Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Confidence. Analysis. Leadership. Teamwork skills. Making friends. Having fun. It does sound like the most impossible combination but indeed those are just some of the many facets anyone can experience at a MUN conference.
I have discussed this in a previous column but actively taking part in MUNs for the last four years has impacted my life in the best possible manner.
Rewind to Y10: I was shy and reserved. MUN didn’t just improve my public speaking skills and hone my interest in politics. I learned how to communicate better with others, develop team-working skills and have made so many new friends from different schools.
The transition from delegate to chair was interesting as I was now in a position to help and guide those who were just as nervous as I was in Y10. And, of course, who doesn’t like the idea of basically telling everyone what to do? And now, my high school MUN journey has culminated by attaining by serving as director of my school’s MUN: ChrisMUN.
Before I begin to describe and explain the workings behind the two-day conference I must give a special shout out to our amazing organising committee. The 20 students who formed this committee were all so dedicated to their jobs, shown by their willingness to stay after school every day till 5pm in the week building up to the conference.
Of special mention are my co-director Abdullah Elqaq, secretary general Alisha Dhume and deputy secretary-general Fatima Al Setri. Organising committee - hats off to you all! Thanks must also go to our extremely generous platinum sponsors Baker and McKenzie’s who were very supportive of all our efforts.
The planning behind last weekend’s entirely student-run two-day conference, commenced in June of this year.
We started by appointing and supervising our team of students into various organising departments: each solely dedicated to one aspect of the conference.
From there the hard work began. Over the summer myself and the aforementioned three worked on acquiring our keynote speaker, launching a website, choosing councils, looking for sponsors, chair applications, logistics and catering.
Additionally, we all supervised and contributed to the various department’s assignments.
Our Topics Team, led by Shehab, spent hours researching and finalising the actual topics to be discussed. Our Admin Team, led by Lulu, were in charge of the on-day logistics. The Admin Team worked on designing certificates and placards, buying notepads and creating delegate badges, amongst others. Our Communications Team, led by Zayna, were tasked with contacting other schools to attend our conference as well as assisting myself in catering.
Simran assembled and led our Security Team while Steph, Aesha and Razan were in charge of our Runners Team. Charlotte oversaw the Media Team who ran our social media accounts.
Having visited multiple MUN Conferences I have seen various hiccups that have disrupted an entire conference. I quite happily can confirm that ChrisMUN 2016 ran very smoothly indeed, especially considering there was no teacher involvement whatsoever.
Across our 12 unique councils delegates discussed crucial topics ranging from the Syrian refugee crisis, the civil war in South Sudan, the complete reform of Interpol and global warming.
Amongst my favourite councils were the Lok Sabha (where I even dressed up as Prime Minister Modi), OSCE, Interpol and ECOSOC.
Many of our delegates had never attended an MUN, let alone participate in public speaking. While the nerves were initially present the majority of our delegates were able to come out of their shells and present formidable resolutions that were worthy of action.
Nothing made me more happy than hearing younger students state they were definitely going to continue attending MUN Conferences and remain engaged with current issues.
Another stand out moment was my successful charity initiative. I had led a movement to raise funds and aid for Syrian refugees. In partnership with the Red Crescent we led a drive to collect clothes and dental kits, as well as money, all of which will be sent to Syria. It is our sincere hope that this gesture makes a difference in many lives.
Planning and running this conference was insane. While being the hardest thing I’ve ever accomplished it was honestly the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. Realising that this now marks the end of my high school MUN career does make me very sad indeed but hopefully anyone reading this decides to give a shot at MUN. Who knows? It might have just a positive impact on your life as it has on mine.
For one last time, all rise for the director!
On a side note, I would like to thank Ricky, Heba, Mariam, Justine, Priscilla, Ameerah, Razan, Hyaah, Joanna, Arpitha, Ruzan and Nayanika. You guys were the best organising committee ever.
