This year was the fourth and final year I participated in Model United Nations. At this year’s conference, I was fortunate enough to serve as Secretary-General which meant all decisions ran through me. This was a big responsibility as not only was I in charge of coordinating a 13 person team that organised the logistics of the conference but I was also the point person in establishing the curriculum for our 100+ weekly participants.

While I am incredibly happy with how the conference turned out, it was not without its challenges. During a general assembly with all conferences attendees, I was responsible for dealing with a situation that saw one delegate being Islamaphobic and insensitive towards other conference attendees. This was difficult as I had to display leadership to make sure the entire group knew that such behaviour was unacceptable while also ensuring that the delegate in question knew where he went wrong. Along with the teacher supervisors, I was able to de-escalate the situation and ensure that participants could have a meaningful experience.

I also had to demonstrate immense problem-solving abilities throughout the weekend as there was a multitude of unforeseen issues that were out of my control. For example, the wifi would only allow for 100 connections – which was a problem considering there were over 400 attendees. I had to quickly call the IT department and come up with non-wifi-reliant methods to continue the debate. There was also confusion with Sodexo as the food was not set up in the place where we had previously agreed on. All this taught me how to think on my feet and come up with viable solutions quickly.

This conference marked the end of my MUN experience so I had to display collaboration throughout the conference to ensure that there would be people up-and-coming that would be able to plan and run the club next year. I am very grateful for this CAS experience as it has allowed me to learn more about issues of global significance as well as form connections with people throughout the UWC community.