Qatar Is Rich! : A MUNning Experience
My first experience at the Model United Nations
⚠Warning: You will see a lot of my awesome pics in this blog. It's because the Photographers at an MUN are also participants who will take the best pictures so that they can win prizes (and the OC don't have to pay for photographers). How cool is that?
Wikipedia Explanation of MUN:
To put in simple words, each delegate of an MUN (participants) are assigned a country. They should represent the country and speak for it. They are like the ministers and other decision-making leaders of that country. A particular agenda will be set by the OC (Organizing Committee) and each delegate should share what norms and policies are undertaken by them to address it.
My Committee was UNHRC and the agenda was ‘Women Empowerment’ and the country I was allotted to was The State of Qatar.
DAY 1 (Formal Dress)
Day 1 kicked off with an Inauguration with all Committees, the EB and the OC. We all split off after to our respective committee rooms. The EB briefed us about all the required rules and instructions.
I was new to the whole MUNning experience. So my preparation was not on point. But soon I realized that a presence of mind and observation skills during other delegates’ speech can be taken advantage of. So I started listening and asking questions and thus earned more fame. I made loads of mistakes. Loads!!! Can’t stress enough . We’ll come to that later.
The High Tea (still have absolutely no idea what is the difference between Paal Chai and High Tea , I even proposed a motion asking what it was to the EB and they too were on the same page) and Lunch Break was a great opportunity to network and meet fellow delegates. There was also the option to propose motions for Unmoderated Caucus (basically we can wander around the room and talk to others or even leave the room) to network and collaborate with other delegates. The first day was cool but not as awesome as the second day. There was still plenty of ice that needed to melt. The day’s meeting concluded after passing the motion to table the debate.
Day 2 (Ethnic Wear)
As day 2 started, similar to day 1, all the Committees gathered together in the morning and later split off to our respective committees. The 2nd day was more lit than the 1st. Everyone knew exactly what to prepare because of the previous day’s experience. The competition increased, the fight and prowess of delegates echoed in the room.
Press Meeting: Journalists from The International Press had been observing our conversations the entire time. They occasionally used to question us during unmoderated caucus and breaks following our statements and policies.
They questioned almost every delegate in the room. They focused on countries like China, India and Qatar. So basically they started roasting me, but I maintained my coolness with an epic reply, “Qatar Is Rich!”. Hell yeah, it felt good, but it was also naive. I had also some valuable points and better research that day, but some contradicted to my previous day’s statements. But it was fun.
The High Tea and Lunch Breaks of Day 2 were more interesting, we basically talked about our countries and how amazing it is and I might have been the most blabbing mouth there.
The official meeting had to be concluded after drafting an agreement of rule which all or most of the delegates agree with. A minimum of one or more proposals of a list of rules had to be made and the one that gets the most vote, along with and accepting corrections will be selected as the decision of the meeting which is the end goal.
So we had 2 different proposals from 2 teams which were discussed and corrected. It was passed off as the official decision from the Committee and the proposal for a motion to end the debate was passed unanimously.
During the closing ceremony, the results of winners from each committee were published. UNHRC was the biggest committee out of the rest and thus there was more winners. I received the Best Verbal Mention. And thus as my fellow delegates said, that’s the story of how I lost my MUNning Virginity.
Conclusion
MUNs and MUNning is not as big a feat as you would think. The best way to learn what MUN is, is simply participating in one! From your 2nd MUN, you will be well equipped. You will have amazing photos, network and access to a global community. You may feel a little behind at first but just follow your gut feeling and burn it down. So what are you waiting for? Rush and register for the next MUN and remember to give Qatar it’s respect. After all, ‘Qatar Is Rich’!
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