The Indian School hosts MUN (Model United Nations 2019)

MUN is a big event on the calendar of The Indian School. MUN involves and teaches participants speaking, debating and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities. It is meant to engage students and allow them to develop deeper understanding of current world issues.

The Indianite MUN 2019, a simulation of the United Nations' Conference, marked its beginning with a solemn opening ceremony on 8 August, 2019. Ms Sangita Verma, HOD Social Science, declared the conference open.

The Model United Nations took place over a span of two days, 8th and 9th of August 2019. The two-day session consisted of seven committees namely - NSC, AIPPM, UNHRC, UNSC, IPC, UNGA and UEFA. Each committee witnessed mass participation of students from classes IX to XII. The Organising Committee consisted of the Secretary General (Jahnnobi Roy), Deputy Secretary General (Sai Pratyaksh Epari), Director General (Ifrah Ali), Director USG (Yuvraj Kapoor), USG Delegate Affairs (Anisha Gupta), USG IT (Yash Lamba), USG Media (Yajush Vyas), USG Logistics (Divij Bhargawa) and the Conference Staff Manager (Shivinder S. Bahl).

As for the Executive Board, the alumni of our School were named the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the committees. UNGA-Satwik Mitra (Chairperson), Jahnnobi Roy (Rapporteur) UNHRC-Parth Kapoor (Chairperson), Sirjan Kaur (Vice Chairperson), Ifrah Ali (Rapporteur) AIPPM-Onkar Mehra (Chairperson), Akshat Sharma (Chairperson), Aryan Seth (Rapporteur) UEFA-Utkarsh Pandey (Chairperson), Tanmaye Kohli (Vice Chairperson), Yuvraj Kapoor (Rapporteur) NSC-Abhimanyu Marwah (Chairperson), Jai Adlakha (Vice Chairperson), Sai Pratyaksh Epari (Rapporteur) UNSC-Avantika Chodha (Chairperson), Jatin Gupta (Vice Chairperson), Lakshay Gupta (Rapporteur) IP-Soumyaa Agarwal (Head of IPC), Mehar Saxena (Editor-in-Chief)

TheNational Security Council or NSC was a continuous crisis committee. Its agenda was the de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, with constant updates from the Prime Minister. Whether it was a terror bombing or a nuclear submarine in territorial waters, the delegates were never truly at rest. With each incoming update they could feel the blood rushing through their veins as they sat down to solve the crisis. This committee was a fast paced one where the Executive Board managed to keep it interesting and never let it go dull.

The agendas for All India Political Parties' Meet (AIPPM) were: 1) Discussing the demolition of the Babri Masjid 2) The Need for Caste based Reservations in the 21st century. The committee consisted of students representing various prominent political leaders of the country. It was a wonderful example of how the political structure works in our country.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) committee had two agendas- Contemporary forms of slavery and atrocities faced by the LGBTQ+ communities. The committee passed a well-thought resolution to prevent and curb acts of slavery. The draft resolution for LGBTQ communities' rights was taken up in a press release. This committee was found truly informative and exciting by the students.

United Nations Security Council had an agenda on the cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran with special emphasis on the Yemen crisis. Delegates laid allegations on each other for either supporting the Houthi Rebels in Yemen or funding countries like Saudi Arabia by the USA. On the first day the main focus was on the Yemen crisis while on the second day the main focus shifted to the cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. At the end two Draft Resolutions were presented. Finally, the draft resolution which was supported by a majority of the delegates was accepted.

In theUEFA, students had an opportunity to understand the problems faced in the area of football. The agendas discussed in the committee were - Racism and Sexism prevailing in football and a Discussion on the Transfer Window. Steps were taken to counter the racist comments made by fans in football stadia. There were discussions on violations by clubs like Chelsea and measures were adopted to improve the Transfer Window. The participating delegates here were mostly hardcore football fans and came with good experience on the committee.

The agenda of the United Nations General Assembly Committee focused upon Reformation and Restructuring of the United Nations Security Council. Students were allotted different countries including the P5 and G4 Nations. The delegates made strong allegations and gave clear stances even whilst observing every diplomatic decorum. This made the debate even more engaging. At the end, the discussions led to solutions for the problem, forming four draft resolutions in total. This committee helped the students understand the structure and workings of both the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations through continuous and structured debate.

The International Press Corps were the eyes and ears of this MUN. The reporters, journalists and caricaturists endeavoured to bring out each and every aspect of the debate in their work. Be it articles on LGBTQ+ rights or the political alliances of the AIPPM committees, the Press worked efficiently to provide the best and the choicest news to the public. A Tumblr blog was also updated regularly by the Press on the public forum. Overall, the delegates made it a success through their best efforts.

Moreover, the conference staff members played an essential role in helping the delegates and the committees function smoothly without any disturbance. All the committees were fruitful, finding effective solutions for their agendas which were voted upon after much deliberation and discussions.

The last day of this MUN concluded with the award ceremony. Delegates received Verbal Mention, Special Mention, High Commendation and Best Delegate awards. Jahnnobi Roy, Secretary General, addressed the gathering and called the chairpersons of the different committees to share their experiences. All the committee chairpersons were thanked for their precious time for the Indianite MUN 2019. The closing ceremony saw a beautiful musical performance by the conference staff managers, Shivinder S Bahl and Anmol Gandhi.

Finally the conference was declared closed by Jahnnobi Roy, Secretary General as everyone dispersed, armed with lots of new knowledge, perspectives and motivation to do even better next time!

Surveen Kaur 10-E) and Jahnobi Roy (12-D)

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