FSMUN is a platform where people come together to imitate united nations and its committee sessions. Because I wanted to be a part of this indirectly, just to see how things function and what the esteemed ‘fsmun’ actually is, I took part as an OC (organizing committee) member. My job was to host the session (the most important work) virtually on Zoom and I was also the bridge of communication between the executive board (EB) members and the committee chair and co-chair. I was also incharge of making breakout rooms for the delegates and I was supposed to have a strong wifi connection at all times (obviously).

The learning outcomes I achieved were: LO2, LO4, LO5, and LO6.
(After the experience, I realized I did not achieve LO1)
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

The CAS strand catered was C: Creativity.

LO2: The most challenging thing was to handle the pressure on our minds (the host’s minds). This is because ‘great power comes with great responsibility’. We had the power to communicate and manage the whole session which came with the responsibility of having the perfect wifi speed at all times, no issues with the computer and also being available at all times which meant little or no breaks in between sessions. We were to stay alert at all times because any member might have problems and wish to rejoin (we had the control of who could and couldn’t join). And because I hadn’t done anything as rigorous before, this was very new. To overcome this challenge, I conditioned myself to stay alert at all times and to keep listening and paying attention to what was going on. This helped me stay attentive and not feel bored in the slightest. This challenge helped me understand more about my mind and the fact that I could work all day and still not feel tired. This also helped me experience a bit of office life and how people do rigorous work from morning to evening and this was a very fun challenge!

LO4: This activity personally was very nerve wracking because it required a windows/MAC pc which I couldn’t find so I had to run around and call several different people for days before the MUN and on the final day, the pc I had stopped working and I had to spontaneously decide to go to my father’s office for a pc which was quite the stress. I could always have given up and let my backup do this instead but I pulled through and completed my task! And for the second day, I got my pc at home fixed specially for this and hosted the session from home which also was accompanied with some malfunctions which made me very stressful. This made me understand that I am able to commit to things and persevere in important conditions without complain!

LO5: Working collaboratively and working with different people has always been easy for me. I always tend to take the lead if I’m in a group and I generally do not have any difficulties understanding what my group required of me and I enjoy working with new people. And so, over here, working with new people (from different grades) was quite easy for me and I also received the help of my friends whenever I faced trouble. This helped me understand the importance of working collaboratively. Had we not worked together, the event would’ve been chaotic with people not knowing what to do and how to manage the sessions and wouldn’t have been as smooth as it was albeit there was some trouble.

LO6: the global issue discussed was the south china sea dispute. An issue involving Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Taiwan, and a few other countries. The issue is regarding China’s claim to the South China Sea territory. Prior to this I had no idea about this issue and learning about it has helped me understand how claims are made regarding territory and what factors are considered while making those claims. This issue doesn’t make me feel any specific way but it’s just more knowledge about stuff going on in the world and I think having more knowledge is never detrimental.

FINAL TAKEAWAY:

• Learner Profile: Communicator – without communication, this event would’ve failed and wouldn’t have been as smooth and fun as it was.
• Highlight: There was a time, on the second day, when my hosting rights were suddenly taken away from me and transferred to someone else. I was so tensed at that time, I almost threw up! I thought the whole meeting would collapse and the recording will get deleted but thankfully, none of that happened and the school (main hosts) gave me my rights back!
• If I were to repeat this activity, the only thing I would change is rather than running around for a pc or laptop, I would get my own pc fixed and wifi stronger to avoid extra tension.
• Through this experience, I learnt how to handle stress better and this will forever be helpful because I will not break easily in stressful situations.