About us

INTERNATIONAL PRESS CORPS INTRODUCTION

From time immemorial, the requirement to gain knowledge has been an essential need. Since ancient civilizations, various forms of nonverbal communication such as cave paintings, smoke signals and drum beats have been used to convey messages across time and distance. In the 15th century, the development of paper and the printing press further accelerated the dissemination of information, allowing books and pamphlets to be produced in large quantities. The first printed newspapers emerged in the 17th century, facilitating news dissemination on a broader scale. The 18th and 19th centuries witnessed the rise of the partisan press and the wider circulation of information, where newspapers aligned with political ideologies to influence public opinion. During war and conflict, journalists have risked their lives to report on the front lines, providing critical updates and exposing atrocities. The press has been a catalyst for social progress, shedding light on issues such as civil rights, gender equality, environmental concerns, and mobilizing public opinion for change. In many instances, the press has acted as a voice for the voiceless, amplifying marginalized communities' struggles and championing their rights. With the great burden of responsibility that comes with providing authentic and transparent information to influence politics and public opinion, it is no coincidence to call the Press "The fourth estate". Until now, journalists have always been the ones with great responsibility when it comes to gathering information, processing and publishing to the public.

In the chaotic situation of crises, journalists must be the calmest individuals to carry out their duties, as well as fight against fake news and personal criticism. This will also be the duty of journalists at DOS 2023 International Press Corps. To construct a news agency, each journalist will be allocated into groups of four members working together to publish editorials, news articles, interviews, and conduct press conferences, all under the direction of the Directors. At the same time, our journalists are expected to adhere to the journalistic code of ethics and achieve an emulation of the characteristics and goals of their assigned agency.

This year, with International Press Corps' theme "Breaking Barriers: Investigating Digital Single Market and Reporting African Decolonization & Demilitarization Process", our journalists shall not be attending every committee session. The authors, instead, will collaborate with two committees at DOS 2023 - the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the European Parliament (EP) - to produce outstanding publications.

Therefore, journalists are required to have a basic knowledge of the two aforementioned boards by reviewing their guidebooks. With these popular and engaging topics, IPC promises to bring participants memorable and interesting experiences when becoming influential journalists at the biggest news agencies in the world. IPC looks forward to the invaluable work that can transcribe the crises at DOS 2023!

RULES OF PROCEDURE

International Press Corps’

briefing sessions

With the fast-paced and continuous flow of events taking place at DOS 2023, it is crucial to keep up-to-date information among members of the International Press corps. There shall be at least 1 private meeting within the IPC for 15 minutes before each session with the aim of: (i) informing the Corps the progress of two committees in the previous session, including but not limited to what the committees have discussed, highlighted landmarks; and (ii) planning the division of personnel and workload for the next session including but not limited to: - Pieces of writing completed in the previous committee session - Leftover work from the previous committee session - Expected news pieces to be written in the next session.

Committee sessions

In each committee session, a news agency of the International Press Corps shall be divided into two teams with the duties of: (i) attending EP and UNGA meetings; and (ii) staying at the headquarter. Before processing into every committee session, the list of attending journalists at EP and UNGA would be dispatched to the EP's Presidents and UNGA's Chairpersons. The journalists may occupy their designated room during the subsequent meeting only after receiving permission from the Dais. For the on-the-ground journalists, who are assigned as the reporters located in the EP and UNGA's room, your tasks include: (i) conducting interviews; and (ii) writing editorials and/or news articles based on the flow of the council. These journalists shall have certain supporters from the same agency at the headquarter to help them finalize the draft. Since having this process, the journalists need to ensure that at least 90% of the piece would have to be done by the time it is sent back to the bureau for any refinement. The journalists can all attend the same meeting, or separate into both committees, which will be determined by the information load of both EP and UNGA, their Chairpersons and Presidents' permission, and your agency's priority. During the committee session, journalists are asked to keep quiet and not cause any disruption or distraction to the delegates, chairpersons, Presidents, and admin staff of the house. Only with the permission of the delegates and under the chairs' discretion, journalists were permitted to conduct interviews during tea breaks, unmoderated caucus, or in between committee meetings. For the members of agencies who stay at the headquarter, their tasks include: (i) proofreading the writing drafts, making sure they are ready for publishing; and (ii) receiving confidential information from the dais of EP and UNGA to develop a news article, which serves as a press release/crisis announcement for the two committees. These articles shall lean on the political stance and writing style of the agency at that time. After finalizing the article within the agency, the journalists need to send it to the International Press Corps’ Editors-in-chief for approval and confirmation to be published and/or delivered to the committees.

Press conferences

At DAV Open Simulation 2023, a press conference shall be organized in accordance with the committees’ will to inform journalists about the flow of the debate or countries’ statements and last for 20 minutes maximum. There are some guidelines that members of the International Press corps should follow: Firstly, at least two representatives from a news agency must be present at each press conference, and each journalist is obligated to attend at least one. Secondly, members of the International Press corps are required to address the committee as a whole and question delegates on the dynamic, development, and discussion in the relevant committee. Questions might be on the current state of affairs, previous scandals, or even a delegate's contentious point of view. Thirdly, those questions should be prepared in advance, record or note the responses for sourcing purposes, and conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism throughout the press conference. The questions are required to be approved by the Editors-in-chief. After each press conference, journalists are expected to grasp a deeper insight of the committee's current situation in order to meritoriously enrich the editorials and articles. When posing questions, journalists must carefully evaluate the distinct political viewpoints of their news agency in order to effectively portray those. The Editors-in-chief expect at least one article or editorial to be submitted after the press conference.