LMCMUN 2009
LMCMUN 2009
Great opportunities seldom come without us seeking them, but such a rarity did become a reality when five of us were approached by, Ma'am Tanima and Ma'am Madhumita, to represent our school in a competition/conference organized by La Martiniere, Calcutta. The event was a Model United Nations, a concept encouraged by the United Nations itself. The concept of a MUN is important as it helps the participants to become fully aware of the way the UN functions.  LMCMUN was extremely exciting for both the organizers and for us, the participants, as it was the first Model United Nations in Eastern India. La Martiniere for Boys and La Martiniere for Girls conducted this event in collaboration, over a span of three days, the 8th, 9th and 10th of May, 2009.
After registering for the event, the participants were informed about their fields of research and the format of the competition. Each school was assigned a nation and had to send in a delegation of five members, who represented the country, to three committees. Two delegates represented their assigned country in the General Assembly, another two in the Security Council and the fifth in the Human Rights Council. The topic stipulated for discussion in the Security Council was "The Situation in Darfur" while that in the General Assembly was "The Global Terrorist Network". The agenda for the Human Rights Council was "The Humanitarian situation of refugees in northern Africa".
Our first interactive involvements were the simulation sessions that were held in La Martiniere for three days, on the 22nd and 23rd of April and the 7th of May, familiarizing us with all the rules and procedures,  to be followed in MUN sessions. Before this of course, the position papers had already been mailed to the organizers, by the different committees. Students of La Martiniere  staged a model performance of the actual event. This simulation went a long way in lending us a confident grip on MUN rules and procedures and their applications, which was followed by comprehensive research by each team, on the foreign policies of their assigned nations(Ethiopia, for DBL) and the real world scenario. This process was very enriching for all parricipants, in terms of gaining vital insight into the politics and diplomacy of today's world.
 
The three days of the event were days of intense activity as twenty-one delegations used all their diplomacy and ingenious methods of reasoning and argument to defend their countrys' policies.  The delegates asserted their countrys' stance on the floor of the house and defended it. From the inauguration ceremony, which was a wonderful combination of entertaining performances, to the last debates, the austere setting was witness to an amazing spectacle of tireless enthusiasm. After the initial hitches, as the debate assumed a smooth flow, with the proper guidance of the Executive Boards, all the committees made great headway into their respective topics. Building of support blocks too assumed importance, as committee debates mostly take the form of debates between opposing blocks. As the committee decides upon proceedings and resolutions by a majority vote, having the support of one's block actually helps in getting one's views and actions approved by the committee as a whole. Building of support blocks and being in a commanding position in one's block is the key to a MUNer's success and this activity is actually a test of a MUNer's skill, of convincing people and the ability to put forth ingenious ideas & solutions. The day ended on a high note for all  participants as productive and constructive debates seemed to be paving the way for genuine solutions to the problems under discussion.
The second day started off without much ado, reinitiating the previous day's debates. Soon it was time for the working papers to be submitted by the various committees, wherein solutions that had been discussed, would be enshrined. But we were all presented with a surprise when the Executive Boards placed crisis situations before all the committees. All rules of procedure were suspended as the committees entered an emergency situation. The Executive Board of each committee came to the rescue as they brokered a compromise between the blocks,  succeeded in getting all nations to provide a united front to the crisis and resolutions were passed, effecting immediate relief measures for those affected. In the Security Council, the Executive Board even succeeded in arranging a video-conference between the committee delegates and the rebels (pertaining to the emergency where Chadian rebels had made certain demands and had threatened to cause nuclear fallout in Chad if their demands were not met within a 12 hour deadline). Thus the crises were successfully resolved and the committees soon returned to the discussion of the working papers at hand and other aspects of the topic under discussion. If the proceedings of the day had provided us with a jolt, the day's lunch provided an equal yet pleasant surprise.
The second day having been spent mostly on resolving the crisis situations, the third day was entirely dedicated to consolidating all the solution measures suggested on the previous days. The most important activity of a MUN, formulation of draft resolutions was undertaken. The day had fewer hours for MUN proceedings than the previous days and consequently was more hectic. The debates of this day were marked by vigorous arguments by oppositions and resolute defenses by the sponsors. The more powerful blocks in each committee succeeded in making a draft resolution and in convincing the others to vote in their 'favour'. In the Security Council, the delegates of the observer nations and the non-permanent nations were faced with the challenging task of persuading the delegations of the permanent nations to refrain from casting a 'veto', as it results in immediate failure of the resolution.  Very high standards of debating marked the end of the MUN. While the refreshments served during the day were a connoisseur's delight, the performances that were part of the closing ceremony were greatly appreciated by the cultural connoisseurs.
The overall experience was immensely enriching for us, both in terms of gaining knowledge and making friends from all corners of the city. The competition also gave us the feel of what it takes and feels to be a representative of a nation. With immense support from our teachers we were able to put up an outstanding performance in all the committees. This was reflected in the awards ceremony, where two of our members were declared as the Best Delegates from the General Assembly and Security Council. Another member received a commendation for Outstanding Participation in the Security Council. The delegate in the Human Rights Council received an award for the Best Position Paper. Thus with the maximum number of overall commendations received by a single school, Don Bosco School, Liluah was declared  the Best Delegation in LMCMUN 2009.

DON BOSCO SCHOOL, LILUAH - Best Delegation of LMCMUN '09

Subhrangsu Mukherjee - Best Delegate (General Assembly)

Promit Biswas - Outstanding Performer (Security Council)

Aniruddha Dey - Best Delegate (Security Council)

Sayan Samanta - Best Position Paper (Human Rights Council)
... Subhrangsu Mukherjee,  Promit Biswas,  Aniruddha Dey, Sayan Samanta, Surath Bhattacharjee (12C)
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