MUN Impact meets Empower participants

Attendees at the annual Empower Conference, hosted by Reach out to Asia (ROTA), had the opportunity to learn about MUN Impact and to engage in some spirited discussions about how to develop an action-oriented plan of action to support the SDGS. Conference attendees, hailing from as far at Tansanzia, Palestine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nepal, Kenya and of course, Qatar, spent 90 minutes exploring the tools and resources on the MUN Impact webpage, followed by an hour of discussion of how to develop a plan of action to support a particular SDG and target.

Using the MUN Impact planning tool, teams of three or four students developed a plan of action tied to their SDG. They had to identify potential obstacles, necessary permissions and authorizations, who their plan would benefit, and how members of their team would be accountable. Through their discussions a number of initial ideas emerged, such as raising awareness around the issue of public sanitation and toilet facilities for migrant populations, to noise pollution affecting our marine environment in Qatar. Participants discovered that even simple, targeted issues had complex webs of interaction  and overlapping SDG targets. The conversations were rich and nuanced, and the participants, bringing their own diverse life experiences to the discussions, resulted in animated and spirited discussions.

This was the first opportunity for MUN Impact to share their planning tool, and we learned a lot about how our planning document could be improved.  Workshop leaders Lisa Martin, Emmy Josefson, and Fatima El Mahdi had a great time meeting the participants at the Empower conference and look forward to more opportunities to share MUN Impact with empowered youth in the region!

 

 

 

Salam Centre participates in SDG Festival

By Albert Oliva, MUN Impact Press Writer

 

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Sustainable Development Festival 2018

The Salam Centre for Peace in Israel sent a delegation last month to the first ever Uttarakhand Sustainable Development Festival which was held in a small but sceneric city, Champawat. The Festival was promoted as the beginning of a movement for bringing together the people of the Uttarakhand district with the Government and the civil society for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainable Development Goals or otherwise known as Global Goals have been established to tackle the most pressing and challenging issues our modernized society is facing. However can these goals be achieved and issues dismissed if only specialized institutions and organizations are fully alarmed of the extent to which they are affecting the society? The answer is fairly simple. No! This is exactly the reason why events such as the Uttarakhand Sustainable Development Festival are organized. The festival was prepared and organized by the Dais Foundation. This foundation has been immensely supporting educational facilities, NGOs, and governmental organizations to cope with the 17 Global Goals and to make a real and vivid IMPACT in the world.

The festival was composed from 8 major events, with the major ones being Uttarakhand Sustainable Development Goals Vision 2030 Launch & Unveiling of Uttarakhand SDGs Wall, Vision 2030 Website Launch, and Uttarakhand Satat Vikas Sankalp – SDG Pledge (#UKforSDGs). The first mentioned event, which in shortcut can be called the Vision 2030, is an online document which is accessible to all participants were information about the actions of stakeholders can be attained during the festival. Throughout the festival these actions were painted on the SDGs wall visible to all students, adults, and staff. The second mentioned event is closely knitted with the first as it is an establishment of social media platform about raising awareness for the vision 2030 goals.

After successfully traveling with students all around the world for prestigious Model United Nations, Salam Kedan, the founder of Salam Centre for Peace, took a totally different initiative and with the delegation of four students travelled all across Asia and later on India to reach this festival which changed their view on life as a whole. “It was such a thrilling experience. It was a totally different concept than MUN conferences but it was as enriching as students met new people and saw that even the poorest group in the society can make an Impact in our world” Salam commented after arriving back to Israel. She and four students arrived back home with a totally new outlook on life and Salam is sure that this experience will Impact their future. “I am glad that all students experienced the generosity of people who are living out from nothing. Moreover they saw that without action, sustainable development will not be dismissed, and with lot of them we have been closely connected while our stay in India: poverty, lack of clean water, hunger.

You might wonder, why Salam Centre for Peace received the support to travel to India and for an answer I have interviewed Mr. Akhil Kumar Pandey, an Advisory Board member.

“I have been involved with the centre for quite some time now. My great passion is to teach kids about my culture and learning from them too. For the past few months I have been trying to teach them, that at the end of the day, we are all human beings and have a collective responsibility towards the world. So, the Salam Centre and I share the same vision which is to ensure that there is peace, love and compassion across the world. The centre has become more of a family for me and I wanted to personally take a group from the centre to get to know more about India which I’ll ultimately help them in formulation of new policies.“

Every MUN conference and festival which is connected with Sustainable Development goals leaves in every single participant loads of memories and values. My last question for Akhil was, if he could depict the main value of the festival for the Salam Centre for Peace.

“It may sound like an exaggeration to some point, but when I first came to Salam’s home town in 2017, I was surprised to find out that I was the first Indian they had seen in real life! Their knowledge about Indians was limited solely to the Bollywood movies they have seen! My main aim was to show the delegation what term India, means culturally and socially. Moreover I also wanted to highlight the commonality we have in terms of our language and cultures too. I really hope the delegation was able to learn about India, its diversity, the pluralistic nature of the country and how hospitable we are as a nation.“ 

After talking to all students, who participated in the festival, I was left out with a feeling of great appreciation and gratitude as I could clearly see that it really significantly changed their outlook on life. “Regarding the best event during the festival, I liked the camping the most, as spending time with people who you barely know, but becoming friends with them, singing and talking together and playing various games was truly amazing”.

After asking the easiest but at the same time hardiest question, What did you like the most in India, Abed Majadly, part of Salam’s delegation, had to take a minute thinking about the answer. “The best thing in India is the behavior of the society. They are simple people, however their generosity was outstanding. They welcomed us in the best and friendliest way possible”.

Even though many people might claim that such events are just for those that are interested in political affairs and are updated on every news that struck the society, the truth is  complete opposite. The purpose of this festival was not to unite people, who are already determined to help and are already part of some initiative, but to raise awareness and globally inform people, especially young students.

“Students were able to witness how all of us can come together and do something for others. Even for the adults, it was a great experience as they saw that the youth wants to do something constructive. The festival made them realize that the youth is all for peace and prosperity for all.” Akhil Kumar added

Many students believe that due to their young age they cannot make an IMPACT and cannot influence their society, nevertheless that is absolutely not true. Students and young adults are the ones that can do the most, and I am glad that organization such as Salam Centre for Peace exist, as through them, one can find his own identity and role in our complex world. We need more events all across the world such as the Uttarakhand Sustainable Development Festival, as the society needs information and requires to see that only real action can create real IMPACT.

MUN Impact Zone debuts at TQ 2018

By Sandev Ferdinando, Secretary General THIMUN Qatar 2018

 

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The 7th Annual THIMUN Qatar conference brought with it a new focus on what MUN should be. Through MUN Impact, we are now looking to make use of students’ increased awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, international diplomacy, and determination to enact change. The first ever ‘MUN Impact Zone’ was held to bring individuals and organisations closer to the students who are constantly looking for the tools with which they can begin to make a difference in their community.

The organisations and individuals at this Zone operated stalls that provided information on how they’ve used their knowledge in MUN and taken that outside of the tradition context of MUN and their journey to where they are today. I would like to thank the following organisations for their participation in the MUN Impact Zone

 

Conference attendees were able to donate to the EAA, a foundation that ardently protects the “right of children and youth to quality education”. At the HELA station, the iconic HELA lapel pins were on offer, as well as photos which illustrated the long journey that led to the establishment of the organisation. From its humble beginnings as an online club in 2014, to a large scale operation spanning every region of Afghanistan, with monthly MUN conferences held in a university premises and graduating students from a women empowerment course, HELA inspired everyone that came to the MUN Impact Zone.

The SCP stall exuded Palestinian culture: from snacks, to handmade goods and traditional tapestry, the sense of pride and national identity was evident. Delegates were able to know more about the organisations activities by leaflets that were distributed and supported this cause by wearing the merchandise on offer. At OMUN, the process of how to debate online was explained and the power that such technology has in MUN. The OMUN platform was what started HELA in 2014 and I am confident that this organisation will continue to be at the forefront of this ‘MUN movement’ where the social responsibility and outreach aspects of MUN are becoming more prominent.

Do you know of an individual or organisation that would be a good fit for future MUN Impact Zones? If so please get in touch with us, we’d love to feature them at THIMUN Qatar!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

HELA makes History

By Sulaiman Sulaimankhil, Co-founder of HELA

 

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History has been made! Five young Afghans delegates (three girls and two boys) along with their two MUN directors got the chance to take part in one of the largest and most prestigious Model UN conference in the world.  There were a lot of obstacles to overcome including securing financial support, visas, and preparing the resolutions and opening speeches, but those challenges were met head on by an eager and enthusiastic delegation from Kabul and in the end the group found tremendous success.

Ishadulhaq Siddiqi sounded very proud when asked questions about the experience.  “I had the privilege of representing Denmark at The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) in the Netherlands this past January. It was an honor to attend the conference for the duration of seven days where my greatest achievement was being selected as our country’s Ambassador”, he said.   He continued, “This experience was important to me considering my aim is to bring positive change into Afghan society.  This 50th Anniversary THIMUN conference helped me develop leadership through the planning, debating, public speaking, negotiation, organizing and execution of my team and through the relationship I developed with other delegates in the General Assembly. As the Ambassador I also had the opportunity to meet His Royal Highness the King of the Netherlands before he spoke during the Opening Ceremonies”.

Negina Shinwari commented “Attending THIMUN in The Netherlands was a huge experience in my life because it was my first time traveling to Europe and second time traveling abroad, because I have also traveled to Qatar for THIMUN Qatar 2016.”   Among the highlights of the trip Shinwari added, “one of the best part of our journey was going out with our friends from the John Burroughs School (JBS) in the US and Taipei American School (TAS) of Taiwan, because it shows strong support for our young program and a good relationship and globalization.  We can say that there are no barriers of language, ethnicity, and religion for any person because we believe that we are all the citizen of the world”.  Shinwari was particularly impressed with the workshop that was conducted in collaboration with JBS and TAS the day before the conference started.  She said it helped her gain confidence in speaking in front of a global community and really helped her strengthen her resolution and opening speech.

For Valy Siddiqi the conference was a life affirming experience.  “I am a new person”, he said. “I have changed lots of my opinions, yet still I am who I was before I came.  I will always try to make others view my country as the great country that it is.  So many dreams have come true for me through MUN.  There is no doubt that this dream of mine towards my country will come true, too.  I believe in myself, I believe in our new generation and I believe in HELA that things will change in a positive way soon enough in Afghanistan”.

Sidiqi meets with a delegate representing Afghanistan
HELA Founder and Co-founder with Head of THIMUN Qatar, Lisa Martin

At the end it is very essential to thank all those who made this possible, first of all the THIMUN Foundation and all its Board members and conference management had a significant contribution and they helped HELA very much in making this experience possible. A big shout-out to the hard work of our advisors, Miss Lisa Martin, Mr. Robin De Zeeuw, and Mr. Andrew Newman for all their support for HELA.

More history to be made?  You bet.  HELA is working on the first ever MUN international conference that will continue to give opportunities and leadership skills to young women and young men in Afghanistan.

Sexual Harassment: an honest, open discussion

By Evan WIlliams, MUN Impact Staff Writer and student from John Burroughs School

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On the morning of December seventh, the MUN delegates of John Burroughs, along with their press team and sponsors, gathered, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for breakfast and  dialogue on sexual harassment at MUN conferences, and at large. The goal was not to solve the issue of harassment as a whole, but to determine how the delegation itself could serve in the fight to mitigate such offenses. The groups, who were split into men and women, but will be convening as a whole later this month, covered issues ranging from men’s role in an issue that largely affects women, to the meaning and importance of consent. A note was passed around the room to kick things off. It read as follows:

“That cheetah pant suit would look better on my (the delegate from Czech Republic’s) bedroom floor.”

An audible sigh of exasperation, of exhausted horror swept through the room—it sounded tired. This kind of note was all too familiar, all too common. While this article could recount the notes received by various delegates, to list those would be an act of futility—it’s not the point, it’s a symptom of a greater disease. The question which stood on the edge of each tongue in the room, ready to dive out was not “What other notes have there been?” The question was this: why do people feel empowered to send notes such as this?

When the query revealed itself in the middle of the room, the discussion seemed to take on a greater importance. Voices rose, suggesting a systemic issue. Take advertisements for example. Sex sells, right? Pretty women on billboards are a guaranteed means to sell a product—pretty women eating burgers in provocative ways—pretty women sitting in, on, and around cars—the list goes on. Why is it such a problem if companies wish to drive sales this way? It exploits the female form in a way which makes it merely an accessory, an object. Not only that, but it feeds a culture which normalizes such behavior—normalizes the subjugation of women to nothing more than eye candy.

The students in the room next took aim at the system itself, not just its branches. It’s undeniable that current events in the USA have revealed a gritty underbelly in American politics, one riddled with abuses of power. This year alone, five members of the House of Representatives, one US Senator, one candidate for a US senatorship, one former president, and the current president have been accused of sexual misconduct. There was a moment of consideration of these facts before the obvious point at hand was raised: what does it do to the psyche of young women to see high officials in government be accused of these acts? What does it do to the psyche of young women to know that the sitting president—the highest official in the land, has been accused by nineteen women of sexual misconduct in some form? Does it empower people like the mock delegate of the Czech Republic to send notes like the one above?

Fortunately, of late there has been a forced exodus of these types of offenders from public offices, largely driven by public opinion—by active protest and dialogue. Just like they see troubling societal trends, the delegates in that room in December are able to see opportunity to effect change. They are part of the solution to injustices like heinous, indignant notes—to injustices on a grander scale. It is important to note that they are not alone. The Secretary General of the THIMUN 50th Anniversary Conference  has placed the issue of harassment at the forefront, and will be working with members of the MUNITY press team to confront the problem head-on. This is a community, and its connective fabric is strong. No note will tear them apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being Inspired: Sharing the Impact of Model United Nations

By MUN Impact Writer, Si Yun Ee, Taipei American School

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When guest speakers extend an invitation to talk or meet with them after an MUN conference, I highly recommend taking them up on the offer.  From my experience I want to share here, they mean it and the lessons learned are invaluable.

While attending the Taichung Model United Nations (TAIMUN) last April I had the opportunity to meet the invited guest speaker, Ms. Rebecca Maxie, who is a campaign manager for Shot@Life in the United Nations Foundation. Shot@Life aims to ensure that children around the world have access to lifesaving vaccines.  After connecting with her during the conference and via email in the months following, it coincidentally happened that in July, I was going to Washington D.C. on a family holiday  so I took up Ms. Maxie’s offer to visit her at work.

 

I was extremely nervous the morning of my visit.  I had so many ideas running through my head and so many initiatives I wanted to put into action.   Here I was with an opportunity to talk with a field professional in her office.  When I arrived at the United Nations Foundation I was amazed to see so many people in the office bustling with discussion and clicking away on their keyboards.   I was introduced to Wesley Rogerson, a Senior Associate of United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNAUSA).   UNAUSA aims to build understanding and support of the United Nations ideals and work to the American people. Mr. Rogerson and many others stopped to talk and impressed me with the passion with which they spoke about their work.  So many things I was interested in pursuing and they were actively engaged in the work.

 

When taken to the rooftop of the UN Foundation office (as seen in the photo above), with the landscape of Washington D.C., the center of politics of the United States before my eyes, I felt small only for a moment.   Surrounded by Rebecca and Wesley I felt empowered to start talking about a big idea I had in my mind for a long time. Nervous and not sure where to start,  I began by explaining that I wanted to develop the MUN program at my school (Taipei American School) into a program that is more than just participants visiting other conferences, or holding our own conference. Despite the importance in the accumulation of experience and knowledge in doing that, I wanted more. I wanted to kick-start the impact of our program from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but I didn’t know how. Wesley and Rebecca provided me with guidance and resources on how to plant the seeds of change.  Wesley works with University UN Foundation Chapters or Clubs in the United States that promote the work of certain campaigns of the United Nations. He had an online resource archive that he shared with me in building something similar to a UN Foundation Chapter. Rebecca gave me ideas on how to implement or embed ideas of certain campaigns by introducing them into the community using different approaches depending on their cultural or other factors that may affect the demographic view. Her experience in working with Shot@Life greatly impacted the different crowds that she has had to work with.  It was incredibly insightful taking their wisdom and experience and applying it to my understanding of the SDGs and suddenly having focus and direction for my idea.

 

With their suggestions and support, I brought that idea and inspiration back to Taipei and shared it with my MUN director, Mrs. Darby Sinclair. The idea I came up with is to focus on the impact factor of MUN, and to do so, I thought that by integrating MUN and different real world campaigns and organizations, I could induce interest and activism from participants on both ends. With the mindset on working with the SDGs, and my interest in the goal toward gender equality (Goal 5) I found a terrific match; the UN Foundation campaign and the Girl Up club at my school. We formed a connection and continue on the process of planning initiatives involving the two programs.  Currently in the works are the creation of an open board for people to state their views on gender equality as well as sharing quotes about empowering women. As a result of being appointed MUN-Girl Up Liaison, I can now see with more clarity how the MUN community can further impact our world.  With just a little more organization we can tap into an abundance of possibilities.

 

Rooftop of UN foundation Office July 2017, Rebecca Maxie (left), Si Yun Ee (center), Wesley Rogerson (right)

To all my other peers around the world, don’t be afraid to search for opportunities. Speak up, ask, discuss. The power of sharing your ideas is incredible – and the possibilities that may arise are even more so.   It is easy to find the connection between our world and the SDGs. They are everywhere, and MUN serves as an outlet to reach these goals.    I am grateful to Rebecca and Wesley for their support and inspiration.  They opened a door for me and I sincerely want the MUN community to take a giant leap through it with me.  This experience at the United Nations Foundation confirmed for me that youth do have a voice and our ideas are worth putting into action.

Maharat Sewing Project and the Impact in Dhlail

By Alya Al-Ammari, Co-Founder of Maharat Sewing Project

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In high school, Model United Nations was the highlight of my sister, Maryam, and I’s weekly routine. We waited patiently for Wednesday to come, the day we had MUN club. We would wake up at 5 am, travel an hour from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain to get to our school, sit through class, and hurry to our MUN advisor’s classroom when it got to three o’clock. We were were equally passionate about learning, debating and critically thinking about the different crises or current events each week with our classmates.

As school progressed, we each became presidents of the club, spending hours at home researching, making presentations and handouts, and creating games to test our peers on their MUN and world knowledge. Though we were in the thick of MUN, completely immersed in every conference and meeting, we felt removed from the events we were actually talking about. We’d discussed every economic, political, and social issue at length, but still felt like we were on the sidelines, looking over them but not engaging fully.

Problem solving is a core part of the MUN experience. The goal of each committee is to produce a resolution that mirrors those produced by the United Nations that offers solutions to pressing issues. Delegates have to answer every what, who, how, when and why question that is thrown at them during debate while staying sensitive to the values of the countries they are representing and so build valuable critical thinking and problem solving skills. These are the most valuable skills Maryam and I learned by participating in MUN and the skills that inspired us to step beyond MUN by setting up our charitable project, the Maharat Sewing Project.

 

Maharat targeted one of the biggest problems of our region at the time- the refugee crisis. A topic that came up time and time again in MUN, we couldn’t help but feel this was the most pressing issue to us. My sister and I, armed with our MUN knowledge, set off to Jordan to develop a small sewing center in Dhlail, near the Jordanian border with Syria, where Syrian and Palestinian refugee and impoverished Jordanian women would be taught how to sew. The women would be able to graduate from the sewing course with valuable and employable skills that would help them provide an income for their family.

We returned to Saudi Arabia with ideas flowing and the project already in motion. With her experience in sewing, Maryam was able to write a suitable and practical curriculum for the women to learn. I began organising fabric drives, football tournaments, and auctions to raise resources for Maharat. We returned to Jordan and in association with the Dhlail Women’s Centre, the Maharat Sewing Project launched in May 2014.

What began as a topic we had discussed in MUN, resulted in the launch of a charitable project that is on it’s way to becoming self-sustaining and has seriously impacted the community that it’s based in. The women that complete the course are able to come back and use our facilities to jump-start their own businesses, support their families, and most importantly, meet and befriend other like-minded and driven women in the same situation.

Alya, when she’s not sewing!

Maryam and I have since graduated from high school and retired from Model United Nations. However, if it weren’t for our commitment to MUN and our constant exposure to the important events and issues around which it centres, Maharat would have never come to fruition. It was able to spark an interest which ignited a project that has far outlasted our days of MUN.

For more information go to http://maharatsewing.blogspot.nl/.

From MUN to the UN: Help4Refugees

By Jordan Hattar, Co-founder/Director of Help4Refugees

During my freshman year of university I joined the MUN team at California State University Long Beach. In November of 2011 my university sponsored me to attend BIMUN in Bonn, Germany where I was a member of press/media team. I wanted to learn more about international relations and see what the real UN was like. Also, I wanted to meet other people who were passionate about making a difference through diplomacy, international relations, etc.

Jordan Hattar (left) talking with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the refugees needs in the Zaatari Refugee camp, Jordan. To stay up-to-date with Jordan’s current efforts visit his website at: Help4Refugees.org

Ten months later, in the fall of 2012, with my experience of being a MUN journalist, in addition to recognizing the difficulty of entering the Syrian Refugee Camp of Al-Zaatari in northern Jordan, I decided to be a freelance journalist as my ticket to gain access into the refugee camp.

 

Within three months of being a journalist in the refugee camp, after a great deal of persistence, I was able to appear on BBC World News Radio and BBC World News TV at just 20 years old.  I also  attended a press conference in the refugee camp with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. I vividly remember having the confidence to talk Secretary General Ban Ki-moon because of a press conference I took part in at BIMUN in which my friend played the role of “Ban Ki-moon” while we asked him questions.

There is a huge connecting between MUN and my current humanitarian efforts. MUN conferences left me feeling inspired by fellow delegates’ motivation to change the world and equipped me with skills needed to create positive change- if it weren’t for MUN I wouldn’t have been so confident when I entered the Zaatari Refugee Camp for the first time. MUN prepares students for the humanitarian path in many ways.

My advice would be to take action after learning about a given issue. We are never too young to change this world! For example, often after MUN conferences we are so well informed on an issue and we create these incredible resolutions, why not carry that into the real world? My advice would be to find a creative way to reach out to decision makers or news outlets and ensure that your voice is heard. For example, writing an Op-Ed for a newspaper publication or submitting a blog to Huffington Post can change a lot of people’s minds. Changing hearts and minds is one powerful way to change this world

 

The real UN feels no different than MUN- thanks to BIMUN for teaching me how to act during a press conference!

Salam Centre for Peace runs Intercultural Exchanges

By MUN Impact Writer Albert Oliva, Czech Republic

Salam Center for Peace is an organization which fights for the empowerment of women and students all around the world. The aim of this article is to make you more familiar with a concept of an intercultural program which was established a year ago buy Salam Kedan. This report and article will not only inform you about the recent social issues but it will also tell you how can you be involved. This program not only enriched students in Israel but also in other countries of the world. Undoubtedly this is the type of program which everybody should know about.

Where can we find solutions to economic issues? Political issues? Social issues?  The answer to this question is very simple. WE are the solution. Without the interference of a group of people with the same aim, nothing can be solved, and Salam Kedan soon realized this when she  established her intercultural program as part of Salam Center for Peace, an organization fighting for human rights and providing opportunities for future generations.

 

 Salam provided us with a short description of her Intercultural program: “It’s a project that aims to connect cultures and raise awareness which is some of the goals of our organization – Salam Centre. What we do is arrange visits from international students studying in Tel Aviv to come to an elementary school in my Arab/Palestinian hometown called Baqa al Gharbiyye. The visitor gives a presentation about his life, traditions, culture, religion and once the visitor is done, the 6th grade students give a presentation about Palestinian culture.”

Salam continued:  “The outcomes of the project are as follows. The students become more aware of other cultures. The students are encouraged to speak English since all the meetings are held in English. The visitors learn about the Palestinian Culture, empowering the youth and raising awareness as well as of course making connections.”

This is exactly what the population of our constantly challenged planet Earth should do. The intercultural program which was designed last year should serve as a role model for other organizations which share the same thoughts and aims as Salam Center for Peace.

There isn’t a day when you cannot hear in the news, radio, tv, that children are not fully informed about the issues which torment us every day. The Intercultural program which was designed by Salam does everything to address these concerns as she provides opportunity for students to integrate and share information about their culture with one another.  So far the project has seen groups from a number of places. “We’ve had visitors from: India, Russia, USA, China and more to come and it’s been great!” said Salam.

The world needs educated students and educated students need an tolerant and understanding world . Do not hesitate and seek more information about such programs which help so much.

MUN and Advocacy in the Making

 

By Lina Maragha, University of Toronto, Former THIMUN Qatar DSG, ASD

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August 4th, 2015 marks a date deeply ingrained in my memory. It is the date on which I first set foot in Palestine, my homeland, for the first time in my life. Temperatures had skyrocketed, and it was the hottest August ever on record in the state. Despite this, I don’t remember feeling the heat. Goosebumps crept up my skin while I observed the beauty of my country. It was everything I had imagined it to be, but more. I was surrounded by terraces that had existed for millennia, and by olive groves which provided peaceful and shaded pathways to villages and communities. I walked alongside people who immersed me in their high spirits, and I heard an Arabic dialect which finally matched my own. This subtle combination of history, faith, and nature painted the perfect canvas; one that I wholeheartedly belonged to.

 

However, this pristine imagery was impeded by men in uniform clutching 32 inch rifles tight to their chests. It was interrupted by the 96 mile barrier which split my homeland in two. It was fragmented by my sudden realization that this country held no prospect of political resolution on the horizon, and that I had been too dissociated from my homeland to truly realize the magnitude of this conflict. Yet I refused to allow the sharp pain of this realization to hinder my ability of thinking towards future steps. I engaged in conversation with representatives of non-violent resistance groups such as Ali Abu Awwad, and started to understand the power of practicing active compassion and truth when trying to make a difference.

 

Compassion is the hallmark of the soul. It is an element of human nature which emphasizes unity and our connectedness to each other, and is not restrained by our race, gender, culture, or our socio-economic status. It is the passion and want to relieve another person’s suffering, and it is a virtue which has been instilled in me through my participation and involvement through many activities, namely Model United Nations. Although my commitment to support others stems from my Palestinian background, model UN has provided the motivation to actively apply compassion to all of my contributions to society.

 

My persistence and determination, along with the work ethic deeply instilled in my character means I continue to challenge myself both academically and non-academically. This simultaneously helps me strive towards becoming a successful, positive, active and global citizen. I feel this is best exemplified through my constant attempts to find creative ways to help advocate for the often forgotten voices of both my community and the international one.

For example, shortly after the Nepal Earthquake, three of my friends and I took to the commons to help raise money for those that were afflicted. We took it upon ourselves to use what we had – our voices and musical instruments – and share it with others for a good cause. Through this over 1000QR was raised in just two weeks. I attribute this success to our empathy and desire. The notion that there were individuals of the same age as us not being provided equal opportunities encouraged us to take advantage of our own privilege and provide support. Thus, compassion motivated us to take action.

My current executive roles and long term commitment to Girl Up, Model United Nations, and my own founded service group; the International Rescue Committee  further illustrate the impact participating in simulations of the UN had on me. Although MUN is not necessarily a service group, I feel it highlights the notion of compassion as I did not just participate, I actively utilized every opportunity that was provided to garner the skills I could use to help others; whether this be through training sessions or through presenting at leadership conferences. Model UN taught me how to convey my thoughts and ideas and also how to be a compelling and effective leader. My eclectic executive positions with Model UN from Deputy Secretary General of the THIMUN 2017 conference to Head of ASDMUN illuminated to me the complex realities of many international situations. Ultimately, it kindled my desire to make a lasting and effective difference, and equipped me with the right tools to convey my compassion for causes with others.

These experiences with Model UN have helped formulate my future ambitions, and I plan on carrying the values I have acquired these past four years into the far future. My desire to help make a change in my individual community firmly established my sense of compassion and helped me apply it to my contributions to the international community.