A Proud Moment for Pakistan!
By Fozan
Students from Lahore, Karachi and other cities in Pakistan competed in Harvard Model United Nation Conference (HMUN) hosted by India. The conference was ran from August 16 th -19 th.
The Karachi Grammar School Model United Nations delegation won the Best Delegation award after winning 10 awards in their individual committees including, outstanding delegate, best delegate and honorable mentions.
Besides this massive success, delegates from Lahore Grammar School, Links School and Nixor College, Karachi also won individual awards in their respective committees.
It was the second time this year that Pakistani students, particularly KGS, have swept the awards and the large Best Delegation Award at Harvard Model UN, the last being the Harvard Model UN China in March 2012. Congratulations team Pakistan, for this outstanding performance.
LGS Defense and KGS won two out of the three coveted school awards, with more than 1,000 delegates representing 199 countries including Uganda and Iran.
Best LARGE delegation: Karachi Grammar School, Pakistan.
Best SMALL delegation: Lahore Grammar School, Pakistan.
Nixor College also received awards.
The entire MUN circuit is proud of these teams.
Hira Humayun, Ayesha Anjum Mehmood and Syed Irtaza Ali share their HMUN India 2012 conference experience and talk about what it means to succeed in Model United Nations with Best Delegate team:
Hira Humayun and Syed Irtaza Ali, Karachi Grammar School
It was over the span of just three days. Three days of unnerving sessions of debate, three days of running around getting signatories to resolutions, three days of sweat and tears, or laughs and endless mugs of coffee. They were perhaps the longest three days of our lives, beginning with our team’s arrival in Hyderabad-Deccan, India, for the Harvard Model United Nations conference – and ending in victory for us.
Delegates from schools all over India and from places as far as Malaysia; delegates we came to befriend over the course of the conference. During the closing ceremony, the Secretary General made his speech, acknowledging the efforts of the secretariat, the delegates and all those who helped make the conference a success. He acknowledged the schools from Pakistan, and shortly afterwards, awards from each committee were announced. With every country uttered, we grew tense, tightening our grips on the hands we were holding… up until one of our teammates’ awards were announced – and we all rose in a frenzy of applause. There were twelve of us – and ten such frenzied rounds of applause came from our corner of the hall. The time came for the announcement of best delegation awards. The award for the best small delegation went to Lahore Grammar School, Defense, and the five schools from Pakistan were brimming with pride. But the tension still hadn’t snapped. We anxiously waited for the Best Large Delegation Award to be announced – and at last, the announcement was made. And Karachi Grammar School won the title.
Apart from the experiences we shared as a team, each of us had individual experiences which shaped the way we perceived things. Every part of the trip was an experience we took home so much from.
Learning and exposure to new ideas were not confined to committee rooms or debate topics. Each one of us learned from the people we interacted with, in committee and outside committee. Hyderabad, to say the least, was a beautiful city. But in all honesty, we came to the consensus that we won in more ways than one.
We redefined team unity as we knew it – through the ups, the downs, and the media attention upon our arrival back home. We befriended the citizens of the very country we initially supposed would receive us with hostility. We had a new-found confidence in ourselves as a team. We opened ourselves up to new ideas, and took in more than we thought ourselves capable of. And it all came down to that moment, that stage, that announcement, that victory that large Pakistani flag we held, and the even larger achievement we stunned ourselves with.
Ayesha Anjum Mehmood, Lahore Grammar School
Like any other delegate at a conference of over 1000 participants, perhaps the first few hours of HMUN were filled with anxiety, nervousness and excitement. However, as time progressed all our emotions seemed to melt into only one; excitement, making Harvard Model United Nations one of the best experiences of our lives.
It was not only a conference that challenged our debating abilities but also one that tested the social, logical and communicational skills. It proved to be a test of how well we could negotiate using diplomacy not only during the debate but also at a more personal level as we were not only representing Norway but also our home country, Pakistan.
I have been involved in Model UN conferences for the past three years and every conference has quite honestly been an extremely enjoyable learning experience. Taking part in MUNs taught me not only how to take control of my nerves and speak in a room full of strangers but also how to negotiate and convince them to reach to a consensus. Consequently, such experiences greatly polished my public speaking skills that have made me stand out at other public speaking events such as law moot courts. Moreover, researching for MUNs has not only broadened my mind and made me develop a keen interest in current affairs but has aided me in researching in depth for other social work and law related projects that I have been involved in at school. But perhaps, what an international conference like Harvard MUN India has given me is above all my previous experiences. It gave me an opportunity to interact with people from all over the world and share their cultures and traditions. At the same time, it gave me a chance to project Pakistan’s image positively amongst delegates from various nations. This interesting experience has very rightly introduced me to people whose friendship I shall cherish for many years to come.
Details of the conference are up on www.hmunindia.org .
A Recap of the awards in Harvard Model United Nations India could be viewed on this YouTube link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f67XRE0ILhU
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
