The DLSU delegation which participated in this year’s National Model United Nations (NMUN) in Washington D.C. was lauded the distinguished delegation award last November 13. The delegation, which represented New Zealand, also bagged two best position paper awards for the committees of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Security Council (SC).
According to Training Director Patrick Kahn, this achievement marks three consecutive years that DLSU has been bagging awards in several Model United Nations (MUN) conferences.
In this year’s NMUN-DC, the DLSU delegation sent representatives to the General Assembly Committees, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in addition to the IAEA and SC.
Samantha Carlos and Monique Mujer won the outstanding position paper award under the committee of the IAEA. On the other hand, Giancarlo Inacay and Bianca Ruiz won the outstanding position paper award under the SC.
Photo from Nicollo Mondoñedo
Delegates’ insights
Ruiz shares that being a representative for New Zealand is considered as one of the toughest committees in the UN. “I personally felt like I wasn’t prepared especially given the fact that I was part of the SC. A lot of past delegates and veterans informed me that it’s the toughest and most intimidating committee. Fortunately, I felt my hard work from training paid off,” she describes.
From her experience in the conference, she adds that “Lasallians are naturally gifted. [They] are sociable, diplomatic, intelligent, eloquent, hardworking, and dedicated.” She believes that these traits are essential for a strong NMUN delegation.
Inacay meanwhile shares that some key takeaways from his experience with the conference include knowing the importance of diplomacy and acknowledging the role of the United Nations (UN) in international affairs.
“It is important to understand the different cultures of individuals, hence being diplomatic and understanding of the foreign policy and culture of various delegates. Furthermore, remembering the importance of the UN helps keep other member states grounded on the idea of collaboration and cooperation,” Inacay adds.
Challenges, next steps
As the Head Delegate, Inacay explains that the lack of previous experience in MUN conferences and the diverse cultures of his fellow delegates were among the challenges that the DLSU delegation faced. He says that although some delegates were able to easily get on the MUN track, there were some who had difficulty fully understanding what MUN required.
Meanwhile, DLSU will also send a delegation to NMUN Japan, which will be held from November 20 to 26 this year. Final preparations are ongoing, and Inacay says that the delegates for NMUN Japan will be more experienced than the delegates sent to NMUN DC. “There are only a couple of rookie delegates in NMUN Japan compared to the delegates under my stewardship. The Japan delegates have enough experience to cater to the needs and understanding of their rookie delegates,” he notes.
DLSU is also planning to join World MUN 2017.
