The E3 Summit this September is a global event; it’s expected to host hundreds of students from around the world. With a huge range of speakers and topics, it is set to be an exciting three days.
Students will be focussing on things in relation to the “3 E’s”: Earth, Economy, Equity. Each “E” bears a heavy and generalised load, so speakers will break it down over the event. But what happens after everything’s been said? The Sandbox and Dolphin Pool aim to solve that problem.
Ayomide Ajakaiye is in her freshman year at college in the United States. She likes fantasy novels, plays three sports and helps run her school’s Afro-American Affinity group. In Canada, 18-year-old Canran Xue directs campaigns, such as Orange Shirt Day, in her spare time. She studies commerce at the University of Toronto.
The girls live miles apart, but share three things; a busy lifestyle, a passion for social change, and a love for all things MUN. This year, they share the role of deputy secretary general for the Sandbox and Dolphin Pool events, along with American student Zoey Fisher.
If you’ve no idea what the E3 Summit is, here’s your rundown. Over three consecutive days, guest speakers will host sessions (think TEDTalks) of around an hour on all numbers of topics, each of which’ll tie in to the three E’s and its related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “We’ll have people from the UN to Youth Leaders” says Ayomide. “And on the theme? [The Summit Team] wanted to focus on what’s relevant right now.”
The Sandbox and Dolphin Pool. No, not in the literal sense (though I wouldn’t mind a swim with dolphins) but in a collaborative sense. Each event provides attendees the tools and space for them to take those three E’s and apply them; Create initiatives, project plan, and so on.
“It’s basically an interactive event” says Canran. “People get to discuss the connected SDGs and make a plan.”
The plan in question is up to you; look at the related SDGs and figure out which one you’re the most passionate about. You’ll spend the session with other attendees passionate about the same thing, discussing how you could affect change in relation to that SDG. Ayomide, Canran and Zoey will be there to help you out.
“The Dolphin Pool is the culmination of everyone’s work” Ayomide says. Here, you take your ideas and present them to an expert panel, while “around 300 people” will be watching, says Canran. If you’re idea is solid enough, there’s a chance you could implement it, and the panel will tell you if that’s the case so go hard, and try your best. “It’s like Shark Tank, but friendlier” Ayomide jokes.
The girls discussed that the Sandbox and Dolphin Pool events are learning curves for them, too. Ayomide says they “take things from the last summit, build on them and grow with them”, learning about what works in a collaborative space and what doesn’t with every event.
The girls and the wider E3 team understand that events like these can be a little overwhelming, especially if its your first one. They encourage you not to worry, Canran saying “once people get comfortable … they share and discuss more.”
Should you get involved in a summit, or in other MUN events? Both Ayomide and Canran say yes. “It’s just amazing to see just how diverse the sessions are” says Canran. “And if English isn’t your first language, don’t worry! Everyone’s understanding.”
“I really liked the experiences in the past” she says. “That’s why I’m here again.”
In 1994, a young girl from a small town began college. She got involved in clubs and school boards, entered speech competitions, and stood up for what was right.
In 2016, she became New Zealand’s Prime Minister.
Jacinda Ardern has taken on more than most in her role as PM. She’s been praised for her handling of the pandemic, and stands out as one of the world’s most capable leaders. Her success is commendable, and much deserved, as her position is the result of years of work and determination. She had the odds against her, as a young person from a small provincial town, but she defied those odds and now stands victorious.
Ardern didn’t land her role overnight. But she goes to show that anyone can become a leader. Here’s how she did it, and how you can use her story to find your own way to leadership.
One of the traits most shared by world leaders is their ability to impact others. Sometimes it’s in an adverse way (Think Donald Trump’s clever use of the media) and sometimes in a positive one. The skills and traits leaders wield to affect people include public speaking, compassion and charisma.
Ardern began her high school career at Morrinsville College in 1994. There she entered speech competitions, joined debate teams and participated in writing competitions. These helped her to become a strong speaker and showed her how to handle pressure in a public environment.
This leads us to our first tip: Join lots of clubs. Make it a goal to sign up to as many clubs as your schedule allows. Things like debating and speech competitions are great, but so is the student council, enviro clubs and (of course) any Model UN groups around. All these groups specialise in advocacy and creating change, to some degree.
Why join lots and not just one of two? (so long as you don’t burn yourself out – know you limits!) Simple. The more bases you cover, the more skills you’ll pick up and the more people you’ll meet, leading on to our next tip.
Looking back at Ardern’s life, she stood as class rep on the school board for two years. She also worked at a local fish ‘n’ chips shop (common around the country). Great leaders don’t stay within their safe space. Great leaders are willing to go out into the world and learn about it; in short, great leaders get involved outside.
Outside of your normal space of school and home. Try taking up a part-time job. These teach you several things, like communication, patience and teamwork, while exposing you to the world in a way your student-self hasn’t seen before. Yo could also try for roles on your school board, like Ardern, where you deal with trustees and charities, and make vital decisions for the good of the institution. There are higher risks in taking up community roles, but that is simply the cost of leadership power.
The last and (in my opinion) most advantageous tip is to build connections. This essentially means to make friends in business. By engaging in your school and outer community, you’re doing this already, but don’t stop there. Create a business profile on platforms like LinkedIn and contact people in the industry you wish to pursue (It sounds scary, but you’ll thank yourself later!)
I’ll share a story of my own. I attended a course online, where I met a group of amazing women like myself. I kept in contact with them through a group chat, and one day, somebody sent me an application link for a reporting job.
That’s how I got my role as a reporter for MUN Impact, and how I got to writing this article. Connections matter. Get them!
Ardern’s story serves as a great blueprint for others, like you and I, who want the power to make a change in the world. Leadership is a quality which one must develop; it is not innate and cannot be bought. Anyone can become a leader, but it takes some determination.
BY CHANDRASNATA MOHANTY, HEAD OF PRESS, 100K DEEDS CHALLENGE
Last July, MUN Impact launched its first virtual Global Summit. At its inception, we had no idea how successful our little experiment would turn out to be. But thanks to the numerous student presenters, UN-affiliated speakers, and passionate changemakers, the Summit went exceptionally well. After this experimental summit, the October summit came with a bang and exceeded all expectations! Students from all corners of the world attended the summit and participated in its various strands, namely – the Inspiration strand, the Sandbox strand and the Dolphin Pool. Now, if you’ve been a part of our previous summit, here’s some good news for you. We at MUN Impact are back with another Summit! Yes! You’ve read it right.
The Global Summit 3.0 will be held from 3rd to 5th September 2021, and as the article title suggests, will focus on three areas: Earth, Economy and Equity. This will be a three-day free event like the previous summits. If you’re wondering what’s different this time, the conference Secretary Generals, Ananya Balakrishnan and Vedant Kulkarni, let us in on some insider stuff.
“Past summit (Global Summit 2.0) was indeed a success with over 2500 students and introduction of sandbox strands and dolphin pools. The component that we felt was lacking was giving students the access to hear out a group of leaders from various organizations/constituencies discussing and presenting views on a common topic. We called this opportunity as Forums. As our 3 days have been divided as Earth, Economy and Equity, we will have 3 forums (one on each day) to discuss topics such as youth engagement on climate change, youth innovation, and equity to healthcare. Students will have the opportunity to then possibly interact with the leaders to discuss action plans and further opportunities. There will be a 4th Open Forum to further discuss topics that interest people and society today to derive tangible outcomes in the near future.
Stay tuned for more details and specific agendas for the forums, and we are sure that this will be an exceptional opportunity for those who’ll be there.”
Regular schooling and even the typical extracurricular activities have a limited range of experiences to offer today’s youth – especially the middle school to university level students. The substantial exposure to high-level advocacy, diplomacy and an opportunity to connect with the larger ‘real world’ can be best offered via an event like the E3 summit.
We implore each student to get introduced to these experiences to think, plan and work for a better world (by advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals) with a community of similar goal orientation. This summit would not only allow you to learn from accomplished people but also allow bringing your innovative ideas into reality – receiving feedback on them by directors of different organisations and successful youth leaders – makes this whole effort worthwhile and exceptional. In short, Global Summit offers a range of opportunities to give you an enriching experience to unleash the ‘locked potential’ and make it worth your while.
The MUNI Global Summits are always a hub for individuals who want to make change in the communities around them– that much is a given, and has always (and will always!) been one. That said, so many different people bring unique perspectives to the table. This means that participants can push their thinking farther and farther, learning more about issues they were already familiar with as they go. The diversity of our workshops means that participants can engage with issues they’re completely unfamiliar with as well, and so can learn more there too. Both of these have numerous benefits– while people are of course able to develop their own ideas, they’re also able to gain insight – and be exposed to numerous viewpoints – into different areas.
” Changemaking comes,first and foremost, from the development of ideas. The Summit serves not only as a hub for people to discuss different issues in order to develop their ideas, but as a place where people are able to use what they’ve learned to create projects and start initiatives. The past couple of summits have been very intentionally designed with that in mind, which is where the SDG Sandboxes and Dolphin Pools come into play. By taking advantage of those, participants can reflect on what they’ve learned in order to come up with effective solutions to the problems they see in their communities and around the world”, remarksCo-Secretary General, Ananya Balakrishnan.
Through our efforts, we are opening new doors of opportunities for each person who will participate in this summit somehow. While some students leave with a sparkling idea to solve a problem in their daily life, other participants would end up networking with a UN official or making new friends from various corners of the world! “Some could get involved with the amazing work of our partner organizations, while some participants would have a better understanding of a global issue. For organizations that present at our workshops, they get introduced to hundreds and thousands of youth activists to introduce their services! For the student leaders involved in the organisation of this summit, there’s a completely different plethora of life experiences that they go through. This is the kind of IMPACT that we look forward to through our E³ Summit,” explains conference Co-Secretary General, Vedant Kulkarni.
From fine plenaries, various SDG workshops to the interactive sandbox and dolphin pool sessions and exciting social hours, we provide today’s youth a platform to join this revolution of ‘Impact making’ by providing them with an opening to connect with like-minded people, to interact with accomplished thought-leaders and to utilize the opportunity to test their ‘wild ideas’.
Students at Sagesse High School, one of our partner schools, designed a presentation on SDG 10. They engaged over 60 students in fruitful, insightful and important dialogue. In the following article, members and organizers describe their thoughts about the event. ______ Our team at SHSMUN has joined MUN Impact for the MENA region. As part of MUN Impact’s activities, SHSMUNers prepared a workshop about one of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Our team picked SDG #10, which focused on Reduced Inequalities. This SDG consists of working to reduce economic, racial, and social inequalities, among others. On Saturday, January 9th, our senior students George Andrea, Joseph Choefati, and John Bou Harb gave the workshop on this topic.
Around 60 students from different grade levels attended. The workshop also included a video of several of our students giving speeches about different types of inequality, which was prepared by Johnny Saad.
The workshop ended with a Q&A session where the attendees asked the presenters different questions regarding SDG #10. The students raised interesting points and highlighted key issues in their questions, which sparked meaningful discussions about gender inequality, economic inequality, and even educational inequality and its relevance to the current pandemic.
The workshop was indeed fruitful and beneficial to everyone involved, and we aim to organize more virtual events like this!
-By V.E.
Some Reflections:
Today we talked about the SDG 10. The presenters were approachable and inviting as they opened debate while explaining, and used many different students opinions in order to make the presentation interesting.
The videos in my opinion would have been better if a discussion was replaced live with students (which is unfortunately not possible due to the pandemic). The presentation tackled important and negotiable ideas and points that created a debate in the Q&A at the end. I would have preferred if the Q&A session was longer as it was the best part of the entire session. All in all it was a nice presentation especially at the end. -P.M.
The workshop was very informative and very interesting. We should definitely do more workshops like this in the future and make them longer to let the delegates engage more and give their opinions. It doesn’t have to be about the SDG it can be about many controversial topics which will really make it fun for everyone.
-Y.S.
The workshop was done in a very creative manner in terms of how the participants were involved, such as the Q&A session, the videos etc. This was crucial in order to increase the interaction and attention of the audience .
-A.T.
Today’s workshop tackled many problems we face today, despite all the progress that has been made over the years. The senior MUNers made sure to go into details and responded quite impressively when the Q and A part came around. In addition to the above, they had a clear picture for the new comers, giving them a clear image of what topics are really debated and talked about in the real world. Lastly, it was clear that they put effort into the animation part where they made a video of students speaking about the topic. Grabbing the attention of all delegates in such a clever, but easy way. -A.Z.
As the MUN Impact Global Choir’s rendition of High Hopes by Panic! At the Disco commences, viewers are enthusiastically greeted by eleven students from all over the world singing their hearts out. In the video, a symphony of optimistic voices fills the air as they twirl together into an upbeat melody filled with promise while images of people protesting for the Black Lives Matter movement and volunteers picking up empty plastic bottles are displayed. After the song ends, the voices and images resonate with viewers as an encouraging message of “High Hopes” for the future is broadcasted.
The global choir, composed of eleven students -Gladys, Hugh, Canran, Lois, Nicole, William, Jana, Ayomide, Nikharika, and Gracia- was originally a project with the goal of bringing positivity into a year characterized by bleakness and hopelessness. With hours of preparation from the students and their mentors, Andrew Newman and Taylor Pietz, on October 23rd, 2020, these eleven students debuted as MUN Impact’s premier Global Choir. Representing 10/11 countries from around the world, the choir successfully achieved its overall goal of belting out the messages of unity, positivity, and confidence into the MUN Impact Global Summit 2.0.
The origins of the MUN Impact Global Choir stem from Andrew Newman, a MUN director from John Burroughs School in St. Louis, Missouri, who came up with the idea of a virtual MUN Impact choir after seeing his first virtual choir while sheltering in place because of COVID-19. Newman recalls being blown away by its beauty, and even though he “understood immediately how challenging it must be to coordinate,” he thought that “the music was so inspirational and hopeful and [he] immediately thought of the work MUN Impact was doing and what a powerful message it would be for students to perform in their own virtual choir.” He knew that he wanted to cover the song, High Hopes, by Panic! At the Disco because he thought that “the words fit into the mission at MUN Impact; we have high hopes for the future of our planet and we have a vision to solve global issues and we are ALWAYS shooting for the stars with all of our ideas and programs that we create.”
With this idea of a virtual choir and the song High Hopes in mind, Newman took to the MUN Impact Slack App channel and put out a call for students to join the choir if they enjoyed singing or had any past music experience. Many students replied, and Newman and Pietz discovered that they had a wide range of talents before them, as Newman comments that “the range of talent and the fact that the choir comes from all over the world is what makes it so special.”
Having made a successful virtual choir in her own school, John Burroughs, Taylor Pietz took this experience with her into the Global Choir when Newman asked for her help. Pietz, who had not been involved with MUN before joining this project, found herself “impressed with [the choir participants’] level of professionalism and dedication” towards the program. Being a fully virtual choir composed of students from different countries provided some new challenges for Pietz as she “really had to stop and make sure that what I [Pietz] was teaching made sense” to all of the participants. Her lack of experience did not prevent her from putting her best effort into the choir, and ultimately seeing students of a variety of different nationalities, all with huge passions for MUN, was very inspiring for her.
Given her previous experience singing at her church choir, Gladys Sophia, a choir participant from India was thrilled to join Newman and Pietz’s new enterprise. In no short time, the melody of High Hopes could be heard blaring from her TV as Sophia, with help from her older sister, Gracia, spent hours running through the song “because we wanted to get each and every lyric clear…So we had to practice it and keep on practicing.”
Sophia’s amazing work ethic and devotion to the choir can, in some respects, be accredited to the phenomenal training she had received as a MUN@HOME delegate. She recalls participating in some of their first sessions, where she was asked to think critically about matters such as gender equality. These discussions, starting in MUN@HOME debates slowly translated into actual action with the choir. “We’re basically showcasing that we [the youth] in the future can make the world a better place. And that song also showcases that.” She also felt the diversity of the choir helped contribute to this message. Before joining MUN Impact, she “never knew anybody who was diverse.” That being so, she realized that for her, this was more than singing, but an opportunity to learn and experience different cultures while making an impact.
Similar to Gladys, William Weston, a choir member and a MUN Impact European diplomat from England, believed that diversity was a major strength of the choir. In his city of Manchester, William enjoys friendships with students from diverse backgrounds, however, he feels like it is completely different “to be in contact and working with people from all around the world.” For William, this diversity, paired with the youthful exuberance of the members, “left everyone who watched [the Global Choir’s video] with some inspiration to go out there and…try to make the world a better place.”
Though not every viewer of the Global Choir’s debut video speaks English, the song’s overall message was still clearly felt by the MUN Impact community as many still resonated with the optimism of the choir. Annemarie Hou, the Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the Senior Communications Adviser in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General at United Nations, felt impacted by the voices of the choir as she stated: “Wow, that music is so inspiring and gives me very high hopes. One of my bosses, the deputy secretary general, often says to us: we need a symphony where everyone sings together otherwise we risk a cacophony. And I can tell you definitely that this is a symphony, which is what Model UN is really about- coming together to think about the wonderful mission of the UN.”
The positive impact of the video was not only felt by Hou, but also by the overall MUN community and Andrew Newman recalled that participants of the choir felt “proud to be in the virtual choir and are asking when the next song will be chosen and they can sing again.” He also observed that “many new MUN Impact participants reached out and expressed their joy in knowing there is a choir and how they would love to join. We have also heard accolades from the UN and MUN community who are so impressed with the choir and the choice of music. “What a perfect song for you all to sing”, is what we have heard the most.”
The overall impact and message of the choir and the song, High Hopes, ties into MUN’s mission of the voice of youth expressing their views on global issues, since the choir is, according to Newman, “a new platform from which to speak/sing out to share our message.” It weaves together with MUN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as Newman phrases that “…the coming together of this group to form the choir, sharing a passion for music, is all about SDG 4 because we are educating each other through music. SDG 3 as well because our music makes people smile and be happy and we all know those feelings of joy and happiness make us healthier….like how laughter is good for you, music can be as well.” Thus, the MUN Global Choir truly highlights the core values of MUN and unleashes a language of hopefulness we all are in need of in 2020.
Will we ever reach a point in our society where gender equality actually and universally exists? Many times our solutions inevitably create more problems. I, Neo Mokhakala, believe that there is a need to eradicate all forms of discrimination against females; however it is alarming that our desire to do so has become a quest to destroy the other gender. It makes me wonder if it is even possible to achieve SDG 5 and build a society where men and women live at peace without fighting for power. Experts predict that our quest to fight for gender equality might lead to what is called “War of the Genders.” Our cause has, in fact, often focused on “dethroning” men, and not the actual problem.
This and many other reasons inspired me to create an SDG 5 Socratic Seminar where males and females were brought in to give their opinions about how we can collectively implement SDG 5. This was held on Thursday, 5th November 2020 at the National University of Lesotho. The panelists who spoke for and against the motion for the day were the law students of the institution. And the motion was:
“Advocacy for Women’s Rights has Turned into The Emancipation Of Women by Diminishing the Rights Of Men. True or False?”
The males on the panel were quick to indicate that it is impossible to have gender equality in our society if we do not include men in our conversation. Many times, our society is quick to categorize ALL MEN as oppressors. They did, however, also point out that it is a moral obligation to help the women who do suffer and are oppressed.
The key points brought up in this seminar were that:
In order for gender equality to actually make significant strides, men need to be brought into these kinds of conversations. Women cannot continue to think that they can do it by themselves without the active participation of men. When men are excluded from such discussions, we end up in a situation where men erroneously feel as if their rights are somehow being diminished.
The fight for gender equality has been severely misunderstood by not only men, but women as well. Most feel like it has been reduced to a mere “male-bashing protest”, even though that was never the intention when this movement initially began.
Unfortunately, some feminists have done more harm than good in this regard.
Going forward then, it becomes imperative that both genders come to the realization that the freedom of one does not in any way translate into the oppression of the other. Thus, in addition to “de-victimizing” young girls, young boys also need to be “detoxified,” because at the end of the day it is abundantly clear that both genders have suffered under the patriarchal system that we currently live under.
In conclusion, the seminar taught all the participants that in order to achieve gender equality both genders need to stop fighting and being defensive. The concept of privilege was made apparent during the debate. We fail to see how the fight affects both genders. It is evident that patriarchy is the greatest hindrance for gender equality and is detrimental to both men and women. In order to move forward we need to “de-toxify” men and de-victimize women. A huge thank you to the National University of Lesotho for facilitating this event!
Amrita Giridhar, a grade nine student of American International School, Chennai, presented this workshop highlighting the important aspects of organising a project for the upliftment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She is a part of the leadership team at the MUN Impact club in Chennai. As the title of the workshop aptly speaks, Amrita brought out the importance of collaboration and working to achieve one SDG at a time.
MUN is a highly effective tool to get involved with global problem solving. But, how to put those solutions into action? That’s when organising projects comes into play.
Amrita talked about several activities one could get involved with. Awareness campaigns are instruments which involve educating the community about global issues, making posters and brochures to spread awareness about the targeted issue. The goal is to ensure maximum engagement. MUN Impact Chennai organised a project called ‘Yes Food: No Poverty targeting SDG 1: No Poverty & SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Service activities could be long-term activities such as fundraising events and welfare programs. Our club at Chennai in association with the Teach For India organisation taught kids of financially backward families to debate and instilled confidence in them. Short-term service activities include organising a charity drive such as distributing food, stationery, etc. In one of their charity drives, the club got a chance to talk to women of an NGO called Kranti Organisation which rescues girls from Red Light areas. They even organised a lapathon which involved donating a few dollars for every lap one runs. Interactive activities involve the whole community working together for a cause. This incorporates SDG 17: Partnering for the goals.
Amrita added that outlining goals for your project is crucial for it to become successful and make an impact. She also pointed out that working with local NGOs turns out to be a very effective method to ensure maximum engagement. However, it is important to note the NGO’s relation to your project as well as question the alignment of interests of both parties. It is also necessary to have good communication with the NGO as well as have a project proposal ready beforehand.
Next followed a highly interactive activity where participants were assigned breakout rooms to create their own project! They were given ten minutes to plan the project. One of the groups planned on organising a fundraising debate to address food scarcity, while the other group planned to assist displaced people by organising a yard sale.
She brought out the importance of planning by creating action plans and check-lists in order to achieve desired results. Communication within a team is important for the project to be a successful one.
The workshop called its participants to take action in order to achieve the SDGs. Check out MUN Impact Chennai’s website for more information. The full recording of this session can be accessed here.
As one of the Model UN conferences which enjoys a “highly recommended” status from the THIMUN Advisory Board, Taipei American School Model United Nations, or TASMUN, is truly a force to be reckoned with. And for good reason, as can be seen from their innovative methods to integrate the UN Sustainable Development Goals in all aspects of the conference. Little do they know that they are setting a global example and reigning in a new era of MUN activism.
In conversation with Brian Lain, who has served as a Secretary-General for TASMUN, participants were able to leave the session inspired by recent initiatives and ideas of the TASMUN Secretariat. For Brian, the values of MUN go beyond so much more than the common perceptions surrounding it: “it makes you more globally aware”, serves as a chance to “make friends,” and of course, “improve your public speaking skills.” Whilst these are in no way wrong, MUN is about capturing the real essence of the UN. And what better way to achieve this, than by looking to the SDGs. Brian revealed that after his visit to the UN General Assembly a few years ago, he began to really give thought to the importance of the SDGs in MUN conferences. He admitted that his vision was to “not just to train people, but to equip people with the tools and the skills they need to contribute to the SDGs.” And after TASMUN students headed to Qatar to participate in the creation of MUN Impact, there was no looking back. Since 2018, the SDGs have then fused with the spirit of TASMUN, resulting in a synergy which has powered student efforts for the goals forward.
The SDGs first made their appearance in TASMUN through the creation of specific goal-related committees, in place of the orthodox UN committees we are familiar with. As discussed in the session, these SDG-focused committees would serve to be an effective way to raise awareness in participating delegates. However, participants also pointed out potential drawbacks, with delegates facing the difficulty of coming up with ideas that would actually make an impact in the world or the focus on entire SDGs being too large in scope due to the existence of a wide range of targets. Moreover, Brian pointed out another TASMUN initiative put in place to promote engagement with the SDGs: Impact Hour. With its intentions to stimulate delegates’ interests in the SDGs and inspire them “to take another set forward,” this involved reserving the last hour of the conference to facilitate group discussions with regards to the MUN Impact worksheet.
Additionally, in 2019, TASMUN launched the first Global Goals Challenge to encourage students from several schools to share their projects regarding the SDGs. A video on one such remarkable project by TAS students was shared with attendees during the session. The International Genetically Engineered Machine (IGEM) competition group from the school used synthetic biology, working with proteins to identify heavy metal and pesticides in agricultural residues. In truth, this project engages with SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure), and 12 (Sustainable consumption); the students used this project to inform and educate producers, distributors and consumers about the impact of agricultural residues. As Brian noted, this is one of many outstanding efforts which showed “how student projects in and out of class can really have an actual impact.”
The session was strongly focused on participant input with active discussion about TASMUN’s past experimental initiatives. Similarly, it can be said that this is what is needed to advance the SDG effort. Whilst these goals appear quite far from reach, they are ever-relevant. Brian’s words resonated throughout the session in that the UN cannot achieve the SDGs alone; “they need the help of civil society — of individuals.” And as global citizens, Brian believes that it is our responsibility to “amplify some voices” and do our best to fight for a better future. TASMUN has come a long way in its contribution to the SDG effort, and it continues to grow in the hands of passionate student leaders like Brian. In attending this session about TASMUN’s journey, participants were able to walk away with new-found inspiration, and more importantly, the revelation that Model UN is more than just debate. Rather, it involves a higher degree of activism and altruism.
Omayma Cherkaoui is a high school freshman who truly believes that anyone who works on improving their leadership skills and knowledge, undoubtedly has the potential to be a competent and successful leader. Throughout her high school years, she has embarked on a long leadership journey to find out answers to the different questions about leadership that she has always wanted to find out. In her workshop, she talks about her journey as a leader, how she pushed herself out her “comfort – zone “, skills that can be acquired from Model United Nations and her learning experiences, with special emphasis on SDG 11. Her inspiring words left all the participants in awe and with a desire to better themselves as future leaders.
Omayma was a naturally ambitious and inquisitive individual from quite a young age. She was always interested in all sorts of activities and would always try to put her best in it. The fact that she was Generation Z has a strong influence on her and she was inspired by leaders and eminent personalities, about whom she read online. She had a flame ignited in her heart as she always asked herself “why can’t I be there?” or “if they can be there, why can’t it be ME?” This attitude drove her to grab all the leadership opportunities in her way and potential risks. She was a dreamer, but at a point she realised that dreaming without action is pointless and felt the need of change.
She categorises her leadership journey into 3 categories, namely, school leadership, MUN leadership and online leadership.
She was a member of the student council of her school, and though there were trials, it truly opened her eyes and gave her very important required experience, which she calls an important aspect in leadership. She also went on to become the head girl of her school in the last year of her high school. She served as the vice-president of her MUN Club of her school, before which she was a communication officer and this was where the ambition kicked in, teaching her the power of mentorship. She describes online leadership as very important as many initiatives require proper guidance and even though one may not have the desired opportunities in their school or community, they can always turn to the internet. Again, perks of being Gen Z!
As a lover of literature, she was inspired by the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and that is how she names her workshop “The road less travelled by”. She explains the meaning of the road less traveled by as our own unique journey as an individual when we push ourselves out of our comfort-zones, in spite of all the doubts we have, and test our true limits and view life through a creative lens which is none other our own perspective rather than the world’s methods.
“I would highly advise everyone to go for the road less traveled by, but on your own terms and your definition”.
She reiterates SDG 11 as the most important SDG which is Sustainable Cities and Communities. She justifies her statement by sharing related statistics and discusses the problems that would follow including climate change and congestion, unemployment, education and housing.
She conducts an activity among the participants to prove how all the SDGs are related and by achieving one the remaining would follow.
This interests all our participants and the next moment the chat box was flooded with responses!
“To advance our progress in SDG 11 we need competent and emotionally intelligent leaders in every sector!”, she quotes and explains that just getting the job done and we’ll need to be empathetic. “Empathy is a very prized quality”.
She shares valuable tips with us on how to plan, make teams and be prepared for every thing that comes in our way. She exemplifies the idea of ‘Think Global, Act Local’, while starting an organisation or initiative. After all, it starts with small steps! “MUN Impact is a great example, we have representatives, who act local, making an impact in their own communities and we have people from different countries all doing that and together, it becomes global.” She asks the participants to make good use of the internet in the process. “There are different strategies like marketing and logistics, but make sure you first start local and eventually it becomes global.”
She introduces the concept of ‘Ikigai ‘ which means a ‘reason for being’ and in order to reach that, passion, profession, vocation and mission are the essential elements. She also entreats to identify strengths and work on enhancing them. One way to do so would be taking the VIA Test which is a free test introduced by the VIA Institute led by Psychologists and Researchers. Capitalising strengths and working on the “C” strengths; which stand for creativity, communication and critical thinking; from Model United Nations would be the most valuable qualities on your leadership journey.
As we come to the end of the session, Omayma quotes Simon Sinek, “Infinite-minded leaders understand that “best” is not a permanent state. Instead, they strive to be “better.” “Better” suggests a journey of constant improvement and makes us feel like we are being invited to contribute our talents and energies to make progress in that journey” and leaves the audience motivated to walk their unique leadership journey helping the community.
Missed the session? No problem! Watch the complete session on YouTube by clicking here.
The lockdowns imposed in many countries around the world in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic led to lots of people finding new ways to occupy their time. For some it was learning a new language, for others it was participating in online events, however, for Rocco, an avid MUNer and soccer fan, and Cassidy, a keen and competitive debater, it was founding a student-run news organization. No Cap News (NCN) creates factual and non-partisan coverage in an aim to combat the dangerous misinformation spread on social media and to try to keep today’s youth informed of current events, whilst not swaying their political opinions.
The Los Angeles based duo, along with their international team of volunteer writers, editors, and managers, create digestible and concise content in an attempt to make current affairs as accessible as possible. One unique project the NCN team have been working on is the COVID-19 updates that they release daily on social media. In addition, the team are currently working on an app in order to make access to unbiased news even easier.
It is the unbiased nature of NCN which makes them so unique, as every NCN story tells multiple perspectives on Political matters, not just one. In several countries, such as the US and India, there has been a huge increase in political polarization in recent years. Rocco explained that this has had an impact on news coverage of political events, as an increasing number of broadcasters litter their news reports with political rhetoric. Additionally, there has been a large increase in misinformation in social media, including during the 2016 US Election and the Brexit Referendum in the UK. Furthermore, Rocco emphasized the need to get the youth, in particular, engaged in politics as more than 45% of eligible voters did not vote in the 2016 US Election, a large amount of whom were under 25.
Since March 2020, when NCN was founded, the organization has grown to reach over 115,000 readers in more than 15 countries. Therefore, creating a global community, which Rocco liked to MUN Impact. Also similar to MUN Impact, are the core values of No Cap News which can be linked closely to the SDGs, in particular SDG 4 (Quality Education) and Target 4.7 (Education for sustainable development and global citizenship). Furthermore, Cassidy explained how, like they did, we can use the SDGs to find a problem which we can try to solve. Once decided on a broad subject area, like an SDG, we should aim to narrow it down to a specific target that we can then use to create a mission and a vision for our organization. After that, the key is to find a team of leaders with diverse and complementary abilities and working with that team to create an online space, such as a website or social media page as a method to share our organization’s message and expand its reach.
No Cap News is a truly inspirational product of a rather dull period of time and a reminder that no matter what is thrown in the youth’s path, they will always find a way to tackle some of the world’s biggest issues, in order to make Planet Earth a better place for all.
