Representing the Academy at THIMUN Qatar

A few weeks ago, six of us from my class attended THIMUN (the largest Model United Nations conference in the Middle East region) 2017 in Qatar. When I first heard about how there was an MUN in Qatar being organised I was quite positive that I would not be able to go, given that I was doing IB and it was in a different country. However, as soon as I went home I started doing my research and proposed the idea to my parents. To my surprise, on the 23^rd of January I was on a flight, with the city of Doha awaiting my arrival. 

As I was on the bus with my classmates heading towards the venue of the MUN, I was extremely excited but quite nervous too. We were all aware of how different this MUN would be from the ones we are used to in terms of Rules of Procedure (ROP) and the general proceedings of the conference. I was worried that I had not prepared enough but when I arrived, seeing thousands of smiling faces, bursting with excitement made me feel welcomed. As I looked around the huge room, the first thing I noticed was the extensive diversity. Every face appeared as though it was from a different nation.

As my classmates and I were all in different committees, I was slightly anxious but this only increased my willingness to go and start conversations with people. Listening to all these stories from various cultures circulating around one room was an amazing learning experience and I was introduced to several new thoughts. Our first day revolved around mainly getting to know each other and formulating blocs. The next day was when the crux of the conference began – designing resolutions. All the blocs had one main submitter that had to propose and present a resolution on the given topics (ours being ‘Combating plastic in oceans’). I was the main submitter of my bloc which forced me into thoroughly researching and thinking about the topic. This was a very important learning experience for me as it helped me completely comprehending the format and structure of a resolution, as well as the difference between a good resolution and a bad one.

Over the three days, we all proposed various solutions and collectively came together, striving towards one goal. This MUN was an exceptional experience as I learnt so much about so much. My newly acquired knowledge did not merely revolve around my agenda (although this was a major part of it), but I learnt so much more. I was exposed to so many diverse cultures and was even taught some phrases in various languages. Overall, THIMUN was an extraordinary experience and is a memory that will stay with me forever.

- Zia Chapman, grade 11