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Bahrain is on the verge of becoming the first country in the Middle East to get its Model United Nations youth initiative affiliated to the largest college-level programme for young minds in the world, writes Anasuya Kesavan.
The sixth Bahrain Universities Model United Nations conference, recently held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, was monitored and evaluated by Michael Eaton, executive director of the National Model United Nations Programme (NMUN) in the US.
Once associated, there is a high possibility that Bahrain will become an official venue for the organisation's international conferences which are held on different continents around the world.
A group of students from the kingdom have also applied to attend the annual NMUN conference in New York that brings together more than 4,000 global student delegates in April.
Mr Eaton said: "I was very impressed with the conference here, particularly by the creativity, energy and enthusiasm of the students and their preparation and passion for global issues.
"Bahrain's affiliation is currently being reviewed by our board of directors who are looking for multiple things including the ability to host people from all over the world.
"They are also looking at the possibilities for young people to experience a country's culture, visit its sites and learn its history.
"So, one part of the agenda is networking, second is to talk about real global issues and third is to understand a new part of the world.
"We always have a big conference in New York but we could have an additional one in Bahrain. I would hope it could happen in the near future.
"NMUN has had conferences in China, Latin America and the Czech Republic. For us, it represents an opportunity to bring young people together and enhance their understanding of the world."
Currently around 200 delegates from 22 universities attend the Bahrain conference, which was designed to set up, create and inspire global citizenship. Students from all over the Middle East use the forum to brainstorm, contribute ideas and come up with creative solutions to modern day issues.
Founder, as well as advisor of the programme, Doris Martin said: "If BUMUN successfully passes the assessment conducted by the Model United Nations Council, it will be officially affiliated with the NMUN-US. This will classify Bahrain's Education Reform alignment with the kingdom's 2030 vision and will make our programme internationally-recognised."
This year's BUMUN had visiting delegations from different universities such as the American University of Sharjah and the American University of Kuwait.
Discussion and debates progressed under four committees namely, General Assembly, Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC), Security Council and International Atomic and Energy Agency (IAEA) of the UN.
The General Assembly covered topics regarding the implementation of the Millennium development goals and climate change. The IAEA covered topics such as the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Combating maritime piracy, and the Pakistan Aid Relief were discussed by the Security Council and the ECOSOC covered the roles of microfinance and women in society.
