BUHMUN 2023 conference agenda
This two-day conference is jam-packed full of presentations and activities. Stay tuned for this year’s agenda and keynote speakers, which will be announced in the coming weeks!
Previous keynote speakers
At each conference, participants have the wonderful opportunity to hear from an accomplished keynote speaker who will share their journey, experiences, and tips with the BUMHUN attendees. Outlined below are previous keynote speakers who have presented at BUHMUN conferences over the years.
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2022 - Counsellor Michael Hoy
Counsellor, Australian Mission to the United Nations
Our first keynote speaker for BUHMUN 2022 was Australian counsellor and international political representative Michael Hoy.
Michael Hoy is a career officer with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, currently serving as Counsellor at the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York. He has previously served overseas as:
- Counsellor, Australian Embassy, Tokyo;
- First Secretary, Australian Embassy, Kabul;
- First Secretary, Australian Mission to the European Union, Brussels; and
- Second Secretary, Australian Embassy, Hanoi.
Michael was also part of the in-country response team that handled the emergency evacuation from Kabul in 2021, the downing of flight MH-17 in Ukraine in 2014, and the terrorism-related kidnapping of an Australian in the Philippines. In Canberra, he has served as Director, Indonesia Political Section and Portfolio Budget Coordinator.
Michael holds a Master of International Economic Law from the University of Canberra, and a Bachelor of International Relations and Bachelor of Commerce from Bond University.
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2022, 2019 - Cloe Read
Journalist, Brisbane Times
Brisbane Times journalist Cloe Read first spoke at BUHMUN in 2019, and returned in 2022 as our second keynote speaker.
Cloe began studying journalism at Bond University in 2016 with a major in International Relations. During her time at Bond, Cloe was able to participate in the Japan English Model United Nations twice – first as a video journalist, and second as the delegate for Russia within the Security Council.
Cloe remains the only Bond Model United Nations student to have transitioned from journalist to country delegate. Following her graduation in 2018, Cloe started working for The Courier Mail, where she covered a variety of stories including breaking news, crime, courts, and politics.
In February 2021, she moved to Brisbane Times as a breaking news reporter, covering crime, courts, and politics. In her first year, Cloe had more than 500 articles published on the website and across its sister publications, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Cloe is an enthusiastic advocate for journalism as a career choice and thoroughly enjoys sharing her experiences with BUHMUN journalism cohorts.
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2021 - Professor Caitlin Byrne
Australian Representative of W20 (G20 Women's Engagement Group)
Our Keynote Speaker for BUHMUN 2021, was Women 20 (W20) Australian representative Professor Caitlin Byrne. The W20 is the official G20 engagement group focused on gender equity.
Professor Caitlin Byrne is a Fellow of the Australian Institute for International Affairs (AIIA) and Faculty Fellow of the University of Southern California's Centre for Public Diplomacy (CPD). Caitlin's research is focused on Australian diplomacy with a special interest in influence and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region. Her most recent research projects explore the roles of leadership, strategic narrative, and public diplomacy in Australia's regional diplomatic efforts.
Caitlin brings expertise in executive education and currently delivers training on soft power and public diplomacy and international policy and tradecraft through Australia's Diplomatic Academy in Canberra. She consults on occasion to government in the areas of strategic foreign policy and diplomatic practice. She is also a member of the Australian Government's Sports Diplomacy Advisory Council, and sits on the international advisory board of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia (IRIC) and the national reference group of ACICIS Study Indonesia.
Professor Byrne currently holds the title of Director, Griffith Asia Institute. Prior to joining academia, Caitlin established a professional career spanning strategic management, legal, foreign, and social policy roles in government, business, and community sectors.
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2019 - Emily Pugin
Second Secretary, Australian Embassy and Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna
Emily Pugin is a descendant of the Kombumerri people of the Gold Coast. She graduated from Bond University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Relations. Prior to joining the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), she was an intern at the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. She also has professional legal experience having clerked at MBA Lawyers and Allens Arthur Robinson Lawyers in the area of environment law.
As an Australian diplomat in Vienna, Emily has a range of multilateral and bilateral responsibilities to advance Australia’s interests. Emily’s primary responsibility is to manage Australia’s engagement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) where she negotiates international drugs policy. Emily also represents Australia at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which covers a range of global security issues including politico-military, economic, environmental, and human rights matters.
On the bilateral side, Emily manages Australia’s relationships with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Slovakia. Emily’s former position at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra was lead negotiator for capacity building and indigenous issues at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She was part of the Australian delegation to negotiate the Paris Agreement on climate change and its implementation. Additionally, Emily managed a significant international development portfolio supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation projects across the Indo-Pacific and Africa.
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2018 - Ambassador Christopher Lamb
Special Adviser, Australian Red Cross - 'The Power of Humanity'
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)Christopher Lamb is a former Australian ambassador and is now Special Adviser to the Australian Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). He also has advisory responsibilities with many Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC) National Societies, business groups, and universities. He is President of the Australia Myanmar Institute and holds positions with several NGOs and foundations.
As Special Adviser on International Relations for the IFRC until his retirement in June 2010, he was responsible for the diplomatic positioning of the IFRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the international intergovernmental and non-governmental communities. He coordinated the development of IFRC positions in various humanitarian and political fields, supporting the work of the National Societies in these respects through the development of the IFRC’s policy on humanitarian diplomacy.
Before joining IFRC in 2000, he was an Australian diplomat and ambassador to Myanmar, Serbia, Romania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, after serving in several multilateral and bilateral posts and as foreign ministry legal adviser.
Professional highlights include:
- Diplomat and DFAT public servant for 32 years
- Australian Ambassador to Myanmar (Burma)
- Australian Ambassador to Former Yugoslavia, Romania, and Macedonia
- Legal adviser, DFAT
- Special Advisor on International Relations to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- Special Advisor to the Australian Red Cross
- Special Advisor to IFRC
- President, Australia Myanmar Institute
- Lecturer on Humanitarian Diplomacy with the Diplofoundation
- Honorary Associate Professor, University of Melbourne
In describing his role as advisor to the Red Cross, Chris once simplified the job description: “I give them advice for whatever they ask for, and whatever I think that they need to receive, so I give a lot of unrequested advice when I think they need it.”
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2017 - Keiko Yanai
Consul-General of Japan, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ms Keiko Yanai, Consul-General of Japan, assumed her post in Brisbane in June 2017. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, she held various positions specialising in treaty negotiations and multilateral affairs focusing on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons. Ms Yanai attended various United Nations conferences including the UN General Assembly First Committee and Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference and its Preparatory Committees.
Her overseas diplomatic postings have included the Netherlands, Singapore, and the USA, and she also served for three years at the Delegation of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland. Ms Yanai also served as the atomic energy specialist in the Cabinet Office from 2011 to 2013.