Inventure Students at the Bangalore Model United Nations 2009.

Model United Nations (informally abbreviated as Model UN or MUN) is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about civics, effective communication, globalization and multilateral diplomacy. In Model UN, students take on roles as foreign diplomats and participate in a simulated session of an intergovernmental organization (IGO).Participants research a country, take on roles as diplomats, investigate international issues, debate, deliberate, consult, and then develop solutions to world problems.

The Bangalore Model United Nations is being conducted on the 19th, 20th and 21st of November at Vidya Niketan School, Bangalore, India.
The Committees for Bangalore Model United Nations 2009 are as follows:
The General Assembly (GA P)
General Assembly Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)
The Security Council (SC)
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Our First Day at the Model United Nations.

The first day at M.U.N was an interesting experience, we were all herded into the General Assembly hall. The inauguration speech was given by the eminent professor Dr.Sitaram Kakrala of the National Law School Bangalore. His speech encouraged us to wear our thinking caps and think out of the box. After the lighting of the lamp, the inaugural ceremony was completed with speeches by various Heads of committees.

I was the press delegate of Japan which allowed me to gain a new perspective on the M.U.N. Basically we were given unlimited power to question, criticize, and approve of anyone we wanted to, and I mean anyone, every country, delegate, even the secretary general, overall it was a fun experience,.I even thought of asking the delegate of Kazakhstan what he thought of Borat.

The food was a pretty decent affair. we got chat for lunch, dahi puri, and chole batura to be specific. A moderated caucus is a debate, in which a specific item pertaining to the agenda is discussed. The bulk of the debating at MUN conferences, happens during this free-flow form of debate. An unmoderated caucus is used to lobby, form alliances and table resolutions. Once the motion passes, delegates are free to move from their seats, and form groups.. The moderated caucuses(discussions and debate on agenda concerning the committee) were very formal (people talking in third person, not making eye contact). The unmoderated caucuses added a very interesting twist to the otherwise somber proceedings. All in all, a very insightful day. We learnt a lot about the current political history, speeches and statements of political leaders, resolutions of the member countries etc.

Second Day at MUN
The second day of the BMUN was no less interesting than the first, the agenda for the day looked pretty dry; it’s hard to think that any discussion on the “reduction of agricultural dependence on the erratic nature of South Asian weather conditions” would be very interesting…how wrong I was. The agenda presented some brilliant opportunities to do a bit of investigative journalism, one instance that I remember well, was when the delegate of Tuvalu (a small island nation) blamed the erratic weather conditions on global warming, global warming was sinking Tuvalu, which at its highest point 4.5 meters above sea level. With some help from the delegate of Tuvalu, I found out that the U.S which has one of the world’s highest carbon footprints, so technically the United States was actually sinking a country. The delegate of the U.S defended his country admirably, saying that Obama was taking steps to cut down emissions. However he did indirectly admit that in the present the U.S was sinking Tuvalu.

The Grand Finale
The third day of the BMUN was the voting session in the past two days the delegates drafted 4 resolutions which would solve the questions asked in the agenda, 3 of the 4 resolutions passed, and that was the end of the session. The press also had polls for best dressed delegate, craziest hairdo, scariest bench member etc. After an interesting speech by the key note speaker, Mr. Nazareth (former Indian ambassador), the prize distribution began, the delegation from Christ College actually filled up their basket, with the trophies they won, but don’t forget Inventure! We won 2 awards, one for Pushkal Mehrish for honorable delegate of GA-3, and I got a special mention for my pre-summit report. I enjoyed the applause regardless of the cheesy star wars music that was playing as I hobbled up to the dais. And with that the BMUN closed till next year.



Suman Sridharan
Grade 11 AS(Media Pod)