Founded in 1955, only a decade after the creation of the United Nations, Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) is the largest, oldest, and most prestigious conference of its kind. Staffed entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, HNMUN brings over 3,000 students and faculty together from colleges and universities around the world to simulate the activities of the United Nations. HNMUN offers a unique opportunity to experience the challenges of international negotiation and diplomacy.
This year, delegation of Universitas Brawijaya which consists of 10 delegates from different faculties were representing The Principality of Monaco in HNMUN 2016. Each one and up to two delegates were assigned to six different committees under General Assembly. Those six committees are: Disarmament And International Security Committee (DISEC), Social, Humanitarian And Cultural Committee (SOCHUM), Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL), Legal Committee, World Health Organization (WHO), and World Conference on Women (WCW).
Taking place in Boston Park Plaza Hotel, the conference was started by the opening ceremony, with the keynote speaker and then continued with the first committee session.The atmosphere was very competitive since the beginning. All delegates were giving their best speeches and showed a very outstanding diplomacy skill.
Four days had gone by, and here came the last committee session. Each committee sessions eventually voted on the draft resolution, providing the solutions and recommendations gathered from all delegates, regarding the topic that had been discussed during the past four days. During the closing ceremony, there were also several awards such as Honorable Mention, Outstanding Delegate, and Best Delegate for those who had actively taken part in discussion and debate session.
Besides the Model United Nations itself, there was also a Social Venture Challenge (SVC). This event was held separately from HNMUN 2016 and conducted by The Resolution Project, which allows undergraduate students to build teams and submit their plans for actual social ventures that will make a positive impact. The Resolution would provide a grant of up to US $3,000 and dynamic, hands-on mentorship for the winning Resolution Fellows and their ventures. This year, delegation of UniversitasBrawijaya successfully passed to the final round of the SVC though unfortunately, the project PDG (Portable Decomposer Garbage) wasn’t chosen as the winner.
Overall, being a part of HNMUN 2016 was a once in a lifetime experience. The skills gained during the competition which include team building, public speaking, diplomacy skill, and a lot more were truly remarkable and worth the thousand miles. Last but not least, I personally would like to thank Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Brawijaya for the tremendous support and the opportunity that has definitely changed my life.