Politics and International Relations have always been a fascinating subject for me, but I never truly knew how to pursue it, until this year. This year, I joined Model UN with the goal of learning more about diplomacy, delegations, and participating in conferences. A couple of weeks ago, I attended my first Model UN Conference at Gunn High School. I had prepared for weeks before, making sample speeches and spending a lot of time to make sure I had a thorough “position paper” ready before the conference. I was really excited to go to my first conference, but being completely honest, it was a bit nerve-racking. 

My fellow delegate and I were assigned Somalia as our country and our topic was regarding the prevention of child soldiers in Somalia. Upon doing just a little bit of research, I was shocked. Somalia is the number one country in terms of children soldiers participating in conflict each year. I wasn’t sure how to approach this, or what we could even propose as our solution. I soon figured that we didn’t necessarily have to be the villains, and coming up with creative solutions to the problem was more effective for a country who could attest to the sadness that children’s involvement in armed conflicts brings to communities. After researching for weeks, I was sure I had a great understanding of the subject, but I was still nervous to talk in front of so many people, even with my public speaking experience. 

I walked out of the conference shocked. In an auditorium filled with over 500 people, I heard the delegation of Somalia being called up to the stage for winning the research award in our committee (UNHRC). I couldn’t believe it. Our committee easily had over 150 people, and I was so proud of me and my fellow delegate for winning this award. This award represented our hard work not just looking up past actions of the UN, but creating innovative and effective solutions for the future of the world. 

I think Model UN is different from other clubs, and what makes it unique is the fact that it is not a competition. Delegates aren’t really competing with each other for coming up with the best ideas. Rather, delegations come together in order to form blocks and create compromises that serve each country’s best interests. I think this is a great way of tackling the problem, because at the end of the day solutions are what we need, not problems. 

Going back to the research award, I’m so proud of myself and my fellow delegate for being awarded the best research paper in our committee! I believe that researching shows true passion, which I certainly found before the start of this conference. The research didn’t seem like a ton of work because I actually truly enjoyed what I was researching about and finding solutions for these problems that exist brought joy knowing that my ideas made in model Un could potentially one day be applied to the real world!