Co-Chairing FS Junior MUN (Experience)

Early August, I signed up for the opportunity to chair the Junior mun when it popped up in my inbox and given my past experience in MUNs, achievement and being the under secretary general at this year’s FUN for our school, I was accepted for the role of co-chairing the Climate change Committee by the organizers of the event. I was excited to be on the other side of the table during a MUN and I also anticipated it to be very stressful yet exhilarating and I was correct about the heavy workload while also being right about it being a very thrilling new experience for me.

LO 2: Demonstrate that they have undertaken challenges, developing new skills in the process.

As it was my first time chairing a committee that too one filled with first timers in need of guidance from step one as to the workings of an MUN conference. It was a grave challenge to introduce the conference operations and also guide them regarding the research process. One skill I definitely developed was patience and keeping my composure no matter how repetitive or fundamental their doubts are. I had to keep reminding myself that all of these kids were amateurs and extremely zealous to participate so I must keep my composure and do my best to motivate them to participate.

LO 4: Show commitment and perseverance in their CAS experience.

As aforementioned, my patience was time and again tested and the delegates kept bombarding us with their doubts at all times of the day. I was committed to helping them out so I answered their questions as quickly and concisely and clearly as possible. The process took about roughly 2 months and I conducted several doubt clearing sessions with the delegates and co-chairs to prepare for the conference.

LO 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

The agenda for my committee was Climate Action. It is one of the sustainable development goals and the entire aim of the conference was to come up with politically acceptable solutions for issues pertaining to climate change. It is one of the most pressing current global issues and igniting conversions about it in the youth of the world is an imperative step towards coming up with solutions to prevent the ultimate doom. It is exactly what we did in the conference, we discussed the actions taken by separate countries towards preventing climate change and what possible actions could be taken. To my surprise, even as first timers, a few of my committee’s delegates came up with an amazing resolution paper for our committee which was really well structured for a first time written reso paper.

LO 7: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

As a chair, it was my responsibility to make sure the knowledge and facts I share are authentic. The study guide I created and the guidance I gave my dels regarding research would have to make sure to only be from reliable sources and the ethics of an MUN also must be maintained. That involved staying up with the stance of your country even if you don’t personally agree with their action plan. I needed to make sure all of this was ensured in the conference and that is why how I trained them played a big role in their performance in the conference. I understood the weight of this responsibility and tried my best to ensure objectivity and authentic research outcomes for my committee’s delegates.

The learner profiles I demonstrated were risk-takers as even with no chairing experience, I applied for a co-chair position and managed to do a good job as one. Also open-minded as it was a debate on a very heated and multi-opinionated topic such as climate action and my opinion of whether I agree or disagree with a country’s action has to be side-lined when chairing objectively in an MUN. Especially since the same open-mindedness was taught and expected by me from the delegates in my committee.

Evidences :-

i) The study guide I created for the committee – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIpsseM5UdI5MCik-ZczHE1SoNvHFq7OMeMkbtH-LRg/edit?usp=sharing

ii) Resolution paper of my committee – https://docs.google.com/document/d/10nwC5sGylmO6UAR8UcGRXj3cbkWZQNxOQ9lFn_4uc04/edit?usp=sharing

iv) Doubt solving evidence –