Close to 100 delegates from nine different colleges are participating in the first annual Princeton Interactive Crisis Simulation conference, which started yesterday and will run until Sunday.
The event is being hosted by the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's International Relations Council and is billed as the first conference of its kind.
"[This conference] is not a typical Model U.N. We are not discussing policy, but creating and acting policy and waiting for the consequences," said Leon Skornicki '06, vice-president of the IRC and chief of staff for PICSim.
A 'dynamic' simulation
The conference seeks to emphasize the real-life feel to international diplomacy, IRC president Sashank Rishyasringa '06 said.
"In traditional simulations, Model U.N. or otherwise, all activities are essentially static — each committee operates in isolation. However, in the reality of global world politics, this is as far from true as can be," Rishyasringa said.
"Our simulation is a dynamic one. Not only will the different cabinets have to react to each other's policy, but also [to the actions of] non-state actors, such as an oil cartel, Interpol and even a terrorist group," Rishyasinga added.
PICSim's 11 committees are focusing on Central-Asian issues for the weekend. Seven of these committees will have nation-state actors and the remaining four will be comprised of non-state players.
First year
"PICSim was an idea that germinated around this time last year, and actually came up [as a result of] various discussions in IRC this year and our participation and observation of other Model U.N.s and our interest in the dynamic nature of international affairs," Rishyasringa said.
The PICSim conference is small compared to Model U.N. events at other schools, Rishyasringa said, because it is a pilot project. However, he added, this is the first project of its kind on such a scale.
"Many schools were skeptical since this is a huge effort. We are trying to establish our reputation with this conference, and other [nonparticipating] schools are looking for feedback," Rishyasringa said.
As a result, this conference was capped at about 100 delegates. The organizers said they were pleased with this year's response and expect the number of delegates to increase next year.
The conference began with opening remarks from Professor Wolfgang Danspeckgruber of the Wilson School yesterday evening. Committees are meeting all day today and Saturday in Frist Campus Center and Robertson Hall. Closing ceremonies will take place on Sunday.
In addition to PICSim, IRC also organizes a Model U.N. conference for about 700 high school delegates in mid-November every year.
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