Vivian Yee

Vivian Yee is a rising senior at Harvard College studying Applied Mathematics in Economics with a secondary in Computer Science. Originally from Beverly Hills, Michigan, Vivian eats, breathes, and sleeps Model UN. In her seven years involved in Model UN, she has served as a Head Delegate of Harvard’s competitive Model UN team ICMUN and Under-Secretary-General of the General Assemblies for HNMUN 2024 and has also staffed our high school counterpart HMUN, HMUN China, HNMUN-LA, and HNMUN Africa. Later this year, she is ecstatic to be taking on the role of Secretary-General of HNMUN-LA’s parent conference HNMUN 2025 based in Boston.

Outside of Model UN, Vivian is involved in social clubs, pre-professional groups, and an Uganda-based nonprofit for community development. In her (almost non-existent) free time, Vivian enjoys spending time with friends, cooking up new pasta recipes, going on long walks, and playing a silly game of golf. Vivian cannot wait to welcome you all to HNMUN-LA 2025!

If you have any questions about the committee, feel free to reach Vivian at sochum@hmunla.org.

Topic: Rights of Linguistic Minorities

Linguistic rights are often overlooked, yet they are of crucial importance: How can there be genuine equality under the law if court proceedings are conducted in an unfamiliar language? How can children thrive in their education if they are only being taught in an unfamiliar language and encouraged to view their own language as inferior? How can minority communities fully participate in the political process and advocate for their rights if the language they speak precludes them from running for office or legislating? In this topic area, delegates will have the opportunity to create a global framework for protecting the rights of minorities that is flexible enough to apply to the unique history and position of linguistic minorities around the world. It will certainly be a challenge, since in some cases linguistic minorities are native groups, whereas in other areas they are recent migrants. Indeed, Uyghur speakers in China face a very different panorama to Catalan speakers in Spain or Nahuatl speakers in Mexico. Virtually every modern state has its own linguistic minority and a unique stance on how to protect their rights—or whether they should be protected at all. I am excited to see how your research engages with this nuanced panorama and streamlines its complexity into a universal and actionable framework for protecting linguistic rights that does not neglect the particularity of each situation.