Topic Summary

Armed conflict not only affects civilian lives, but also cultural institutions, such as the performing arts, which shape national identity and retention of collective memory. Performing arts are forms of intangible cultural heritage that depend on continuous practice, community, and place. In areas affected by armed conflict, persecution or political instability, artists are forcibly displaced, institutions are destroyed, and generations of cultural knowledge are put at risk. The decay of performing arts in global conflict zones is not simply seen as a cultural loss, but as a human rights issue centered around an international right to freedom of expression and education, and identity.

In recent years the Russia–Ukraine war exemplified the vulnerability of performing artists, but also their resiliency. Ballet schools across European nations provided sanctuary and continued training for Ukrainian dancers. Cultural institutions have become more than shelters; they are opportunities for artists to be engaged and restore a sense of continuity and purpose in times of hardship. However, such efforts remain uneven, underfunded, and often inaccessible to those most in need.

This committee will discuss how the international community might allow for better protection of the cultural rights of displaced artists and safeguard performing arts in conflict zones. The delegates will be asked to consider how to support cultural asylum, enhance arts education in exile, and provide equitable access to artistic resources for refugees and marginalized communities. Delegates should also consider post-conflict rebuilding of cultural institutions, preventing cultural erasure, and the potential of the role of arts in reconciliation, recovery and trauma. As SOCHUM, we will be guided by humanitarian and cultural perspectives in our conversations using dignity, diversity, and human rights as principles to ground our work.

Director’s Letter

Dear delegates,

Welcome to the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) of Harvard National Model United Nations 2026! My name is Clara Thiele, and I’m so excited to be your Director for this year’s session. I was born and raised in Rochester, NY, but I live in Cambridge, MA, where I am in my second year at Harvard College studying Government and Economics. Shortly before my college days began, I spent three gap years working as a professional ballet dancer. I was trained at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany, and performed with the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company in Chicago. Those years shaped how I think about the world - particularly the role of culture in conflict and resilience - and eventually drove me toward academic interests in international relations and human rights.

I actually never participated in Model UN in high school – I got involved after coming to Harvard, and found that I love the fast ideas and spontaneous thinking that occurs in these conferences! Currently, on campus, I will be participating in HNMUN and HMUN (the high school conference) with the Harvard International Relations Council. I also compete on the Harvard Intercollegiate Model UN travel team (ICMUN). Outside of MUN, I stay connected to the arts by dancing in both the Harvard Ballet Company and the Harvard Contemporary Collective; bridging culture, politics, and diplomacy is very important to me.

This year, SOCHUM will be tackling protecting the cultural heritage of performing arts in areas of conflict, which is something that hits close to home for me but is also a globally significant issue. I hope we can develop a space in this committee to think more deeply about issues related to identity, expression, and the question of preservation - particularly of culture and the arts - in times of unrest. As your Director, I hope to create an inclusive, fun, and collaborative experience where everyone feels encouraged to speak, take risks, and co-create new solutions. Whether this is your first or tenth Model UN conference, I look forward to seeing what you bring to our committee.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions at all. I’m truly looking forward to meeting each of you and seeing this committee come to life at HNMUN 2026!

Warmly,

Clara Thiele

Director, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee

sochum@hnmun.org