SLMUN’s 14TH Session

To organise the allocation of a platform where young intellectuals can debate, discuss and dispute humanitarian crises and global challenges is regarded as an honour by the 2022 SLMUN Executive Committee. Whilst the actual preparation is quick to overstep the boundary between interesting and tiresome, each of us knows that as conference nears, our exhaustion transforms into excitement. The two very short but eventful days of conference are a mere month away and is scheduled to take place at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall with the theme “Restless for Change”.

Old or new, experienced or fresh-faced, the world of MUN is a thrilling experience for all and still manages to awaken the nerves of many of its delegates.

Standing up to deliver a Speakers List speech or direct a pertinent Point of Information is nerve-wracking regardless of whether it is your first time in conference or your fifth. But the good news for MUN novices is that for this session, the EXCO have organised a selection of programmes to help both experienced delegates prepare as well as encourage all those who are entirely new to the MUN process. The EXCO’s training programmes have acted as a vital and highly useful tool for newcomers to use when exploring the complexities of MUN: how to present a Speakers List speech, the numerous Points one can raise during conference and which committee to choose. Between General Assembly 1, General Assembly 3, General Assembly 6. Security Council, United Nations Humanitarian Rights Committee, World Health Assembly, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Environmental Programme and the highly anticipated International Cricket Committee, the options are vast.

Picking the right committee is a cardinal choice and delegates are always advised to pick the committee that piques their interest the most in order to engage in the greatest fruitful debate. To help your decision, there are study guides that will be provided for each committee which acts as one of the most significant resources available to them.

However, if memorizing speeches and verbal debates are far from what you prefer, you are always presented with an alternative.

The International Press Corps is the more unorthodox aspect of MUN but is equally valued and important. The opportunity to being a journalist is always available for those less attuned to public speaking and it entails writing an article based on the happenings of a specific committee. Journalists will also be assigned one of the simulated news agencies – Al-Jazeera, BBC, Kyodo News, Le Monde, Reuters and Times of India – and must strictly adhere to their agency’s mandate when putting pen to paper and writing their articles.

The world of MUN is an intimidating one that is full of daunting experiences and even the most experienced delegate’s hand trembles when they raise their placard.

But it is also full of rewards. Delegates and journalists alike are considered for a multitude of important awards that assess their skills in areas of public speaking and article writing. Awards like Honorary Mentions and Best Delegates are well-established awards and a definite plus on university applications. But more than the shiny trophies and elaborate certificates are the memories and the friends made in conference.

Long-lasting friendships are common amongst delegates and the memories you make are ones full of excitement, appreciation and amusement. The most valuable skills one can pick up from an MUN conference is becoming a more confident, dedicated and kinder version of yourself and we hope to see this in effect at SLMUN XIV.

Select vacancies are still available so do not hesitate to register for the upcoming conference! Joining MUN is a decision that is far from regrettable – it allows you to make invaluable memories, lifelong friendships and emerge from conference with your perspective on global affairs truly changed. It helps us learn important life skills and is truly an incredible experience that I would encourage everyone to indulge in.

Session XIV of SLMUN will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of January 2022 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, Sri Lanka. Registrations for delegates, admins and IPC delegates are now open until the 10th January 2022.

For further details, head on over to our website on www.slmun.org , or

please contact us via: Email – cda@slmun.org /

pr@slmun.org Telephone – +94 71 801 3722 / +94 71 444 9694 / +94 76 898 9763

- Kavya Chandrasiri (News and Media Team- SLMUN 2021)