AUWIMUN’19: Story behind its success

Nazifa Rafa & Mohima Gomes

The Asian University for Women International Model United Nations 2019 (AUWIMUN’19), one of the most anticipated Model United Nations in Bangladesh, was the 5^th MUN hosted by AUW. It attracted 164 delegates, who were as young as sixth graders to the final year undergrads, from all around the globe, and ran for three days from February 7^th to February 9^th, ending with a magnificent Diplomatic Ball.

AUWIMUN 2019

Exceeding the expectations of delegates and EBs  alike, it is worth delving into the question of what exactly made AUWIMUN’19 such a success story. “AUWIMUN’19 vividly reflected the arduous effort of the whole secretariat, transforming this conference into reality. This conference undoubtedly set the standards even higher for the other conferences to be organized,” Samiha Sahel, an AUW alumna and the ex-President of the AUWMUN club commented. Sahel returned as chairperson for UNHRC, the largest committee of AUWIMUN’19, and she attributes the success of this conference to the diligence of all those who were part of the organizing body. The co-chairperson of the same committee, Syed Akib Hossain, praised the secretariat body’s wisdom for placing more importance on quality over quantity. “Being one of the renowned conferences and having only just four committees was one of the best decisions to ensure the best academics and make it a more qualitiful conference,” he said. Additionally, he pointed out that “The main aspect of AUWIMUN that sets apart from any other MUN is the all women secretariat team organizing one of the biggest conferences in the town.” In fact, even Dr. Lina Kassem, department head of Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) and the advisor of the AUWMUN club seemed to express delight in the performance of the secretariat team. Dr. Kassem praised the organizers’ relentless determination and endurance, and mentioned that they did not fail to impress her.

In order to reach the level of popularity among MUNers that AUW did, one of the most significant steps is to effectively advertise the conference to the world. Ivana D’Silva, a student from William Carey Academy who had posed as a delegate for the MUN, remarked, “One of the main reasons that urged me to participate as a delegate for the first time in the AUWIMUN was simply the overwhelming reviews about the past conferences from friends and not forgetting about friends telling me how amazing the AUWIMUN socials always are!” Jasmine Shrestha and Thinley Dema, Directors of Branding and Public Relations, explained how this sort of public reception was achieved. Their department was in charge of the daunting task of publicizing the event, and they have done so by employing social media tools like Facebook, where they frequently uploaded interesting pictures and videos in their main page to capture people’s attention. To further increase the domain of their audience, they even resorted to manually visiting some of the schools located within Chittagong. Their methods seemed to work, as it attracted a whole lot of rookie MUNers both from inside and outside AUW. Supriya Dewanjee, a student from AUW, and Mehran Shah Zaman, an eighth grader from Chittagong Grammar School, were both first time MUNers, and were placed in UNHRC. Despite the intimidation that comes with learning the ropes of MUNs, surprisingly, their favorite part of the whole conference was the Crisis session.

The most well received aspects of the AUWIMUN’19 that the delegates and the EB confessed to were the socials and the hospitality respectively. It resonated among most that AUW always puts something new and unique on the table for socials, which is why they are so beloved among delegates. The Hospitality team managed to organize both of the Socials and the Gala party in reputable venues – Peninsula and Radisson. The diverse and talented performances entertained everyone, and the huge Gala ended with zestful DJ music. According to delegates, the social nights are an opportunity to network with other MUNers, and also to enjoy the event with friends. On the other hand, the appreciation for the Hospitality team’s efforts was echoed by several of the EBs. Anugya Kunwar, the Secretary General of Hospitality, gave us a small insight into the responsibilities that were on their plate. She explained, “Hospitality had to particularly make sure that the EBs were properly taken care of. Some of the EBs were from outside. One was from India, and a few were from Dhaka as well. So for accommodation, we had to make sure they were all comfortable and that the venue was convenient.” Kunwar proceeded to describe how Hospitality was in charge of transportations of EBs and delegates to designated venues throughout the whole conference period.

Naturally, organizing an event of such a magnitude entails encountering several challenges. When the dates for the conference were selected, it had to be ensured that they were appropriate and would not coincide with any possible instability that could ensue due to the recent elections in Bangladesh. Allocating rooms for committees also proved to be especially difficult for February 7^th, which was a weekday, and so many rooms were occupied because of classes. Shrestha opined, “better communication between all the Directors could have made works easier and fast-paced.”

At the end of the day, MUNs like AUWIMUN’19 prove to be a learning experience for all. Dr Kassem vocalized that MUNs are a great opportunity for students to develop good debating skills, pointing out, “These students engage in debates at such an early age. They learn the art of good debating – how to make your argument and strengthen it, how to carry on logical arguments,which are skills that will be helpful for the rest of their life, no matter what they choose to do in future.” She further reflected, “MUN tries to promote the idea of working towards issues of social justice and trying to improve our world, working with refugees, climate change, making it equitable, fair, and just for today. These correspond to the mission of AUW. We are trying to educate these young women from all over Asia so they become leaders and they themselves work for issues of social justice and help build a more just world.” She hopes that MUNs will be able to inspire some of the students to join the UN or help bring positives changes in their own societies.