing sustainable development all hinge on finding consensus among 193 member states in this economic committee, if you’re up for the challenge!
Chair: Ethan Li Ngan Sun <lieth@utschools.ca>
World Intellectual Property Organization
Should life-saving AIDS medications remain patent-protected or become generic? Does AI own the art it creates, or does the programmer? Balance pharmaceutical companies' innovation incentives against developing nations' desperate need for affordable medicines. Address biopiracy where corporations patent indigenous knowledge, navigate copyright in the streaming age, and determine whether strong IP protections accelerate progress or concentrate wealth and technology.
Chair: Jessica Song <sonje@utschools.ca>
Meta Board of Directors
Heads up—business decisions for one of the world’s leading social media platforms is in your hands! In this boardroom-diplomacy crossover, you’ll manage shareholder fury over metaverse losses, navigate antitrust regulators circling the company, and address content moderation crises where every decision inflames either free speech advocates or safety activists. How will you balance fiduciary duty to maximize profits against mounting evidence that platform algorithms harm teen mental health?
Chair: Jacob Binder <binja@utschools.ca>
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Step into Cousins Beach, where you’ll roleplay through tangled relationships, family secrets, and unanticipated events that challenge the longstanding connections between the Fisher and Conklin families. Navigate first loves, sibling rivalries, and the heartbreak of watching childhood memories dissipate.
Chair: Allison Yang <yaal@utschools.ca>
Mock Trial: International Court of Justice
In this SOMA-unique committee at the intersection of law and international relations, you’ll deliver courtroom arguments before judges on disputes ranging from maritime boundaries to alleged genocide. Master treaty interpretation, prove violations of customary international law, and argue jurisdictional questions. Every precedent you set shapes how international law develops—and which nations win territorial, environmental, or human rights cases.
Note: This committee will be run following a Mock Trial format. More information can be found here.
Judge: Ivan Bowley <bowiv@utschools.ca>
PATHOS-II: 2103
05:13:00 January 12 2103: IMPACT. You're what remains of PATHOS-II, a multinational research organisation headquartered hundreds of meters deep in the Atlantic. The comet you were working to prevent struck Earth six months ago, wiping out all life in one raging fireball. Now, the last of humanity sits huddled in the crumbling facility. The station's WAU—an AI designed to preserve human life—is acting strange, fusing reanimated corpses with machines. Meanwhile, a small group of scientists discovers they can scan and copy human consciousness: the ARK project promises digital immortality for humanity's last minds. But copying creates a devastating split—one version stays behind while the other reaches digital "paradise." Which consciousness is really you? Time, oxygen, and your colleagues' sanity is running out. Make the last decisions of humanity while facing structure gel monsters, machines that think they're people, and the impossible choice of whether to abandon Earth to darkness while a digital version lives on. (Based on the 2015 survival horror game "SOMA" by Frictional Games.)
Chair: Hannah Liu <liuha@utschools.ca>
Interpol
A terrorist crosses three borders in twelve hours—can you coordinate the manhunt? In Interpol, you’ll facilitate intelligence sharing between rival nations, issue Red Notices for international fugitives, and manage databases tracking criminals worldwide. Navigate jurisdictional conflicts where extradition treaties clash with national interests, and prevent authoritarian governments from weaponizing Interpol mechanisms to silence dissidents abroad.
Chair: Kelly Liu <liukel@utschools.ca>