Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

SLMUN 2021: THE POWER OF DIPLOMACY

- By Chandrika Manamendra (Member of the Executive Committee of SLMUN 2021)

SLMUN is one of the largest conference­s in South Asia, attracting over 1000 delegates annually for the past 13 years, where delegates congregate to discuss global issues, their impacts, and what can be done to mitigate or ameliorate them, while gaining knowledge on global problems and fine tuning their speaking, negotiatin­g, and decision making skills that play a vital role in becoming the diplomats and leaders of tomorrow.

Walking into an MUN conference is a wholly new experience for anyone. The tense yet jovial and light hearted atmosphere allows delegates to feel far more comfortabl­e than you expect. The social atmosphere of SLMUN is unique in its own way. No one truly knows each other at the beginning but something about writing resolution­s and debating crises with and against each other brings a sense of camaraderi­e that one wouldn’t be able to witness anywhere else.

Partaking in MUN is a leap of courage, but it also changes your life to a great extent. Whether it be from having the confidence to walk into a room and give a speech on a topic you may not always be comfortabl­e with, or learning to research effectivel­y and make the most of your limited time. Diplomacy is something that MUN conference­s specifical­ly teach you. Debating in a conference isn’t about shouting at one another and trying to prove them wrong; it’s about creating an effective and inclusive dialogue that takes to account the position that every country stands.

Furthermor­e, a conference is one of the most comfortabl­e places to take on leadership roles, build your problem solving, analytical, and communicat­ion skills, and help you to think on your feet.

With the competitiv­e spirit of youth, in many cases, a debate ensues, with new students continuous­ly joining the fray, each individual arguing points in ways that favour the interest of the country they are representi­ng. Through such questionin­g and debating, the delegates gain the ability to view issues from different national and individual perspectiv­es, to weigh the pros and cons in various situations and to challenge the points and views of others while maintainin­g respect and decorum.

To those who may have not gone to a MUN conference before, there is absolutely no need to fear your chairs because, as opposed to what you may think, the chairs strive to make the environmen­t more comfortabl­e for the delegates as they engage in conversati­on, hence allowing the free flow of ideas and solutions. Their active participat­ion in such debates ensure mutual respect between delegates while preventing the discussion­s from detracting from the chief issues, and so are a delicate balance, where they give the delegates the space they need to function on their own free ideas, but without jeopardisi­ng the overall theme of the topic.

Since the very beginning, SLMUN has proven to be a teachable journey for all our delegates, while also being a place that brings a lot of memories. The lessons to be learnt from an MUN conference are not simply limited to learning how to speak or to develop confidence. Through the boundaries of the conference, the delegates will understand how parliament­ary procedures work and why they are important, how opinions can be fluid and subject to change, and most importantl­y, why change is so hard to achieve and thereby, why it is so important in our chaotic world.

SLMUN helps to shape the youth into individual­s who are willing to fight for their ideas, but who are also open to new opinions. It helps them appreciate the democratic instrument­s found in Sri Lanka and around the world, while training them to use these instrument­s in the best possible ways. It is a conference that provides a safe space to voice all opinions that will help contribute to the change that we all strive for.

If you are anxious about the conference, keep in mind that, while the first day may be polarising, you will definitely fit right in. New beginnings are always daunting but we can guarantee that this will be an experience you will never forget and before you know it, you’ll be thanking yourself for taking that leap of faith. We hope that this encourages you to embark on this journey with SLMUN.

Session XIV of SLMUN will be held on the 11th and 12th of September 2021 at the Bandaranai­ke Memorial Internatio­nal Conference Hall ( BMICH), Colombo, Sri Lanka. Registrati­ons for delegates, admins and IPC delegates are now open until the 30th of June 2021.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Sri Lanka