BY: STAFF WRITER / MIA SANCHEZ
Wednesday, November 8th, at 4:20 pm, the LIU award-winning Model UN team arrived in Washington, D.C., for the annual National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN). This year, the team represented Qatar with six returning members who had previously won awards and six new members ready to add eagerness, enthusiasm, and knowledge.
On Thursday, November 9th, the team spent the morning bonding and visiting historical sites such as the Pentagon Memorial, Arlington National Cemetary, and Marine Corps Memorial, as it was many members’ first time in D.C.
In the afternoon, the team prepared for the next three days, including perfecting speeches, strategizing, and reviewing Qatar’s country.
Friday, Nov 10, the conference’s opening ceremony began at 3 pm with energetic and excited delegates eagerly awaiting the first committee session. The NMUN executive director Michael Eaton and U.S GAO Cadell Jonson gave their advice and encouraging words to be successful this weekend.
As delegates, Asha Bunting, Courtney Thomas, Anna Villoth, Danish Imran, Elian Gomez, Isanah Strickland, Joshua Rai, Nevaeh Ulibarri, Juan Carlos Arteagaavalos, Matthew Overton, Lora Todorova, and Amelia Sanchez headed into session number 1 of the conference, Professor Simon Sheppard provided positive and motivation words to the team, “Good luck, everyone. You all look the part, dressed the part, and all prepared for the topics we researched, and now go represent the proud state of Qatar.”
After finishing the session one Friday night, newcomer Jashua Rai, representing the General Assembly 3 Committee (GA3), showed his exhilaration for the rest of the conference: “I am thrilled and excited to continue on this journey.”
With tensions high on the second day, the team worked hard with multiple delegations to put forward their committee’s most substantial working paper in their committee. After spending a tireless 9 hours engaged in diplomatic negotiations, debates, and discussions within the committee to build consensus and draft resolution, Professor Sheppard states in our annual post-committee regroup, “Everyone is doing fantastic. I am so proud of every one of you. Keep it up.”
The NMUN has a responsibility to be actively involved in global issues and enhance its understanding of the structure of the international system and the challenges of global diplomacy. NMUN allows delegates to apply theoretical knowledge of international relations and the United Nations system in a practical, hands-on setting.
On the third day, representatives aimed to finish the conference on a high note by giving one last speech addressing why Qatar's actions should be effective. One main topic the representatives highlighted about Qatar was their commitment to the environment, its use of renewable energy sources, and the economic benefits it will receive from investing in green technology.
A first-time member, Juan Carlos, says, “It was a great experience overall, a lot of hard work, a lot of new people, and learning about global issues that we might not have been acquainted with before.”
At the end of the conference, Qatar received the honorable mentioned delegation award for all the hard work put in throughout the weekend.