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UNHCR PRIMES: Refugee Database Management and Use Cases

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Throughout the topic synopsis we’ve reviewed how important data collection and transparency is to ensuring the safety of vulnerable communities. In this blog post we’ll talk about the other end of the pipeline and show that that data collection and management is put to use.  The UNHCR’s (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) most recent development in digital registration and identity management is UNHCR PRIME, the Population Registration and Identity Management Ecosystem. UNHCR PRIME is a collection of all the UNHCR’s digital registration information, bringing together tools for case and identity management, and is fully aligned with the Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR. PRIMES consists of several repositories for personal data (biographic and biometric) and supporting information along with multiple tools which safely make use of the data to deliver targeted protection, assistance, and solutions to refugees and other displaced popu...
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A Valuable New Resource for the AI Healthcare Community!

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We've all heard the phrase "data is the new oil." In this growing digital world of the 21st century, data is proving to become an extremely valuable resource all throughout society, and the one place it definitely makes the largest impact is when it come to artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models are only as good as the data we feed into them. This was highlighted in one of our case studies of the topic synopsis regarding Google DeepMind's model, as they trained a model to predict the likelihood of acute kidney injury. However, they trained on data that was unevenly distributed across gender and race, which as a result impacted the accuracy across different groups. The only solution to the data problem is to collect even more data, but that is always an expensive feat that requires a lot of time and money to perform, as well as engineers to further clean and process the data thereafter. Recently however, a valuable resour...
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Head Chair Introduction: Matariya Rattanapan

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  Hello! My name is Matariya and I’m currently a second year studying Public Health and Data Science. I am so excited to be your head chair this year, and I can’t wait to see all your lovely faces in March. This is my 6th year doing MUN, and I was lucky enough to attend BMUN during my senior year of high school. In fact, I was in this very committee: CSTD! This committee has a special place in my heart because of its focus on the intersectionality of science, technology, and how the effects of new advancements have come to transform our society. I was born and raised in Southern California, and I lived most of my life in Orange County, CA. When I moved to the Bay Area for the first time for college, I felt intimidated by both the unfamiliar environment and people. However, I grew to fall in love with the school and its people, and BMUN has played a huge role in contributing to that. I have found not only a community of driven friends, but more importantly, I now have a family of pe...
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Vice Chair Introduction: Ashwat Chidambaram

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  Hey everyone! My name is Ashwat Chidambaram, and I am currently a junior here at UC Berkeley majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. I have been involved in MUN on the high school circuit since freshman year, making this my 7th year in MUN. The reason I chose to join BMUN was so that I could get to share the same great experience I had in high school Model UN with all of you! I have always had a deep fascination for artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the implications these technologies have on society that I personally feel everyone should recognize. I hope you all leave committee with a working knowledge of these topics at a high level, while also gaining experience competing in Model UN as a whole. Beyond MUN, I have a deep passion for aviation, and am currently a solo-certified private pilot. I also enjoy playing the drums, folding origami, listening to The Kid Laroi and Logic, and playing ping-pong and basketball for fun. I can't wait to meet...
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Vice Chair Introduction: Blanchard Kenfack

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  Hello delegates! My name is Blanchard Kenfack and I'm super excited to be one of your Vice Chairs during BMUN 70 for the Commission on Science and Technology for Development. I'm a junior studying Business and Data Science, and this is my second year as a member of BMUN. I first started participating in MUN when I was in my second year of high school, and BMUN was one of my favorite conferences to attend, so when I started school at UC Berkeley I knew that I had to join Berkeley Model UN! Besides MUN, I also enjoy watching the NBA, hiking, reading fiction, Dungeons & Dragons, and reading manga. I'm most looking forward to seeing your creative and well thought out solutions as well as seeing how you all collaborate and compromise to create comprehensive resolutions! I truly do believe that this committee's topics are ones that are relevant and important to our world, and that everyone can engage with them, regardless of background. Good luck, and I can't wait t...
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Vice Chair Introduction: Jackie Thibault

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  Hi everyone! My name is Jackie, and I am one of your vice chairs for CSTD this year! I grew up in Castro Valley, CA and now I’m a freshman at Berkeley. I am still undecided in my major, but I’m thinking of studying Applied Math or a related field. While this is my first year in Model UN, I have helped oversee and proctor other educational competitions by doing/running my district’s Science Olympiad, among other things, for a few years. I loved the experiences, and I’ll bring this enthusiasm to the BMUN Conference! I look forward to hearing you all discuss and debate the CSTD topics this year, especially as these issues grow more urgent with the development of technology. Outside of school, I enjoy exploring/traveling, eating, playing music, Youtube, and taking way too many pictures for the memories (my phone storage is in pain). I hope to make more memories with you all this conference! Best wishes, Jackie Thibault
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