JCC Avatar - Academy Model United Nations

AMUN XVII
February 4-5, 2016
A Background Guide for the
Avatar the Last Airbender Joint Crisis
Committee
Directors: Cache Angus and Max Rozel
Chairs: Patricia Perfect and Chloe Landau, Fire Nation
Christine Oloagun and Ariana Kovanxhi, Water Tribes
Jason Chabora and Seong Woo Cho, Earth Kingdom
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AMUN XVII
February 4-5, 2016
Contents:
Letters from the Chairs …………………………………………………………… 3
Committee Introduction .…….……………………………………………………. 4
Topic Brief ….…………………………………………………………………….. 4
Fire Nation …………………………………………………………………. 4
Water Tribes …….…………………………………………………………. 5
Earth Kingdom …………………………………………………………….. 6
Committee Mechanics ……………………………………………………………. 7
Procedure ………………………………..…………………………………. 7
Dress Code ………………………………………………………………… 8
Conduct ……………………………………………………………………. 8
Roles ……………………………………………………………………………… 8
Fire Nation …………………………………………………………………. 8
Water Tribes ……………………………………………………………….. 9
Earth Kingdom …………………………………………………………….. 9
Functions ……….………………………………………………………….. 9
Portfolio Powers ………………………………………………………….. 10
Spirits ……………….…………………………………………………….. 11
Previous Alliances …………………………………….………………….. 11
Appendix ………………………………………………………………………… 11
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AMUN XVII
February 4-5, 2016
Bergen County Academies Model United Nations
- The 17th Annual Conference Esteemed Delegates,
Welcome to AMUN XVII! And more specifically, welcome to the Fire Nation! My name is Patricia
Jastrzebska-Perfect, and I am pleased to introduce myself as a co-chair of this committee along with Chloe
Landau. I am senior within the Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology, and Chloe is a
junior in the science academy as well. As avid Avatar fans, Chloe and I are excited to be a part of this JCC. As
a member of the Fire Nation, you will be working to capture and defeat the Avatar. We look forward to seeing
you collaborate with other delegates to achieve this goal, and hope you decide on an effective course of action.
We wish you the best of luck in your preparations, and we are eager to meet you all in February!
Sincerely,
Patricia Jastrzebska-Perfect and Chloe Landau, Co-Chairs, Fire Nation
[email protected]
Dear Delegates,
My name is Christine Olaogun, and I am pleased to be your co-chair for the Water Tribe Committee of
the Avatar Joint Crisis Committee at AMUN XVIII. I am a senior in the Academy for Medical Science and
Technology, and have been involved in Model UN since my sophomore year of high school and have
competed at several conferences. When I’m not MUNing, I am a varsity track athlete, a musician and an avid
netflix user. I am a huge Avatar fan and watched nearly every single episode when the show was still running. I
hope that the conference will be both educational and fun for all of you. My cochair, Ariana Kovanxhi, look
forward to working with you and seeing each of you work together in February. We wish you all the best of
luck!
Sincerely,
Christine Olaogun, Co-Chair, Water Tribe
[email protected]
Dear Delegates,
My name is Jason Chabora, and allow me to welcome you to AMUN XVII. I am a senior in the
Academy for Advancement of Science and Technology. I, along with Seong Woo, will be your chair for the
Earth Kingdom Committee of the Avatar Joint Crisis Committee. I began Model United Nations during my
sophomore year competing at several conferences including previous AMUNs. I hope our committee can strike
a balance between fun content and powerful debate. See you all in February.
Sincerely,
Jason Chabora, Co-Chair, Earth Kingdom
[email protected]
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Committee Introduction:
In this Joint Crisis Committee,
we will discuss and debate the events
of Avatar: The Last Airbender with a
few notable twists. Despite the
reference to the overall events of the
famous comic and television show, the
events in this committee will be a bit
different. They will be based on live
intervention from many characters you
may or may not expect to appear. Some
characters are not in the show at all and
could appear in committee, everything
is possible until the fire nation attacks.
As of now, the legendary avatar
has just been rediscovered and the
three other factions - Earth, Fire, and
Water - must figure out how they are
going to respond to this discovery and
what they can do to possibly destroy
the Avatar or to make the Avatar take
their side in an unavoidable battle of
the nations.
Topic Brief:
100 years ago, the four nations
lived together in harmony. Then, Fire
Lord Ozai, hungry for power and the
prosperity he believed the Fire Nation
could bring, launched an attack to wipe
out the Air Nomads and take over the
Earth Kingdom. Avatar Roku, once a
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trusted friend of the Fire Lord,
disappeared, leaving the world without
a bridge between to the Spirits. Over
the next hundred years, the Fire Nation
continued its push for world
domination, leaving fear and
destruction in their wake. The newest
Avatar, an air-bender, was supposed
dead in all the time, leaving most of the
world to fight for itself. While many
places were overrun, places such as Ba
Sing Se, capital of the Earth Kingdom,
and the North Pole isolated themselves
from the rest of the world. It was
thought that the world would continue
this way until in a turn of events, the
Avatar emerged once more. Aided by
two Water Tribe members, he come to
help the world once more. Each nation
believes that the Avatar should aid
them in their plans, if they even believe
he should be involved at all. The Fire
Nation, realizing their greatest threat
has returned, starts on its plans to take
him down once more.
Fire Nation
The goal of the fire nation is to
capture the Avatar and bring him to
defeat once and for all, leaving the
door to victory in the 100 years’ war
wide open. However, the situation is
not as simple as it seems. Since
Firelord Sozin started the war by
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February 4-5, 2016
launching a mass genocide against Air
Nomads, the remaining 3 nations have
been fighting to keep the Fire Nation
from completely taking over. As the
100 year anniversary of this is arriving,
the other nations were starting to wane
before the Avatar showed up. The
appearance of the Avatar that has been
in hiding for 100 years causes mixed
reactions. While most want him out of
the way so the war can end, some rally
under his cause in hiding. Important
questions that need to be addressed are
which side the character is on, how to
aid or thwart the Avatar, what actions
Firelord Ozai will next take, and what
else can be done to ensure a victory.
Notable figures include Shyu - a Fire
Sage sympathetic to the cause of the
Avatar, General Zhao - a fierce and
feared soldier with ambitions for
himself as well as the nation, Lo and
Li-old caretakers of the fire nation
royalty, General Tang - a member of
Ozai’s council, and others.
Water Tribes
When the Avatar was rediscovered, it awakened a new era in
the time of the Water Tribes. The South
Pole had been left alone for many
years, especially after the men of the
Tribe went to war. When the Avatar
was discovered, the isolation ended
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with the Fire Nation’s Prince attacking
the village. Now that the Avatar is
back, people are starting to believe that
the rest of the South Pole can no longer
remain as neutral as it has been. Kanna,
the acting head of the tribe, fears for
the lives of both her family and her
tribe, as she has seen the damage he
Fire Nation can inflict too many times
in her life. Deciding it is time for them
to make a decision and save their tribe,
Kanna calls a meeting with all those
that can attend, even bringing in
members of the army. They make a
journey all the way up to the North
Pole, as per an invite from Master
Pakku where the Northern Water Tribe
is also vying to be saved.
After breaking off from the
Southern Water Tribe, the Northern
Thribe has continued to flourish,
mainly due to its geographical location
and hive of spirits, headed by their
very own Princess Yue. No one wants
to see peace in the world more than the
Water Tribe but getting it is the hard
part. As no one has seen or heard of the
Avatar for the last hundred years, there
is a lack of knowledge on his
type of person. The coming Southern
members seem to be holding back
more secrets than they are willing to
share, creating tension between the
newly united tribes.
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There is also the matter of who
would have access to the Avatar.
Living at opposite ends of the world
leave the South and the North divided
on the matter. More focused on gaining
power than their continued existence,
the Northern Water Tribe has become a
host to people who want to unleash
unto the Fire Nation that which they
have dealt. Led by a young and rising
military star named Kurako, a new
faction of fanaticals believe they no
longer need the Avatar and can raise
Yue up in his place with her connection
to the moon spirit. The many different
fights, internally and externally, leave
both tribes uncertain of how they now
stand.
Earth Kingdom
The Avatar has returned and
hope that balance may be restored has
swept through the elemental nations.
However, the toll of a hundred years of
constant warfare weigh heavily in the
minds of the Earth Kingdom. While
places such as Omashu and Ba Sing Se
are still strongholds, the outlying lands
and areas taken over by the Fire Nation
call into question the Earth Kingdom’s
military capacity.
The emergency panel of the
Earth Kingdom is assembled by the
authority of The Council of Five and
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Long Feng, and includes prominent
members from cities and colonies
around the kingdom. As the council
meets, there are obvious sides already
taking form. The emergency panel of
the Earth Kingdom is assembled by the
authority of Earth King Kuei and is
headed militarily by the Council of
Five and civilly by the King’s agent
Long Feng.
The panel is convened with the
goal of supporting Avatar Aang’s
campaign as well as minimizing the
damage that will doubtlessly be
incurred. On the panel sits notable
military leaders, political leaders, and
merchant families united in their goal
of preserving the Earth Kingdom. Still,
there remain key points of conflict
within this body. Some believe that the
Avatar will not be successful in
defeating Fire Lord Ozai. Pointing to
the Avatar’s inexperience and youth as
well as the need to protect the
ignorance within Ba Sing Se, they
maintain that the Avatar will not be
able to face Fire Lord under the comet.
Cities like Omashu wish to plan for
how to survive under inevitable Fire
Nation attack, an argument lead by
King Bumi. Others, like Dai Lee leader
Long Feng, are set on maintaining the
peace held within Ba Sing Se for 100
years. The great city has not fallen to
fire-benders yet and it remains known
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as the safest place in the Earth
Kingdom, rendering any pre-emptive
measure useless. Drawing the Avatar in
would only bring attention to the war
and give the Fire Nation greater reason
to attack.
Others have faith in the Avatar.
They would prefer to devote resources
to aiding his defense against the Fire
Nation. This is of course accompanied
by the issue of finding the Avatar
whose location is by necessity elusive.
They would prefer to resist Fire Nation
rule until the last man. They maintain
that life under Fire Nation rule will not
be much of a life at all.
There also exists the challenge
of the body having no real authority.
The panel will rely on its members
acting independently in order to
accomplish tasks unless the panel is
able to cede individual power to the
panel. Complications that may arise
from this lie mainly in that there is no
mechanism by which to enforce action.
In this way, voting does not serve much
purpose except for to gauge approval.
In order for actions to be undertaken,
individuals must be willing to dedicate
their own resources. Even if a majority
decides upon a course of action, if the
party that is require to take action does
not, that course of action may never be
acted upon.
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Committee Mechanics:
Procedure
This committee will function as
a Joint Crisis Committee meaning there
will be no working papers. All
legislation that your committee decides
to enact must be conducted in the form
of directives, which are much shorter
and easier to pass that working papers.
Directives can be authored by a single
member or several members, but
require one quarter of the committee to
be either authors or signatories before
it can be presented to the committee. It
is suggested that directives address one
issue at a time; as many directives may
be in progress at any given time, a
group of directives can be introduced
by motion or at the discretion of the
Chair. Once introduced, directives are
then voted on and passed by simple
majority. Directives cannot be
amended. Directives that take direct
use of another committee member’s
portfolio powers (e.g. naval
movements, sending an envoy to the
other committee) must have approval
in writing from the concerned member
in addition the required signatories
(e.g. approved and supported by the
Admiral and Minister of Foreign
Affairs respectively).
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The committee will function
with normal parliamentary procedure
provided that working papers have
been replaced with directives.
However, due to the nature of crisis
committees, delegate can expect more
unmoderated caucuses than in a
General Assembly for work on foreign
envoys, subcommittees and
particularly complex sets of directives.
In addition, the committee may
be interrupted without warning with
breaking news of a “crisis”. These
crises should factor into your debate,
and be addressed as soon as possible.
After a crisis, the messenger may be
briefly questioned to the Chair’s
discretion, and then the caucus will
resume until it expires.
Dress Code
Clothes that match the colors of
your nation are encouraged. The
members of the water nation are
encouraged to wear blue, the members
of the fire nation are encouraged to
wear red, and the members of the earth
nation are encouraged to wear green.
Regardless of your choice, you must
appear professionally and fully clothed
in this committee. You might choose to
wear your chosen drapery over your
Western Business Attire for
convenience and functionality.
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Conduct
All members are expected to
behave in a school appropriate manner.
Though the setting is in the Avatar
Universe, the destruction the Fire
Nation has caused will not be tolerated,
whether to property or to people.
Unfortunately, there is also no bending
in this world so use of fire or water or
dirt to resolve a conflict is not allowed.
Also, while your views may change
over the course of the committee, you
are not allowed to change what nation
you are a part of.
Roles:
Fire Nation
Shyu: A Fire Sage sympathetic to the
cause of the Avatar
General Zhao: A fierce and feared
soldier with ambitions for himself as
well as the nation
Lo: Old caretaker of the fire nation
royalty
Li: Old caretaker of the fire nation
royalty
General Tang: a member of Ozai’s
council
War Minister Zisun: A member of
Ozai’s Council
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Minister Riko: Minister of Information
and Communications
Minister Shizu: Minister of Commerce
Minister Guo: Minister of Labor
Minister Rishi: Minister of Logistics
High General Azulon: Active member
of the Fire Nation Army
High General Chu: Active member of
the Fire Nation Army
Water Tribes
Kanna: Southern Chief
Hakoda: Southern Military Leader
Juran: Young Southern Tribe Member
Arnook: Northern Chief
Yue: Princess of the North
Hahn: Fiance to the Princess, militant
Pakku: Waterbending Master
Yugoda: Northern Healer
Kurako: Rising Militant leader
Earth Kingdom
General Fong: A lead military General
Stationed outside of Omashu
Bumi: King of Omashu and
Earthbending Master
Minister Faa: Minister of Information
for Ba Sing Se
Minster Shaang: Minister of
Agriculture for Ba Sing Se
Ching: Master of Ports of Xinzhou
City
Long Feng: Leader of the Dai Li
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Lao Bei Fong: Patriarch of the Bei
Fong Family
Kang Ming Yang: Patriarch of the Yang
Family
Qi Yum Soon Han: Matriarch of the
Yum Soon Han Family
Akane: Kyoshi Warrior
Functions
Certain committee members will
represent the leaders of each nation.
For the Water Tribe, it is Kanna and
Arnook, for the Earth Kingdom it is
Long Feng and Bumi, and for the Fire
Nation it is General Zhao and General
Tang. In addition to their portfolio
powers, these leaders will have the
ability to appear peacefully (stress on
the peacefully) in the opposite
committees to address them as a whole.
Leaders, via directive, may also elect
to bring with them up to two nonleaders, but this must be approved by
the majority of the committee (and said
other signatories) first.
Several committee members will
be playing the role of Military leader.
These military leaders will have
control of a large portion of your
nation’s forces at any time. While they
have the control, they must be in
agreement with majority other military
personnel and may, depending upon the
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action, require the approval from the
representative leaders.
Certain lower level officials will
be acting as Ambassador. These
Ambassadors, one from each nation,
will have the ability to contact the
other Ambassadors. they may arrange a
meeting any time via note to the chair,
subject to the chair’s discretion.
If you are a Representative
Leader, Military Leader, or
Ambassador, you are permitted to send
one communication per day to your
designated spirit. Although Spirits tend
to stay away from mortals, people with
great power or spiritual connection are
suggested to make use of their powers.
Committees may also elect, via
directive, to provide the Spirits with
tribute that may make them more
amenable to your requests.
Masters, as denoted in Roles,
have the ability to communicate with
outside groups (non-player characters).
They can receive information privately.
One committee member will be
responsible for representing their
nation’s recruiting in both military and
civilian. They may pass directives
relating to their field completely
unilaterally.
One Water Tribe member will
represent the moon spirit’s connection
(guess who it is). This gives them the
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ability to interpret the shifts of the
ocean surrounding the Water tribes.
One Earth Kingdom member
will have the ability to traverse
between the walls of Ba Sing Se,
allowing them to see what goes on in
secret. They are allowed to pass a
directive unilaterally to reveal publicly
what they find.
One Fire Nation Member will
represent the technology of the Fire
Nation. They wil be responsible for
developing new weapons and transport
that are appropriate for the era. They
may pass a directive relating to their
field unilaterally.
Portfolio Powers
Each member of the committee,
upon entering the committee, will
receive a list of “Portfolio Powers” that
can be used unilaterally or semi
unilaterally (with the approval of a few
other committee members) and
potentially secretly. Delegates are
advised to use discretion in disclosing
the full nature of your Portfolio Powers
to other committee members, but to
utilize them to the greatest extent
possible.
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Spirits
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Koh
Bum-Ju
Mother of Faces
Hei Bai
Agni
Previous Alliances
1. During the Hundred Years War the Air Nation was allied with the
2. Earth and Water Nations to fight Fire Lord Sozin and his Fire Nation.
3. Prior to the war, the Fire Nation was in close quarters with the outlying ports of
the Earth Kingdom.
4. The Water Tribes have been very self reliant due to their extreme conditions.
Appendix:
For further background information, it is recommended delegates have seen
the Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, it is understandable that all will not
watch the entire show and as there are deviations from it, it is not necessary to do
so.
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