United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Committee
Topic Summary
Promoting Multilingual Education to Protect Endangered Languages
The rise of dominant languages has brought both opportunity and disruption. Mandarin, English, Spanish, French, and Arabic grant humanity the possibility of being truly globalised in terms of commerce, diplomacy, and technology. However, they can also overshadow smaller, local languages. The result is a tension between the global and the local — how can we reconcile the efficiency of universal systems of communication and the cultural richness of regional identities? In the twenty-first century, over 40% of the world’s roughly 7000 languages are endangered, signifying that this tension has reached a crisis status.
Meet your Director!
Dear Delegates,
I am so excited to welcome you to the UNESCO committee for this year’s version of Harvard National Model United Nations Australia.
My name is Ana Marcela, and I am a sophomore at Harvard studying Neurobiology and Social Studies. Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, I carry my city’s quintessential, sun-soaked passion in all of my endeavours. It is this spirited devotion that first led me to get involved in Model United Nations when I was 12 years old, and I have not stopped participating in conferences since.
At Harvard, I not only direct for our conferences, but I am also part of ICMUN, our competitive debate team. Furthermore, I am involved in projects such as Consulting for Business and the Environment, Harvard Organisation for Latin America, Harvard Modern Dance Company, Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative, First-Year International Programme, and the Harvard Undergraduate Photography Club.
This committee will be an opportunity to discuss the intricacies of language and education. I encourage you to be innovative and include history and culture in the debate. I look forward to the arguments and solutions you bring forth, in order to create a comfortable but rigorous intellectual environment. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns — as someone who received a multilingual and multicultural education myself, I am personally invested in this committee.
Sincerely,
Ana Marcela Ramírez Cabal
Chair of UNESCO
HMUN Australia 2026