Some Food for Committee Thought

Delegates,

While we can all be caught up in the rigor of academia as well as the competitive nature of debate, Model UN is ultimately about expanding your world vision and expanding your knowledge about real world concerns that continue to impact people from a multitude of backgrounds and communities today.

What sparked my interest in international affairs wasn't Model UN, but rather the solution building approach from it that made me more keen on learning about marginalized communities and attempt to use the same mindset when thinking about complexities that impact so many lives. I'm not asking you all to go seek projects to work on or tackle on some of the most difficult issues in the world to address, this weekend rather, I encourage you all to build an enthusiasm for striding toward solution-building and understanding how multi-faceted issues are, because no issue is simple, they have very diverse and concrete implications on the world.

I hope to see developed and thoughtful solution that don't solely address the most immediate implications of the issue at hand but the multi-faceted nature of the topics as well. Ultimately though, I hope that you as delegates can walk out of committee having learned something unique or interesting about the topic that you were challenged to address or you had not thought of previously. Hopefully, going through that type of development as a delegate in addressing your solutions, extends as an approach you can use even in addressing the complexities that await you in life.

You're entering a space that as intense as it can be, is ultimately about your learning experience, if you ever feel that this learning environment is not helping you to your full potential or is impacting your wellbeing and mental health, please reach out to us in the dais. We work hard to make this a great learning experience for you that is fun, challenging and most of all makes you think more critically about the problems we face.

That being said, there is always times where the subject matter or the debate can be emotional or can be stressful, I want to take this time to offer the opportunity to take breaks if needed and talk with the dais as a supportive space where your questions and concerns are more than valid and can be brought up to our dais during unmoderated or during breaks in addition to requests for feedback.

I cannot stress enough how important feedback is in our conference as we hope you not only gain skills that you will carry on into the future, but also carry on a spirit of solution-building and thoughtful analysis that you may use to inspire others as you will inspire us this weekend with your unique ideas and multifaceted solutions. Best of luck and remember that we want this to be your moment to shine and learn!

Lots of BMUN Love,
Saran

(GIF Credits: Pinterest)

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