This week, I got the opportunity to participate, for the first time, as a chair at an MUN, the annual MSMUN held at UWCSEA. Honestly, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. After being a delegate for nearly three years, I initially thought that chairing would be quite similar however, sitting for 1 and a half days listening at facilitating debate for eager and enthusiastic middle schools, I realised that there is a lot more to chairing than I initially thought. I was truly mesmerised with this experience and I believe that it has changed me as a person.

The conference lasted for two days. Throughout the two days, I was able to witness numerous middle school delegates debate and discuss world issues with unparalleled enthusiasm. Not only did I learn the skill of being an effective chair and facilitator but also gained an insight into the minds of these young leaders. Initially, I thought the conference would be a bit less serious than high school ones that I have attended however, after witnessing these students debate on issues of nuclear proliferation and asymmetric terrorism, I was stunned. It was really eye-opening listening to new opinions and interesting ways of tackling these issues ranging from sanctioning any defaulting countries to allowing countries to keep nuclear weapons. For those, that were a bit shy, I tried my best to encourage them to come up on stage and voice their opinions be it in the form of a 20 second speech or just a small point of information as I believed that this was a really good opportunity for me to inspire and encourage these middle school delegates and show them the fun and the benefits of MUN, which i have firmly believed in throughout my life.

Furthermore, I believe that none of this would have been possible without my co-chairs, Ananya and Aryan. By collaborating with them, I was able to ensure that the quality of debate was thoroughly good and we kept a track of efforts made by delegates so that we can encourage the more shy ones. I further learnt that collaboration is key to effective leadership (LO5) without either one of us, I believe that managing a big committee of about 23 people would not have been possible. Furthermore, I believe that I have developed a new skill of chairing with this experience (LO2).

Through this experience, I have understood how talent exists all around us and it is also our responsibility to encourage it. We should always give others opportunity, if we are in a place to do so, so that they can too develop themselves in terms of skill and also as a person. I have also understood the importance of effective leadership and facilitation as without this, nothing would have been possible. I believe that I will always take this with me be it in other MUNs that I chair perhaps or in other leadership based experiences in the future.