By: Emilin Mathew

My name is Emilin Mathew and I am one of the American delegates who had the honor of participating at the ISCGA conference. This conference gave me a lot of insight in how I see cooperation, international politics, and policymaking.

The most important lesson I was able to take away from this conference was forming cross cultural connections. The Russian delegates created very intricate and well animated videos, of which the most touching to me was about the best moments of US-Russian relations. The video showed the generosity of the US by offering a “helping hand” while the Russians were facing a food shortage. It also offered thanks to our countries for their past cooperation which shows how in politics, we do truly converse and build stronger relationships. On the second day, we were able to ask cultural questions which allowed us to reach a better understanding of the delegates. For example, a Russian delegate was intrigued that Americans drank ice with their water while an American found out that there is a Russian game trying to put a pencil into a bottle without hands. These experiences helped me to grow as a person and were truly insightful.

I also learned a lot about international politics. We had an ability to talk to many speakers and learn from political figures who craft policymakers that will shape the world. Renowned Russian figure, Palazhchenko, guided our discussions through the entire conference. We also had the pleasure of directly hearing from General Vladimir Dvorkin who worked with nuclear arms for 60 years and resolved nuclear issues in his research institute. ISCGA gave us personalized discussions which allowed the delegates to learn not only from the speakers, but also each other. Our resolution discussion spanned a wide range of topics from environmental protection and indigenous health to biochemical waste elimination and hypersonics. Two days of intensive collaboration with other bright minds produced many new areas for me to research and understand!

It’s incredible how in 1985 US-Russian cooperation was only imaginary between states. Now, students are coming together and facilitating transparent communication for the future. This was truly a great experience and I hope to get involved in the future!