Model United Nations
Model United Nation conferences are understood as academic simulations of the actual UN summits. However for me, these conferences were the greatest opportunities to actually learn about the real world issues that I was previously unaware of. They were much more than just formal conferences where well dressed delegates spoke on the dais and later had social nights to conclude the events; for me these conferences unlocked the doors to comprehension of the issues that caused the unrest in the world and among its people. They were my means to empathise with societies which were internally torn and held in the claws of burning human rights issues.
My MUN journey began in the 9th grade and since then I have been so touched by these subjects that I didn’t waste any opportunity to participate in the conferences in my school’s annual agenda. Gradually my passion was enhanced over 7 MUN conferences (2010-13), through the recognition earned by the rewards and felt encouraged to take greater responsibilities through student officer positions of committee presidents.
My first MUN conference was in 2010 when I represented Iraq in Human Rights Commission and first felt an inclination towards the human rights issues around the world. Qatar Model United Nations as it was titled, was the national MUN conference held at Qatar Academy and sponsored by SHELL. Over 600 delegates of 23 states and international schools representing 91 countries participated in the conference. Prior to the conference, my heart pained when I researched on issues like euthanasia and police brutality. Never before my 9th grade, was I aware about such complex problems troubling our world. A feeling of responsibility to help the unfortunate dawned as I learnt more about intolerance and discrimination against religious minorities and freedom of expression, privacy and security on the internet. It was only this passion to represent the victimized people in legal forums that helped me overcome the nervousness of being the youngest in my school team and my committee. Apart from the core discussions I made many new friends from multifarious cultural backgrounds and enhanced debating and diplomatic methods to convince delegates and win their support.
All my efforts were then recognized by the committee chairs who presented me the award for Best Male Delegate of HRC. I felt ecstatic on winning this award in my first MUN conference. My mentor Mr. Arani Bakshi was elated as this was the first Best Delegate award for my school since it participated in MUN conferences. This obviously wasn’t possible without the guidance of my seniors who joined in the celebrations at school along with my school principal.




At the end of my academic year in 2011, my school provided me a second opportunity in the Human Rights Commission in the Georgetown MUN held at Georgetown school of foreign services in Qatar. This conference was a host to more than 350 students from 66 schools in 37 different countries. Along with the other 59 delegates in my committee, I discussed and participated in heated debates on the issues of migrant workers in the middle east and refugees in the region. At the end of the conference our committee heads recognized my contributions to HRC and awarded me with an Honourable Mention in the diplomatic luncheon.




Acknowledging my attempts to gain recognition for the school, the DPS MUN club selected me in the 10 delegate team to Dubai International Academy MUN after a three week school audition in March 2011.
My friends and I were extremely excited as this was the first international MUN our school had participated in. Around 416 delegates representing 28 schools from nine countries gathered at DIAMUN conference. I decided to represent the underprivileged sections of Ethiopia in the General Assembly III : Social, cultural and Humanitarian. Reading about the poverty in landlocked countries and the exploitation of natural resources in Africa, I felt it difficult to control my emotions. In consequence to the soulful debates on poverty in Ethiopia, we discussed some recent issues troubling the modern society like threats to individual security through privacy invasion and identify thefts in the virtual world.
At the end of three day conference, my committee chairs recognized my empathy with the social issues of the third world countries and presented me the award for Best Delegate of General Assembly III. This called for celebrations at my school by the principal who was pleased by the news. It was a wonderful experience to be recognized in the school function after our arrival in Qatar.




Two months later in May 2011, I got the biggest opportunity in my MUN career when my school selected me in a revised 10 delegate team for Global Classrooms International MUN (GCIMUN 2011) organised by UNA USA in New York City. We were overwhelmed by the attendance of around 2,500 delegates from 23 countries in the conference. This was a lifetime experience for my friends and I; we interacted with an extremely diverse population and felt incredible on attaining an insight into their varied family backgrounds. We were also thrilled on hearing live speeches by the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki Moon, US diplomat Susan Rice and UN foundation President Mr. Timothy E. Wirth. I was representing Bolivia in the General Assembly III (one of the largest committees in the conference). During my research on our committee issue of tackling natural disasters, I felt a great urge to highlight the bureaucratic hassles faced by disaster management corps in Bolivia. I understood that a successful leader recognizes and respects opinions different from his/her own perception. I put my leadership skills to a test involving opposing views by different delegations, and discovered that the members of my bloc were satisfied with my moderation of the debate and prompted me to be the leader of the South American bloc. At the end of the conference, the pair of delegation including my friend and I received the Honourable Mention award in the closing ceremony at the UN headquarters.




The Hague International MUN - Qatar 2011
In the November of next year, I finally got my opportunity of heading Human Rights Commission as the Deputy President at Doha College Model United Nations (DCMUN 2012). I got sentimental while writing the research reports on soul stirring topics of protection of street children, human rights crisis in Syria and defamation of religions. It was very painful to read about the problems of the victimized populations. My efforts were concentrated on encouraging debates to be as objective or unbiased as possible and making the sessions enjoyable for the first timers. A moment or two made me nostalgic of the times when I sat on the other side of the room as a delegate. My aim was to create leaders through the committee sessions by guiding the delegates about the future opportunities they could encash to create awareness about HR issues among their friends.
The Doha College organizing committee was impressed by my moderation of the debates and has selected me as the President of HRC in the upcoming conference in November 2013.
Through my MUN journey, I have gained not only the diplomatic experience or general knowledge of world issues but also an insight into the world of the poor and needy. I believe that we should always be grateful for whatever little we have and extend a hand to those who may be a little lower down the ladder. I dream to continue my support for underprivileged and be their voice at international legal forums. The true joy of life is in being the reason for smiles on the faces of the unfortunate people…




Doha College Model UN 2012 and 2013 - Student Officer
After attending these conferences, I was motivated to undertake greater responsibilities in MUN committees. Our new MUN director Ms Marie Luthra gave me the opportunity to learn about student officer positions in THIMUN Qatar 2011. Unfortunately, I couldn’t match the age requirements and later attended the conference as a delegate of Human Rights Commission. This conference helped me to learn more about the chairing responsibilities. I also actively participated in the intense debates on the Israel-Palestine issues. This conference proved to enhance my gradual transformation from a delegate to a student officer of my HRC.
