Model UN will attend its first conference at Dallas Area Model United Nations (DAMUN) in Irving on Oct. 21.
“It’s my first conference, so I’m really excited and it’ll be really fun,” junior Nishan Chatha said. “I’m [excited to] meet new people and [explore] the new format of Model UN, which I’m not used to yet. So that will be really nice as I gain experience.”
There are multiple committees that will be taking place at DAMUN, including the Economic Council, Human Rights Council, Arab League and two Crisis Committees. Each student represents a country or role, and will discuss how to make resolutions for worldwide problems.
“I love that it’s an opportunity for students to take center stage,” sponsor Carrie Roberts said. “It is the students who are preparing for the conference and figuring out how to build really good public speaking skills, and those are some really good skills to have.”
Each conference consists of two general sessions where students are able to give speeches and communicate with other countries. Students will be able to hold unmoderated caucuses and moderated caucuses – which is a time for delegates to be able to work with other countries. These will be judged by the chair, who is essentially an unbiased judge who is not competing. Students will compete from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The unmoderated caucus is essentially a time where all the delegates talk to each other [freely,]” president Srikar Kotha said. “It’s really fun to be able to talk with people one-on-one and discuss potential solutions for the topic. It also is a great way to meet new people and build connections.”
To prepare, the Model UN club has been researching the problems in their committee and how their country relates to it. The club held a mock conference Oct. 19 to practice how the conference process will work.
“I’m scared that my members won’t participate enough in the conference [on Saturday] because it is a bit scary to get up and speak in front of people and try to take charge of the committee,” Kotha said. “[Public speaking is] a skill that needs to be learned and I’m kind of scared that since it’s their first time, they might not be as inclined to do that. But hopefully, we can give them the skills that are necessary and so that they can feel comfortable.”
The Model UN club plans to attend the Colony Cougars Model United Nations (TCCMUN) conference Feb. 18; officers attended last school year before becoming an official club. Each conference allows students to win awards, including best delegate and best position paper.
“I am most excited to be taking the club to the conference [and] see how our members [perform,]” Kotha said. “Model UN is a type of program where until you do it, you can’t realize how fun it is. I want to see [my teammates] coming out of the conference all happy, just like how [I] was.”
