International Press Corps
We live in a time of overwhelming information, where traditional journalism, such as newspapers and television, competes with fast-paced platforms like social media, podcasts, and email briefings. In this environment, the press plays a more crucial role than ever before. It’s not just a conveyor of news but also a vital link between power and the people.
The press questions, challenges, and exposes, offering a check on authority and ensuring that important truths are not buried beneath silence. Its influence is quiet but immense.
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On July 19, 2021, the world stood on the edge of a major journalistic revelation, known as the Pegasus Papers scandal. Rumours were spreading, and tension was rising. Leaked reports suggested that Pegasus, a spyware tool sold to governments for anti-terror operations, had been severely misused to target journalists, human rights defenders, opposition leaders, and public figures. Press circles and international human rights organisations have since expressed outrage over the scandal and demanded accountability and transparency.
The implications include press freedom, privacy, and political integrity, all of which hang by a thread. At times like these, journalism transcends its role as a profession and becomes a public service that protects the integrity of the truth.
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As members of the International Press Corps, your job is to represent your news outlet with loyalty and integrity. This means staying true to your publication’s voice but also navigating difficult truths, forming strategic partnerships, and responding to breaking developments.
While the media is intended to inform and foster meaningful debate, it is often challenged by bias, censorship, and sensationalism. You must rise above that. This committee will push you to ask the hard questions, pursue the untold stories, and walk the fine line between responsible reporting and bold investigation.
The choice is yours: will you report with courage, or compromise for convenience?
Letter from the Director
Dear Delegates,
It is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to the prestigious International Press Corps at the 29th Annual Session of the Cathedral Model United Nations. An integral specialized committee of CMUN, the IPC promises to move fast, evolve constantly, and challenge your journalistic prowess in ways you never have - and perhaps never will again. As your director this year, I am thrilled to be able to guide you through a committee unlike any other, one where every last word that you write carries immense weight, and every story you break has the power to shift narratives entirely.
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As someone who has had the opportunity of being a delegate in the IPC innumerable times, I can tell you that it is fluid, absolutely unpredictable, and driven not only by the speeches formally delivered in committee, but also by the narratives that unfold because of them. As part of the IPC, your job will not be limited to merely writing about other committees at CMUN. You will be documenting, investigating, and interpreting, giving us articles of the highest quality. Hold your ground, ask questions, uncover the truth – you deserve to be there.
This year, your task is steeped in urgency. The agenda that we have prepared for you – The 2021 Pegasus Papers Scandal – raises imperative questions about privacy, ethics, freedom, and the censorship of the press that we hope to hear you discuss over this special weekend in August. The eventual exposure of Pegasus spyware revealed the extent to which the state manages to control civilians, and its silent infiltration into the personal lives of journalists, leaders, activists, and more. This scandal challenges the essence of press freedom, allowing you to explore how this tool has been weaponized and its implications of reporting in a world increasingly hostile to truth-tellers.
I also want to remind you that while, for now, we are journalists within a simulation with zero repercussions for what we write and say, the issues we explore are all too real. As you report on the issue of Pegasus Papers, I implore you to consider what scenarios like this mean for the future of journalism itself. To what extent can governments infiltrate the personal lives of their civilians? How far can journalists go when reporting on such sensitive subjects? What happens when the truth is no longer enough to protect our reporters? And most importantly, who is watching the watchers?
As I leave you to ponder over these crucial questions, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am Samaya Vaidya, a Year 12 IBDP student and an avid believer in the power of the written word. As for my academic subjects, I take Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics at the higher level. Surprising for someone who claims to love writing so much, right? Although I have grown up loving to express my thoughts through the written word, I intend to study Medicine at university. It must come as no surprise, then, that I am extremely addicted to caffeine (trust me, you do not want to talk to me before I have had my morning coffee). When I’m not immersed in whatever research I am doing at the time, or doing ballet for hours on end, you will probably find me discussing or planning my next sweet-treat run with my friends. If you really want to get on my good side, get me a big bowl of tiramisu, and we’re set!
Jokes apart, this is my fourth and final CMUN, and I am inexplicably proud to be your director this year. I truly hope to give you the most interesting, yet challenging three days of your life, the way that all my directors have, to me, before me. Take it from someone well- acquainted with CMUN – this conference has the power to leave a lasting impact, if you engage with it in the spirit of the prestige and excellence in represents. This is your moment – write boldly, seek truth relentlessly, and watch the world move with your words. Please feel free to reach out to us at ipc.cmun2025@gmail.com.
Until August,
Samaya Vaidya,
Director,
International Press Corps,
Cathedral Model United Nations, 2025.
Samaya Vaidya
Director