SOCHUM got off to an inauspicious start on Friday. An entertaining warm-up debate on the assertion that "Batman is better than Superman" was dampened by the discovery that permanent marker had been used on the board in the absence of a working projector. Nonetheless, it was decided by the close of play that Topic 2, "Strengthening of the co-ordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the UN", should be the first issue to be tackled on Saturday. An informative talk by Jane Waite, the Head of Humanitarian Policy at the British Red Cross, was given in the morning. She covered issues such as the co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance, and problems in Sudan and Haiti, and how issues of state sovereignty can sometimes hinder the efforts of the Red Cross. This was followed by a series of unmoderated caucuses as delegates sought to establish how they planned to gear the debate. A slow start, but the networking and extended preparation promise an interesting few sessions to follow.
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