This is indeed a testing time for all of us. While some of us are separated from our families as International University students (including myself!), others in High School and Middle School are locked in their homes, all for their own safety as well as that of others. COVID-19 has indeed brought a dynamically uncertain future which is difficult to be foretold. However, even in these times of uncertainty, rays of hope lie in how united the youth remains. Today’s youth has the power to change the world, and includes the leaders of tomorrow responsible for guiding the course of communities in the future. With these ideas in mind, MUN Impact has initiated a new youth outreach program for empowering students from High School and Middle School, right in the comfort of their home. This revolutionary idea, is MUN@Home.
The initiative follows up from the footsteps of our jrOMUN program, but differs in the target group. We essentially recruit students from High School and Middle School, and even University to register as mentors. We then recruit interested delegates from HS and MS, who are allocated into mentoring groups, or cohorts, on Edmodo- a safe online educational platform. Over the next three weeks, delegates were given assignments teaching them the basics of Model UN and SDG 6.1: Clean Water and Sanitation. These included finding research links, finding out about the progress made in their delegated country, policy statements, opening speeches and of course, the all-important Resolutions!
The highlight of this program has been its mentorship. Our mentors did an amazing job, with regular feedback being provided on assignments and suggestions being given on research methodologies and debating techniques.
At the end of this three-week cycle, it was finally time for delegates to put their skills to the test! For this, we came up with an online debate on ZOOM for SDG 6.1 on April 11, Saturday. Open to registration by our cohort delegates, the debate was moderated by our mentorship team. As a mentor for the first round, I had the opportunity to chair the debate, alongside my colleague Ameena El Agha, who is now the Deputy SG of the program.
All my colleagues from MUN@Home, as well as the Board members present as observers were THRILLED to see the level of enthusiasm coming from 30+ delegates in the room. Our delegates were prepared and ready to showcase their skills learnt over the past three weeks, with almost every delegate speaking more than once. Braving the challenges of using a new forum for debate, a new environment which may have been difficult to understand at first, our delegates and moderating team gave their very best to engage a successful debate, with several delegates expressing their wish to remain involved in the program in future sessions as well!
Watching young people in action online, with such involvement and activity, makes me recall the purpose for which an organization such as MUN Impact was convened in the first place. We want the youth of the world to learn about the pressing issues of today, about the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and understand how significant they are for the present and future generations. Such a program unites us as ONE YOUTH COMMUNITY, and binds us together to work on common goals irrespective of social backgrounds. The HELA Initiative, Salam Centre for Peace, Nigeria’s Oyo MUN and now MUN@Home- are all testimony to the idea that circumstances don’t control us, but it is WE who control our own circumstances and make the best use possible of them.
My sincerest gratitude goes out to the jrOMUN team under SG Brain Lain, who helped us establish this program extremely well right in its very first round. As of today, we are in the middle of Round 2, and are now going on to plan Round 3 of our Mentorship- Debate cycle.
I wish to see this program grow to limits beyond imagination, and add yet another successful initiative to the likes of OMUN and jrOMUN- both of which are integral parts of MUN Impact.
We are ONE. We are MUN Impact.
Jaideep Singh
Secretary General
MUN@Home