DPS MUN 2008

DPSMUN  is an annual Model United Nations (MUN) conference organised by DPS RK Puram alongwith Global Classrooms. 2008 was the 5th edition of DPSMUN. You can read more about MUN here. This year it was held on 22-24 November at the India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road. So we got the invitation around July and then the Social Sciences HOD started selection for the team. She got in some interested students and gave them topics to prepare on. We kept delaying things, and finally the selection was done around September. So this event is basically a MUN conference (To know, what exactly is an MUN, head here). I had heard a lot about this but was not sure whether our school would be participating in it – I was also quite ignorant of this event till Class X, but finally my Political Science teacher told me all about this (Our school had gone for this some years back). I was slightly apprehensive at first about going, because this event needs a lot of hard work, research and good communication, speechmaking, writing and PR skills. But then I finally decided to go for it. We have to fill in choices as to which country we want (to represent), we filled the form for 2 countries but finally got only one (that too, not the one which we had asked for). We got the West African Country of Senegal. This had 4 delegates (General Assembly I, General Assembly (Plenary), Human Rights Council and Committee for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. In all, there were 10 committees. Each committee is allotted 2 topics, on which they have to discuss, debate, and then finally pass resolutions. I took General Assembly I, whose topics were Multinational Terrorist Groups and Conflict Diamonds. (See the committees and agendas here). We prepared really hard, did loads of internet research. Senegal, in the heart of Western Africa, is in the zone which is most affected by the problem of Conflict Diamonds. I had no idea (because of no past experience) that in a large committee like General Assembly, only 1 topic would be discussed and thus prepared both extensively (Later, only Multinational Terrorist Groups was discussed, after a vote was held as to which topic should be set on agenda first). You have to master the rules, make position papers, prepare speeches, read up extensively and a big fat Country Profile also has to be submitted. There are voting procedures, moderated and unmoderated caucuses. We stayed back after school, met on Sundays and finally D-Day came on 22nd. We left at around 9-30 AM but the final committee sessions started only around 3 PM. The Inauguration Ceremony was presided over by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He gave a really great speech (which you can read here). The Stein Auditorium was jam-packed and everybody was looking for good seats. After that, there was lunch, which was good. Then the committee sessions started, and there was a roll call, followed by a motion for setting the agenda for the day and then finally the speaker’s list was opened. Day 1 ended at around 5 PM. Day 2, the sessions started at around 8-30 AM and went on till around 4-30 PM. It did get a bit boring in between, but there was a crisis situation which was introduced in between, on which we had to give solutions and then pass a resolution. My committee was all about International Security and Disarmament issues, so we got a topic related to that. Day 3 – everyone was in a mood to enjoy and have fun. Then there was the closing ceremony and the Prize Distribution. All in all, it was a good experience, but it could have been conducted in a better manner (especially my committee, which had 134 delegates – the largest of them all). Though we did not win anything (we did not expect to!), it was a good to have participated. I can go on and on about this, but I will leave it here – I dont feel like writing anymore abt this, becoz its really boring!

Here are some photos:

Thats me – In the Grounds at India Habitat Centre

The Delegation of Senegal (I clicked this pic  so I am not there)

General Assembly I (Board outside the Room)

Senegal Placard on my seat

Thats the Cover Page of our Country Profile

Signing off,

Prateek