Sponsored by Kodai Alumni International (now disbanded) —
The trip to Dubai may have been one of the most influential trips I have been on in the duration of my high school life. While I have been to four Model United Nations conferences in the past, never before had I the chance to voice myself as much as I did during DIAMUN 2016. This conference provided me with a newfound confidence. Being put into a room with over 90 delegates and still being able to speak my mind and be recognized as a delegate with new ideas to bring to the table was an ecstatic experience I would never forget. What I think made this different from the other conferences I attended was the luck I had to be delegated to Iran in the 1st General Assembly; one of the topics we debated on was “The question of Iran and its rights to nuclear power”. Not only was I a central figure for the topic, but I was also put in a position where I would be heard and recognized by all members of the committee; something I was not accustomed to prior to this experience. For the first time in my life, I was actively involved and a key figure in writing a resolution on the topic. Not only did the resolution get passed within my committee, but the resolution was also presented in the plenary. The plenary is an event where all the General Assembly’s gather and present the best resolutions proposed in the committee and I had the incredibly rare experience of being able to speak on my own resolution. The delegates were extremely intelligent, the chairs smart, and all members of the staff friendly which overall made the conference a memorable event.
On another note, one must not forget that this conference took place in one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world, Dubai. While I used to live in Dubai when I was much younger, returning years later and seeing how much the city had grown and developed was amazing. When I was a resident, I never had the chance to see the city as a tourist. Given the opportunity to see the city in this new light was an enlightening cultural experience. What’s even more, I am an HL IB Visual Arts student and from day one, I was already taking pictures and jotting away for new ideas and pieces I had been inspired to make after having had seen the beauty and rich culture in Dubai.
All in all, I felt as though this trip was a life changing experience and considering it may as well have been one of the last conferences I attend during high school, I couldn’t have asked for any better way to finish my MUN experience. Considering I was initially not going to attend as a result of financial difficulties, I am extremely grateful for having been able to attend this trip and cannot express enough gratitude for presenting me with this opportunity. It is an experience I would never forget.
~ Subadra Sudhir ‘17
