Meridian Model United Nations welcomes Academy students
17 students from grades 8 - 10 participated in the Meridian Model United Nations held from 5th - 7th October, 2018 at Meridian School. Out of the seven committees that featured in the conference, our students participated in four: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Disarmament and International Security (DISEC), Human Rights Council (HRC) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
For the grade 8 students – Nasreen Azimi, Karthik Pasham and Sujith Venkata – this was the first time that they had attended a three-day MUN conference. They were well-prepared and highly motivated since all three of them were award winners in the Academy’s MINI MUN last month. Research skills is key to becoming an effective delegate and that’s what Nasreen pointed out: “I learned that before going to any MUN you should be prepared well and you should know everything related to the agenda about your assigned country.” Her classmate Karthik received a verbal mention in the closing ceremony.
From grade 9, Anshuman Dutta represented the Democratic Republic of Congo in UNODC which discussed the misuse of drugs among youth. While Ahil Bhayani was a part of the HRC, Ayman Daredia excelled as a photojournalist and won the best photographer award at his first ever MUN as a photojournalist.
Some of the Academy’s Afghan and Tajik students from grade 10 including Aftikhar Mominzada, Salman Jumazada, Arzou Lashkari, Bahar Abbassi, Mizhgona Saidvalieva and Jamolbi Khushqadamova were delighted to grab this opportunity to debate on critical global issues such as the denuclearization of Europe and the impact on women, children and journalists in armed conflict zones.
Aftikhar, an award winner in last year’s ISHMUN conference, and having received a special mention along with Salman at the Meridian MUN, commented, “Indeed, I found out that conflicts between first world nations impact others indirectly. As a matter of fact, it was slightly challenging to come up with a holistic resolution in the committee.” Bahar, a reflective thinker, later said, “Being a delegate of a country requires a sense of great responsibility, I had to represent the given country and defend its stance. Most importantly, being a delegate of Iran in HRC helped me to know more about ongoing human rights violation for women and journalists.”
Other students of grade 10 who took part in the conference were Faiz Pabani, Pahel Lalani, Aarthi Nimma, Sai Snigda Pravallika and Aditi Ismal. Aarthi felt that she personally got to experience how MUN conferences work in other places, and they got to engage with students from other schools from various backgrounds as well. Jamolbi was appreciative of the fact that the learning experience matters more than awards. She commented, “Even though I did not get any rewards, I feel honoured to have participated in Meridian MUN because it gave me a platform to improve and develop my debating skills.”
We look forward to having our students participating in many more MUNs to come, including the Academy’s inter-school MetroMUN in December 2018.
Written by Academy MUN Coordinator, Priyodarshini Das
Photographs contributed by Ayman Daredia (grade 9) and International Press team at Meridian MUN
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