MAINMUN

What "Second First" Means

Usually, students pick the student clubs that they'd like to join at the start of the second year, but since I had only picked up an interest in Model United Nations on November (see AMSA-Unpad MUN), I joined Ganesha MUN Club (GMUNC) on my second year of college. The initiation process to be a member took up my entire third semester. At the start of the fourth semester, the club was recruiting for their delegation to MAINMUN. I decided to sign up. So that makes this my first MUN as part of a club's delegation. Which I can say is definitely a very different experience than going to an MUN alone, something that I'll elaborate later.

Additionally, this is also my first offline MUN. COVID and the many restriction it's caused has been winding down for 6 months at that point and MUNs are starting to be conducted offline, including this. Offline MUN is also a very different experience than the online MUNs that I had been attending back then.

The Differences

Being part of a club's delegation comes with plenty of perks, such as discounted registration, training sessions conducted by the club, and most importantly, a sense of camaraderie.

Although I think most of the training sessions didn't really improve my existing MUN skills, simply on the basis that it was teaching relatively basic concept that I had grasp before, there were sessions that did make an impact: the speech drill and the simulation.

The speech drill was basically just taking turns making impromptu speech on a given topic. I found it to be a good warm-up to my English-speaking ability, which virtually lies dormant in-between MUNs, but I wished there were more of it. The simulation taught me some helpful tips before going in and is, again, a good warm-up. I definitely think there should've been more of it as well.

But really, being part of a delegation probably didn't matter that much if it's an online MUN. Since that was not the case, the differences were apparent. It was a hell of a lot of fun (or not, iykyk) going on a road trip together to the location, more than 700 kilometers away in Malang, since you actually need to be physically there where the event took place. Because the delegation decided to forego committee-provided accommodation in exchange for cheaper registration, we had to look for our own accommodation. I ended up being a roommate for three days with Jason, an aerospace engineering student that actually was the academic director for my council in ITBMUN 2022.

Offline MUN is different in a good way, primarily because you actually get to meet and be friends with people in the circuit. I still continue to talk to some of the people I met here to this day. And I definitely met some of them again in my next many MUNs, which is a delightful experience because you really get the feeling of being part of the MUN circuit.

Furthermore, it also demanded more out of you in regards to your performance, which makes it harder but also more satisfying and immersive. For instance, your speech must be accompanied with appropriate hand gestures. For those with stage fright, making speeches is also harder since your audience is physically in front of you and is probably staring right at you as you're talking. Unmoderated caucus, which in online MUNs more often than not degenerate into the entire council taking turn talking, is actually enjoyable. Now, you get to actually move around and try to talk with various delegates trying to convince them into whatever your position on the matter or even the solution you've proposed. The back and forth negotiation are just more dynamic and thus really showing the core pillar of MUN, diplomacy. Sending physical notes definitely feels more meaningful than sending a private zoom chat or Whatsapp message ,although definitely tedious if you need to broadcast the same message to multiple delegates since copy and paste is not a thing. Finally, printing your research (the treaties, court proceedings, documents, and what have you) and then showing it off when you are making a speech is definitely a power move that I did and enjoyed gladly. I did that by showing off an actual conclusion of an ICCPR case of a person from one of the Oceanic countries seeking asylum in New Zealand on the basis of rising sea levels cause by climate change.

Takeaways

I only won Verbal Commendation in this MUN, but during the feedback session I had been told that there actually weren't that large of a gap between me, the HM, and the MO. That was the reason why the council didn't have a best delegate award. The feedback was mainly about the relatively weaker presence I had in the council compared to the delegates who won higher awards. Additionally, my weakness or inability in crafting solution was definitely also apparent because my lack of solution meant I couldn't really initiate a draft resolution of my own and thus is not fit to lead or make a bloc of my own. This also results in the aforementioned weak presence in the council.

In hindsight, I think this MUN was definitely a good starter of what was to come, being offline and being part of a delegation. It set the stage nicely for my next jump (or I guess leap would be more appropriate), Singapore MUN.