THIMUN the Hague. The largest Model United Nations conference in the world, located in the heart of the Netherlands at the World Forum. Hosting almost 5000 delegates with representatives from 6 out of the 7 continents.
This last week has been an extreme whirlwind of experiences and emotions and I’m honestly exhausted (in the best possible way). I’m also growing increasingly nervous about this whole Coronavirus situation, what with school trips being canceled and the number of cases in Singapore rising. At this rate, with the remaining overseas MUN trips being canceled, the MUN club itself might close for the foreseeable future.
Anyway, I pride myself on being an individual who’s generally well-informed. Due to activities like MUN and the Blue Dragon podcast, I’m well aware of current global issues of significance, while my interest in the stock market keeps me updated on the status of the global economy as a whole. Studying at UWC, a school that has an abundance of diversity, I’m certainly no stranger to varied perspectives.
Yet, I was consistently blown away by the individuals I met during this trip, both within my community and within the conference as a whole. In particular, I want to talk a little bit about someone I worked very closely with (he was part of my resolution bloc after all) Stephen.
The guy is one of the most charismatic individuals you will ever meet, hands down. His speeches within the committee frequently resulted in applause (something which isn’t even permitted according to THIMUN procedure) and he was easily the most convincing speaker on that podium – commanding that stage. The reason I bring him up, however, is due to the conversations I ended up having with him over that 5 day period.
We ended up talking frequently about our aspirations and dreams – the kind of positive change we wanted to see in the world. I revealed my ambitions to improve the sustainability of the global economy, to attempt to facilitate green investing and fight off climate change. He talked about his goal to return to Kenya, where he was originally born, and become a politician. To destroy corruption within the country and facilitate its development so that it could become an MEDC. We exchanged numbers, contacts that we thought might help the other achieve their goals, and at the end of the conference, wished each other good luck.
That kind of passion to do something good in the world, to make a real, substantial positive change to an issue of global significance – I hadn’t seen anything like it. It mirrored my own thoughts, and it was an honor and privilege to have met Stephen.
These kinds of interactions are the reason I started MUN in the first place. To remind myself that I could do something to affect issues that seemed far too large to tackle by any solitary individual. And that there were others out there like me.
