Model UN Summit and Leadership Conference
Ms. Kamava Bopana, Ms. Archana Pental and two students Arjun Kapoor and Kartik Pental from Delhi Public School R.K.Puram attended the Model UN Summit and Leadership Conference held in New York from the 26th – 30th of June 2005. Each year, the summit brings together students, educators, community leaders and members of civil societies to share their knowledge of Model UN and Global issues. The goal of the summit was to enable members of the broader Model UN community to learn from each other – to share ideas, forge networks and cultivate partnerships.

The conference had four different channels/ tracks. Each channel had its own set of topics for discussion and had its very own set of workshops. These four channels were:

• ·Potpourri – aimed at helping in marketing a financially sound MUN conference
• ·Skills-Building – directed towards improving the skills of a delegate, the channel had workshops on country profiles, position papers, resolutions and successful role playing.
• ·Organizing – this channel dealt with techniques of improving your conference staff and secretariat.
• ·Leading – the channel addressed issues on various aspects involving leadership, ‘how to be an effective Secretary General’, ‘building a regional network’ etc.

One of our school representatives was always present in each channel, taking notes, interacting with participants and presenters.

The conference gave us an opportunity to interact with MUN experts, delegates and education experts from all across the globe. The conference was attended by delegations from the Global Classroom Countries - Russia, Greece, Norway, Mexico, China, Ghana and of course many states of USA. DPS R. K. Puram was the only school from India. The international nature of the conference allowed us to learn about the culture of these various countries, their MUN conference rules, techniques, training strategies and much more. The summit indeed was a great learning experience.

We visited the United Nations Headquarters on the 29th of June as a part of the conference programme. We toured the UN, clicked pictures in the General Assembly and attended sessions hosted by experts in International Affairs. At a sit down luncheon in the “Delegates Dining Room”, speaker Linda Fasulo, a veteran NBC correspondent on the UN introduced her book – An insider’s guide to the UN and spoke on issues facing the organization. She also distributed free copies to all the summit participants! The afternoon ended with a panel discussion on careers in Foreign Services.

A mock simulation marked the last day of the conference where we were required to put our newly gained knowledge into practice. The simulation gave us a chance to compete with professionals and stage our point of view.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience. We had the opportunity to meet some very interesting people, learn about their cultures, make new friends and of course attend lectures, workshops and presentations that have just not increased our understanding of Model UN but also broadened our awareness of pressing global issues. This is one trip that we will not forget for the rest of our lives.