Delegate Workshop:

Ahead of the COMUN Final Conference, it was vital as the EXCO to prepare the delegates for the best possible conference performance as well as so they would be fully aware of what each of the committee chairs expect of the delegates during conference. In preparation for this, we as the tech team with the help of the rest of the EXCO created a 45 minute video for the delegates to watch which included each of the 7 committees as well as an introduction and closing from the secretariat. Usually the delegate workshop is intended to run in person ahead of the conference days, but with the onset of the pandemic and having almost 200 students participating it was merely impossible to have it in person. Creating the video was the next best option. In Mid-January, the whole EXCO met up in person (30ppl) at a conference room and filmed scenes for the whole video. (LO5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively) We as the tech team had to take initiative to plan out the whole video (storyboard), film the video, and also edit the video.  During this day, we collectively filmed all the committee sections, as well as the sections where the secretariat speaks about the important information about the conference. (LO4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences) Each of the committees were given an allowance of 5 minutes for the final video where they talked about the topics for each of the conference days and the practice debates.

We began by setting up the cameras facing the couch where we planned to film the delegate workshop video, we started off by propping up the tripod, and calibrating the mic to pick up the best audio of the speaker without collecting background audio. As we setup the cameras, the rest of the EXCO members came in to record their section for the video. We made sure to record the clips in chronological order of the committees on the website to make it easier for us when sorting the files for editing. (LO1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth). It took us about the whole day to record all 7 committees with the secretariat members, but that was with many challenges that we faced. Some of the challenges we faced was the time it took to record all the committees, the main problem was that the EXCO wasn’t fully prepared, and for some committees it took about 5 tries to record the whole thing. This later translated into spending more time organizing the files and editing them. The final video wasnt due for about 1 week after the recording date, so we took our time editing the video and making it perfect. Once the video was edited, we shared the video with the secretariat, mainly the USG (Under-Secretary General) to look over the video and to check if everything was fine. Once we were given approval that the video was fine, we uploaded the video onto youtube and shared the link to all the delegates via email.

 

Practice Debate 1 & 2:

Around 2 weeks after the delegate workshop video was sent to the delegates, practice debate 1 occurred  (3oth of January 2021). For the delegates it was held over zoom in which debate started at 9:30 and ended at around 4:30. With lunch breaks held from 12 – 1pm. Whilst for the EXCO members, we conducted debate in person at a hotel called Kestrels Colombo. We felt that having all the EXCO members in one place without trying to conduct debate from our homes was going to be the best thing. Thinking about it now, it would have been very difficult for us to run debate at home because if they had technical problems at home, it would have been difficult for us to fix it, or even give them a laptop to use for the session. During the practice debates we also recorded videos of the EXCO chairing/working and also edited the committee promotional videos which will be needed for the opening ceremony. These promotional videos were about 1 to 2 minute videos about the committee and videos about the topics covered for the conference days. These videos were being created by the Media team with me looking over the videos to ensure that they would be good to show everyone at the opening ceremony. (LO3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience) We still had plenty of time to complete these videos by the final conference date, but we made sure to do them earlier so we also had time to show it to the secretary to get approval. At times during the practice debate we also helped the delegates with whatever technological problems they had, examples of this were; not being able to screen share over zoom, not able to change their name, turn their camera on and many other problems.(LO2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process). This also later being reflected in final conference.

 

Learning Outcomes:

Just throughout these few days excluding the final conference I experienced all the learning outcomes except LO7. We see that LO1 was experienced even in the first section where I talked about the Delegate Workshop, where I had to set up all the camera gear and the mics which was something new to me. This allowed me to learn a lot about cinematography and allowed me to grow in that area. Next LO2 and LO3 was experienced throughout this whole process because I undertook challenges to set up everything technologically for the conference and I learned how to plan and initiate the whole tech process with my team. LO4 was demonstrated as COMUN took place every tuesday starting about 3-4 months prior to the conference date but also I had to commit to doing the extra work that I had to do to prepare for the conference. COMUN being all student planned, it taught me how to work with people to get things done methodically whilst working with multiple people (LO5). Lastly LO6 engaged me with many global issues in the sense that, we were exposed to these global issues whilst working for COMUN and making the videos for each of the committees.