Our committee, The Economic and Social Council, lies at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social, and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. 

​

The first agenda item deals with the impact of Cryptocurrencies on the global economy and evaluates possible regulations that can be implemented to lessen their negative effects. Considering the remarkable shift that the worldwide economy has seen in the last decade, cryptocurrencies have capsized our understanding of the economy as a whole. Since the invention of the first cryptocurrency, the crypto market and investments have seen a massive increase worldwide and they have proved that they are here to stay. Even though there is an unprecedented interest and investment in the cryptocurrency market, there is still a lot of room for regulations surrounding the matter. The fact that transactions can be made untraceable, the lack of a centralized system to impose sanctions, the increase in cryptocurrency-related illicit activities, and the sudden integration of cryptocurrencies into local economies in the past years are just a few of the long list of reasons why cryptocurrencies may need to be regulated. 

​

Our second agenda item of this committee serves to contemplate the possibility of creating a universal minimum wage. The uneven distribution of wealth, especially during the pandemic, has become an even more crucial matter as the wealth of many well-known billionaires has seen a spike whilst most people all around the world were faced with unemployment and economic hardships. We can state that globally, the unrest and frustration around this unprecedented wealth gap have created an opportunity to discuss the possibility of creating a universal minimum wage. The establishment of a universal minimum wage can provide an equal ground to prevent extreme poverty in developing countries and eliminate the exploitation of workers for cheap labor. Yet, minimum wages are known to create difficulties for businesses and increase inflation. Also, it is important to note that, the establishment of such an important regulation for the global economy, can create unforeseen side effects. There is uncertainty surrounding whether a regulation of this degree would be beneficial for the global economy, however, it certainly has to be considered as a way to stabilize the wealth gap and combat extreme poverty.

​

This committee not only has the mere scope to discuss recent economic trends but it also aims to light up discussions emphasizing how the distribution of wealth and the lack of universal standards have affected people around the world. We, as the Committee Staff, believe that the debates related to the controversial topics of this committee are issues that sooner or later will need concrete solutions. Delegates are expected to hopefully provide the aforementioned solutions in our debates. For this reason, we encourage participants that consider themselves intermediate or advanced delegates to join us. Our Committee Staff and Academic Team are looking forward to your contributions to the debate.