HMUN Awards - The Story Behind HMUN 2021

The Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) India 2021, was held online between 12-15 August. During the event, Rohan from Grade 11 received the Best Delegate Award, and four other TISB students were rewarded with Diplomatic Commendation – an outstanding performance. We reached out to four of the award winners, Rohan, Ashna and Sara from Grade 11, and Aditya from Grade 10, and TISB’s MUN Grade 12 Prefects, Ananya and Shrey to learn more. We also managed to contact TISB Alumni, Amay Ganguly from the batch of 2020, who served as Acting Director at this year’s HMUN India, for his experience of the event.

I’ve been doing MUN for a while now and this just feels like the culmination of a process – Rohan, Grade 11

HMUN India is probably the most prestigious and well reputed MUN conference in the country. Despite the pandemic, the HMUN continued its tradition and invited about 75 delegates from all over India to participate between the 12-15 August. During the conference, students represented different countries in different Committees, with different agendas, aims and purposes. This year five TISB students obtained the following awards:

Best Delegate Award: Rohan (Grade 11), representing Syria in the Arab League. 
Diplomatic Commendation: Renee (Grade 8), representing Mexico in SOCHUM.
Diplomatic Commendation: Aditya (Grade 10), representing Iran in UNDP.
Diplomatic Commendation: Sara (Grade 11), representing Indonesia in UNOOSA.
Diplomatic Commendation: Ashna (Grade 11), representing New Zealand in DISEC.

Each day of the conference, delegates are rewarded with interesting and captivating experiences. “I think the best part about participating was that I got to virtually meat people from all around the world who are interested in MUN like me”, says Ashna, who found debates on relevant issues very stimulating while representing New Zealand. Although some of the TISB participants had taken time away from MUN, they were still up for the task. “I personally enjoyed the discussions on militarisation and supporting developing countries”, says Sara, who – although feeling a bit rusty – put in hard work and collated much research to do right by her Indonesia while renegotiating the Outerspace Treaty. 

Although being a skilled delegate, any MUN conference always presents challenges. Representing Iran in the UNDP, Aditya and his team came to the point where they needed to decide on who was presenting the final resolution they had drafted. “We overcame this by voting amongst ourselves and give everyone equal representation in different ways”, says Aditya, whose team worked towards a post-conflict reconciliation by being as diplomatic as possible and making compromises where needed. Due to the Arab Spring, Syria is at the core of issues in the region, “which meant that I was closely involved and active in pretty much every discussion that happened in the committee”, says Rohan, who normally feels like he has to fight his way to be relevant in an MUN. But it was not a cakewalk. Representing the controversial Assad government in Syria, Rohan had a difficult portfolio and few allies: “This meant that I was made to be constantly on my toes and working on ways to justify Syrian actions, while also working overtime in drafting crisis notes to keep the committee unbalanced and stop it from uniting against me.”  

All the three award winners express how happy they are about their awards. The achievements may be a result of the increased numbers of students involved in the TISBMUN Club, which last year also arranged the TISBMUN Jr event for Middle School students, a conference soaring in popularity. “I’m not sure, but I think this is the highest tally we’ve ever had, and I strongly urge anyone with even a slight interest in the topic to come and check out the TISBMUN club on Tuesdays”, says Rohan, who thinks that if more people get involved, next year will be even better.

But MUN is not only about winning prestigious awards. “I believe that MUN is an amazing opportunity to learn about the world and meet people with different perspectives”, says Aditya who recommends everyone to give it a try to find a new passion. MUN also offers a different experience for different people. “I personally compare MUN to Harry Potter – a world of secret powers and magical results. I discovered my expressive voice, my friend Devarya found a passion for journalism”, says MUN Prefect, Shrey, who believes that at the end of the day, TISBMUN will always mean something personal to each student joining and finding their secret ability.

Amay Ganguly, TISB Alumni (2020), second year student in Economics at FLAME University, and IB Economics Instructor, was Assistant Director at this year’s HMUN, which included assessing performance at the conference, aiding delegates and providing constructive feedback on their performance. He believes that MUN might be more important for students’ development than it ever was before, as peer-to-peer interaction has reduced online. “Model UN represents a great opportunity for students to hone their interpersonal communication skills as well become more aware on pressing global issues”, says Amay,  who personally attest that these skills and qualities are valued by Universities. “In these pressing times, it's very easy to become nihilistic. But it's important to understand that how you utilise your time now, will actually set the pace for you in the future”, he says. “So just commit to something which you personally have an inclination towards, and I guarantee you that the time you invest in your activities will pay off in the near term.” 

Therefore, participating in TISBJrMUN (Grades 6-8, 30-31 October), and TISBMUN (Grades 9-12, 26-28 December) is not only an opportunity to take part in prestigious conferences and a great educational experience, “but also a way to continue the legacy we have at TISB of consistent excellence in MUN”, says MUN Prefect, Ananya, who believes that it is perfect for those who wants to gain confidence, deepen their understanding of various socio-economic issues and learn how to cooperate with peers for a better future. “It is an important window into the world of international relations and foreign policy and allows students to explore the forces that shape the global landscape we see today”.