I first started Model United Nations in Eighth Grade, a brand new middle school program. I joined because I thought it would be something interesting to do as I really enjoyed reading and learning about current events. The other students, along with myself, were the guinea pigs. We practiced debating while also observing some of the high school practices. After a whole year of practice, we were recommended to join the high school program the next year.
Our high school Model United Nations program at the time was growing slowly as our school only participated in the IASAS MUN (a conference which consisted of six international schools in the South East Asia region as well as other smaller schools) and TAIMUN (a conference which consisted of schools all across Taiwan).
My first speech at a Model United Nations Conference!
My first conference was in my freshmen year, where I went to TAIMUN and was in the Human Rights committee. I represented the delegate of India and wrote a resolution on the Question of Human Trafficking. I also wrote some clauses for the Question on Honor Crimes. I attempted to main submit that year, but was still inexperienced and decided to co-submit and support the other delegates as best as I could. I distinctly remember once when I was at the podium when someone asked me a Point of Information that I had never experienced before:
“Does the delegate wholeheartedly agree that without this solution, this resolution will be ineffective?”
I personally had no idea on how to answer, but I saw the delegate who asked me nod slowly, so I tentatively replied, “Yes, this delegate wholeheartedly agrees.” Later when I wrote a note to her, she replied explaining what she had done, and the effect of my answer.
The Website I designed for the Middle School Conference!
That same year, because of the success of the middle school MUN program, the school decided to host a conference for middle schoolers. As a high school delegate, I not only mentored the middle schoolers but I also helped prepare the conference. I was part of the first leadership team, as Head of Tech where I created the website (http://mstaimun.org) and troubleshooted any technical issues. This was the beginning of a series of leadership positions I would take in MUN.
The next year, I once again went to TAIMUN and was in the Human Rights committee again. However, this time, I represented France and main submitted a resolution on the Prevention of Unethical Human Trials. Sadly, to my dismay, the resolution did not pass. That year, I once again mentored middle schoolers while being on the leadership team for the conference. I was the Environment Chair that year and the Head of Tech again. Running the website while fulfilling my chairing duties as well.
My only picture of me at MY-MUNOFS
In junior year, I not only went to TAIMUN again, but I traveled to Singapore with a middle school team to participate at MY-MUNOFS where I was the Environment Chair. I remember asking the conference’s Secretary General many questions on Skype because I was unfamiliar with the THIMUN rules as a chair. My trip to Singapore with the middle school delegates was very special because I became very close with the delegates, so much that I keep track of their involvement and growth in MUN today. It was also very special to me because I was given opportunities to be more than just a student officer, but also an unofficial chaperon for the students.
When I went to TAIMUN that year, I switched committees and represented China in the Security Council. I had a lot of fun at that conference because as a P5 nation any disagreement between the five of us had to be resolved through a P5 caucus. Tensions were high as both Russia and I adamantly stated our positions in the debate on the Question of Cote D’ivoire I personally prepared more for the other topic, The Question on the Arab Peninsula, but in the middle of debate, I was chosen to represent China during the crisis.
Finally, at the end of the year, I was the Deputy Secretary General for the middle school conference while also running the website. That conference was special as the director wanted to find a way to make the conference paperless. After many weeks, I adapted a system that was used at MY-MUNOFS and made the conference paperless. (This system would be tweaked and then used at IASAS MUN 2012.)
Needless to say, that school year of MUN was very exciting. I wasn’t prepared however, for the MUN program that I found during the summer.
My first step into Online MUN was during the summer of 2012, when I saw an old friend from Singapore in this MUN program, even though I knew she wasn’t interested in MUN at all. I asked her about it and she told me that it was her friend, Dinah Liu (Asia’s Deputy Secretary General), that signed her up (though she wasn’t interested at all).
As a result in July 2012, I Facebooked Ms. Martin, in order to learn more about the program. I began asking her tons and tons of questions, even went as far as to watch a couple of the online debates on Youtube. While I was asking her questions, I also e-mailed my MUN Directors: Ms. Sinclair and Ms. Rowe, letting them know about this program and what their thoughts on it were. They replied saying that I should investigate and find out more about the program before anything else happened.
As the days went by, I became extremely interested in the program because I realized how much fun O-MUN would be as well as the fact that TAS could become a part of this program. After hundreds of e-mails, I was hooked. I was really interested to see how I could become a part of the program, as well as how my school, TAS could become a part of the program as well. After countless e-mails and Facebook messages, I was hooked. I constantly e-mailed my directors during the summer, hoping to drum up their support as well. By the end of the summer, I was the new Executive Administrative Officer for Taiwan, and thus began my O-MUN journey. As time went on, I participated in my first debate, a Security Council debate where I represented China on the topic of Syria.
I’m really glad that I joined O-MUN because not only do I get to go to THIMUN as a result, but I have met so many new people. The great thing about O-MUN is that, it allows students to network across the world. At conferences, students usually become friends with students from other schools within the region, but at O-MUN, with delegates logging in from everywhere, its quite easy to meet and talk to people from different parts of the world.
1 comment:
That's a great summary of your MUN involvement. You will look back at these one of these day and wonder positively or negatively of your participation in the MUN program.
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