Model United Nation: How Ability to Discuss & Discourse Helps in Growth

Today’s world is full of competition where everyone should know the ability to discuss, discourse, and put their point of view and ideas in front of the world. In a sphere, where we mostly grow up being shy we should get some platform to learn these skills which are quite essential for growth and competition in the real world. In this article, we will discuss how platforms like Model United Nations and Youth Parliament help us to hone our skills to understand the political functioning and decision making in a better way. 

With the world around us advancing at a much faster pace,do we still believe that ‘Slow and steady wins the race’?Not necessary,right?We have read in our curriculum about the Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.It emphasizes on the fact ‘Survival of the fittest’.Are we really preparing our kids so that their adaptation to today’s competitive world becomes much easier?Parenting these days is getting tougher and tougher because may be it is said right that ‘Every new child born in this world is better than the previous one’.

So,this smart generation needs smart habits too to prepare them to face the world.

Our education system tends to limit the capabilities and few out of many get the chance to explore their potential. But as our 35-year-old educational system gets revised, the skill capabilities and development will take the front seat to excel in the real world. In terms of referring to the mindset of parents, every parent wants their kids to become engineer, doctor, or chartered accountant, but have you ever pondered that how many parents really wish their children to be the future leaders behind the global revolutions?

The platforms like- MUN, Youth Parliament, Moot Courts, etc. takes students towards the process and journey of decision making to influence them to become leaders in their life. The comprehensive ability to understand how the world is governed, how the political leaders exercise control over such a vast and diverse country, isn’t it cool enough to be aware of such stuff? People actively criticize the political decision makings of the world leaders but how many of them actually step in the real pit to experience the ground reality and bring the much-needed change? So, to fulfill this aid we need some platform to discourse, discuss and invent the new ways of looking towards the political changes.

A Needed Skillset: Inculcating the habit of discussion and discourse. 

If we bring kids into the limelight, in the normal course, whenever we ask them about their hobbies we can mostly expect replies which fall in a specified domain. It may generally include singing, dancing, drawing, sketching, listening to songs, engaging in certain sports like badminton, cricket, volleyball, etc.

Do you realize something after reading the previous line? We teach our kids to seek pleasure in activities that grooms them in physical terms majorly. But, we forget the fact that its high time that we teach our kids to imbibe certain habits or cultivate certain hobbies which carves a sharp mind in them as well as naturally thrusts certain qualities in our kids which makes them smarter. The habit of developing attitudes to ask questions, understand problems and talk about them in an influencing manner needs to be inculcated to help them grow in life. It is as importantly needed as other skills which we term as “Extra-Curricular”.

Discourse Platforms: Understanding Model United Nations & Youth Parliament

Model United Nation is a conference which is an imitation of how the organs of the United Nations actually functions on a global scale. It is more than just debate. Participants of Model United Nations are called delegates and they participate as representatives in different committees like United Nation Human Rights Council(UNHRC), World Health Organization(WHO), Security Council, United Nations General Assembly(UNGA), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO), United Nations Environment Assembly(UNEA), Committee on Status of Women(CSW), Economic and Financial Affairs Council(ECOFIN) and many others pertaining to find solutions to different classes of problems prevailing in the world on a global level. Moreover, people with the taste for Indian politics can go for Youth Parliament with committees like Lok Sabha, All India Political Party Meet(AIPPM), Indo-Pakistan Committee, etc. which offers you the advantage of no language barrier.

The participants are assigned delegations of different countries or are assigned different roles. An agenda is decided and informed beforehand to all the delegates. They need to research and dive deep into the set of details in reference to the background guide provided by the organizing team. On the final day of the conference, delegates of different age groups, maybe even belonging to different strata of society, having a different set of opinions do brainstorming together and find the best possible solutions for the given problem and enlists them in the form of Draft Resolution(DR). The entire conference is regulated by the Executive Board(EB) which comprises of much experienced and valued MUNers.This body aims at providing a direction to the flow of debate so that committee ultimately reaches to a potential resolution and the debate as whole yields a sweet fruit by reaching onto a consensus as a whole.

There will be a clash of opinions which may even lead to the formation of different unions in the committee. In this case, all the unions draft their own unique resolution with the best possible solutions and these resolutions are discussed as per the formal voting procedures which are predefined. The delegates are free to question and ask justifications for the listed solutions and can even get amendments done in the resolution if the committee as a whole feels the amendment to be a friendly one. All the decisions are taken strictly by the mechanism of voting which entirely depends upon the no. of delegates currently taking part in the committee. All the proceedings are carried out in a fair and just manner.

At the end of the committee, the deserving delegates are given awards like The Best Delegate, High Recommendation, Special Mentions, Verbal Mentions, and a few others. Delegates can even pen down their feedback onto the placards of their fellow delegates. These placards which merely identified different delegates in the beginning now get transformed into a token of pride and memory for them.I believe that Model United Nations is not just a ceremony or a formal debate. But, it is a platform for the initiation of change. It is a breeding place for future leaders which can bring revolution by casting their intellectual minds to build a world with healthy reformations.

Need for Multi-Dimensional Growth of Skill Sets

Model United Nation is not merely an option but is a culture which needs to be cultivated, especially in a country like ours, where our rotten education system has fixated this mentality in kids that all activities except the ones which requires you to study a bit are more liberating and fun. We need to delve deep into the concept of building smart hobbies like MUNing because it teaches kids the value of teamwork and brainstorming, sharpens their intellect and develops their critical thinking ability. Apart from this, being vocal about their thoughts and expressing them in front of fellow delegates also grooms their communication skills and makes them a confident and charming orator in a long go. On top of it, coming up with solutions that are unanimously agreed upon by the other representatives inculcates skills like negotiation, conflict resolution, and cooperation. It promotes discussion on a plethora of topics that are even considered unconventional or taboo in society. The benefits of MUN are numerous and never-ending. The world is definitely short of individuals who truly possess the vision of a leader and who initiates to transform the world around us for our posterity.

Imagine if we can build a world where we can have thought-provoking real discussions on the things that actually matter!A platform where rich or poor, young or old, black or white people can unite themselves under a common umbrella and solve the problems together! Such is the beauty of Model United Nations.

This can be a reality too. So, make it for a MUN next time, be a delegate, and raise your placards high!

The world would surely be a better place to live in.

MUN is fairly a new concept for most people. Maybe, it will push you out of your comfort zone for glorious and vital transformations. So, why stepping out of your comfort zone for a healthy change is important? Read here