DSMUN 2015 - 2016

Well it has been a week since we returned from DSMUN and I finally feel in a position to write a report. Held in the distinguished and historic Doon School, The Doon School Model United Nations Conference was one of the most defining conferences for me. This conference is one of India’s most reputed conferences and our delegation feels honoured to have been a part of it. The conference spanned over three days 21st August to 23rd August, our trip however was from 20th August to 25th August. Distributed in over ten committees our school’s students were sure to make an impact on their individual committees. Our delegation had been assigned to represent France in all the conventional committees like the General Assembly and selected individuals in the unconventional committees like the Lok Sabha.

The focus of the trip was to inform students about current affairs, and the issues that are discussed in the UN. The first thing that all the students did as soon as they entered the room was study their speeches, to prepare for the day ahead. The next day, charged up with an energising breakfast, all of us set off for the Doon School. Most of us, while excited, were also nervous, considering the fact that it was the first MUN for many of us. We were escorted to our respective committees, and explained our various topics and plan for the day.

Our wait was finally over and on the first day of the conference we finally got to witness the true marvel of The Doon School. I finally understood why the school had been able to galvanise so much attention and importance from everyone. The opening ceremony was blessed with the esteemed presence of Sujata Singh, who served as India's Foreign Secretary from August 2013 to January 2015 and was the guest speaker for the conference. We engaged in a long prolific session of discussion with her. Her abundance of knowledge was something that every person at the conference looked up to. Post the ceremony we all went to our individual committees. The moment committee session began we were plunged into a heated debate. I was a judge in the International Court of Justice, it was of high importance that in court we put our point across effectively while staying within the constraints of time and order. The level of debate was unlike something I had seen before. Nonetheless I was up for the challenge. When we broke for lunch or tea our school students rushed to find each other in order to share their experience. Later that night all the delegates were taken to the auditorium for the “social” sessions. After a long and enervating day we wanted to wind down and relax. What was termed social event on the conference schedule resulted in a crisis one that all committees had to work together to solve. Once again we delved into debate while we derived a solution to the problem while chewing on pizza and sipping coke, something that took the MUNning experience to a whole new level. I must say that was the most productive we had ever been.

The second say started where the first one left off. We debated about real world topics learning something new second by second. We garnered skills of diplomacy, leadership, articulation and most importantly the skill of diplomacy. At night we attended the delegate dance. Dancing with new people who you’ve never seen before made the conference extremely memorable for us.

I can say with surety that the final day of the conference was the most enjoyable one. Dances, dinners and midnight crisis committees are a part of almost every MUN conference, but a specially organized General Assembly crisis committee with each school sending a delegation is not. Over one hundred and fifty delegates, four hours of crisis and an ever-changing topic, I don’t think that a MUN enthusiast could ask for anything more. Shouting, screaming and running from one end to another of the auditorium was absolutely crazy. The committee failed ultimately but our efforts in trying to to save the world form the Anonymous group of hackers will not go in vain! Next was the closing ceremony. This was the most anxious moment for all of us. But at the end of the day I keep telling myself win or lose does not matter but the new friendships you forge, memories you make and skills you acquire do. After dinner we returned to our hotel, and left for Mumbai the following morning, leaving behind a mark on the DSMUN conference. But we weren’t leaving empty handed, we were leaving with the belief that we can change the world.

Sabhya Chhabria