📍 Warsaw, Poland
🕰 March 30th - April 2nd, 2023
😚 = When I start talking about the picture exhibited above and my Chairing
Background Information
Last March, I had the privilege to pursue the role of Chair at the ZYGMUN conference hosted in Warsaw by the American School of Warsaw.
I was so excited to try out a new role in MUN and have more opportunities to talk with the other delegates and become friends with the other Chairs.
This year, the ZYGMUN conference altered a few details of their conference's organization. Since we are no longer in lockdown, the majority of the committees except ECOSOC were in person. I was lucky to chair GA 3: The Social Cultural and Humanitarian Committee, which was in person.
Back in November, right after the IMUN conference had elapsed, I completed the form to apply for a chair position for the ZYGMUN conference. I had to explain why I wanted to chair, what committees I would be interested in chairing, and what possible topics each committee could debate.
About a month or so later, I received the acceptance letter from the President of the General Assembly, informing me of my responsibilities and who my co-chair would be. Later that day, I reached out to my co-chair, introduced myself, and started working together on our Research Report for "Water Scarcity in South Asia".
Why "Water Scarcity in South Asia" Matters
*Below are inserted excerpts of the research report previously mentioned
Almost two-thirds of the world’s population struggles with water stress and scarcity, yet
this number is only increasing. Every country wants complete water security, but countries that
are not very developed suffer from the high costs needed to create and maintain clean water. The
region of South Asia is vulnerable to water stress and a potential water crisis. Over 134 million
people in South Asia do not have access to drinking water protected from outside contamination;
an estimated 68 to 84 percent of water sources are contaminated. (Unicef.org)
Water scarcity is an issue of great concern, due to its plethora of consequences. When waters run dry, people can't get enough to drink, wash, or feed crops, and economic decline may occur. In addition, inadequate sanitation—a problem for 2.4 billion people—can lead to deadly diarrheal diseases, including cholera typhoid fever, and other water-borne illnesses (WWF).
Deteriorating water quality, one of the reasons for water scarcity, can destroy biodiversity. A second consequence of potable water is the contamination of the food chain.
According to the UN, diarrhoeal diseases linked to lack of hygiene cause the death of about 1,000 children a day worldwide (IBERDROLA).
For more information on this severe and weighty problem: check out this link that takes you to the official research report Chairs Alexia and Olivia wrote for ZYGMUN 2023.
😚 Chairing
On March 30th, which was the date the conference commenced, my school and I spent the first half of the day exploring Warsaw.
I can vividly recollect sprinting from my school's delegation to the American School of Warsaw as soon as we reached our hotel to officially introduce myself to my co-chair in person and to the guest speaker my committee would interact frequently with, a founder of an NGO that financially supports refugees.
The purpose of the meeting was to understand our guest speaker's initiatives with his NGO, why he met Michelle Obama, and why he has worked with the UN on site of Refugee Camps.
Our committee was nicknamed the "Guest Speaker Committee" because we had the honor of hearing the stories of influential individuals to motivate our delegates to create profound and practical resolutions pursuing the topic of "Protecting Refugee Children" that would be sent to the UNHCR as part of ZYGMUN's MUN REFUGEE CHALLENGE submission. We also had the pleasure of listening to a presentation made by a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development representative.
After the meeting had elapsed, I received a whole goodie bag containing my badge, conference itinerary, ZYGMUN scarf, and a map of the school, and proceeded to identify the location of the opening ceremony promptly. I witnessed speeches made by the Indian ambassador for Poland, Nagma Mohammed Mallick, as well as a former NATO delegate.
March 31st was the official first day of the conference where I became acquainted with the delegates in my committee and made my first impression. The delegates and I played Ice Breaker games before listening to our guest speakers' presentations, and lobbying.
In the following days, our committee engaged in fruitful and enticing debates, whilst my co-chair and I ensured that all parliamentary procedure was followed and that delegates remained as diplomatic and respectful as possible.
Thankfully, our committee's resolutions predominantly passed, and the 2 resolutions following the MUN REFUGEE CHALLENGE were approved and sent to the UNHCR.
Overall, my experience as chair was memorable in the most positive and uplifting manner. I was able to network with so many unique individuals, and learned how to balance being a kind, inclusive yet strict, and professional chair whilst ensuring that technical difficulties were dealt with in tandem with being present and listening to my committee's debates.
I am grateful to acknowledge that I still keep in touch with my dear delegates and chair friends, and look forward to seeing them all at next year's ZYGMUN conference.
Here is a sneak peek of the debate atmosphere our committee experienced:
The last element of the conference was the closing ceremony, on April 2nd. Unfortunately, my school and I were unable to attend the ceremony in person because our flight back home occurred during the ceremony itself. It was essential that we would return to Romania on the same day because the school would start the following day, and our teachers needed to support the Juniors and Seniors who were studying for their exams.
This meant that I had to record my closing ceremony speech in advance, and since Olivia and I could not predict how many resolutions would pass before the conference would begin, I decided to record my speech in front of the infamous Palace of Culture and Science when my school visited the mall face to face with the building aforementioned.
Visiting Warsaw
As I have previously mentioned, my school and I had the opportunity of visiting our MUN conference's host city for an entire day! I was ecstatic for this opportunity to come by us, because it meant that we could truly admire and take in the landscape of our travels.
My classmates and I got to visit the cherished mall, Warsaw's nostalgic "Old Town" and got to gawk over the breathtaking architecture pursued by the catholic churches.
**Note: All of the photos are formatted as collages, however, if you press on any photo, it expands.
In conclusion, my first conference chairing was a wonderful experience and I look forward to pursuing this role in upcoming MUN conferences! 😊
I hope you enjoyed this article, and if you did, I would love to see what feedback you have for me! Please leave me a comment at the end of this article to let me know what you think, and thank you to those of you who have already shared your thoughts with me via the comment feature or privately.
Sending virtual hugs and lots of happiness your way! 🧸 🌻 🤪
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