UNIMUN

Model United Nations is a fast-growing competitive activity for many students, but to many of us, it means much more. Model UN has helped us grow into leaders, discover our futures, become confident in ourselves, and form lasting friendships with people from all over the world. I remember my first MUN conference like it was yesterday. Standing before me were smart diplomatic people that made me feel scared and nervous.  When I got up to speak, I read off a piece of paper, I was shaking, and couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. I was so embarrassed about the lack of quality in my speech. However, I did not leave it there, I worked on it and today, I have grown as a delegate. Now I can speak with ease in front of large crowds. MUN has made me a more confident person in the committees, the classroom, and has helped my overall self-esteem.

This partner UNIMUN was organised and hosted by Universal School, Ghatkopar, on the 26^th of September, 2020. The committees included – Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), The Commission of Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) and United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We had two representatives for each committee from EISB. Anjali Nair, Anuka Ragini Ganesh, Arpith Jinu John, Aryan Kudva, Ashith Kumar Reddy, Calvin Thomas Mekat, Chiranjith Pradeep, Cressida Mathew, Lekhana Kumar, Mihika Sankuratri, Mohammed Mahir, Nitish Adithya, Sanshray S and Soumit Rao, were the students who participated from EISB. We represented various countries like, China, France, Iran, Japan, Russia, Thailand, UK .

My co-delegate Anjali Nair believes that Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations. She calls it “an enriching experience”. Anjali and I were part of the SOCHUM (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee) and the team’s agenda was “Ensuring the resilience of the poor and reducing their vulnerability to climate extreme events”. The topic provided a few challenges, as both the issues were addressed separately, but never simultaneously. Anjali says that, after 2 weeks of continuous research, she was finally prepared to argue for the agenda. On the day, the debates were heated with different perspectives coming to the forum. Everyone had a different idea and collating them into one resolution proved to be a difficult task. Fortunately, towards the end everyone worked collaboratively and a final resolution was passed unanimously. This year, even with the challenge of having an online MUN, the UNIMUN was a smooth experience with no major disruptions. Credit goes to the organizers and the chairs for making the UNIMUN an unforgettable experience for all of us, the delegates.