COMUN and the first Practice Debate!

Leading up to the PD, we had our weekly Tuesday meetings regularly so that we could brief the EXCO as well as practice chairing with them so that they were familiar with procedures of their committees. We had multiple events before we had the first practice debate such as the Delegate workshop, Faculty Advisors meeting and presenting in the OSC assembly about the conference this year.  Here are a few snapshots of the meetings we had:

[EXCO meeting: Screenshot]
[Secretariat meeting][Conducted almost every Friday]
The delegate workshop and faculty advisors meeting:

  • It was a great experience overall because we recorded the delegate workshop and presented in front of the faculty advisors last month. It was a rewarding experience because we had been working with the EXCO on this for 2 months which is why, it was a great organising experience as everything ran smoothly on zoom and the feedback we received was also  positive. I wasn’t involved in the bigger presentation but I was involved actively when answering the questions of faculty advisors from different schools in Sri Lanka. Here are some snapshots of these meetings:

Training our delegates:

  • OSC delegates this year were particularly drawn towards WHO which was very good to see. It is a fantastic committee and is very relevant considering the times we are in right now. They all did a great job during PD 1 as well. We had multiple debates during our Monday sessions which were productive as well as informative. Me and Anargi both taught them the procedure and we also played some fun Kahoots to lighten up the mood when debate got too heavy. Here is a snapshot of our debates:
  • [COMUN delegate meetings and Kahoots]

Preparing for the OSC end of semester assembly:

  • The OSC assembly was a great experience for me because I encountered a problem which I didnt think about. Right before presenting Anargi had a power cut which is why, I had to do the entire presentation. Since, I am familiar which her slides I was able to do it but it was very nerve-wracking  because not only were there 200+ people on the call but this was unexpected. I was shocked at first but then I pulled myself together and presented. In my opinion, it went well and I came out more confident about public speaking which was a positive feeling.

Practice Debate 1:

On 30th of January 2021 , COMUN had its first practice debate of this year and it was a very big learning experience of me and the rest of the EXCO. It was a lot of work for me as the Head of Operations because I had to deal with all of the financial side of it as well as for the conference to run smoothly especially as it is online. With the permission of our Head of School, and our Faculty Advisor the EXCO met up physically[Adhering to the COVID protocol as well as informing the PHI]. We did run into issues with the venue and where would it be the best to host it. Since, it was the first PD, a lot of issues such as internet etc were expected. It was a difficult situation of problem solving as well because we had to ensure social distancing as well as proper COMUN etiquette. Even if the conference is online this year, it is very new to us because we have never run the COMUN conference online. It is by far the biggest conference in Sri Lanka and is very well known and respected. We want to keep the name of the conference going which is why we had to work very hard to keep the high standards of this conference intact. Some people attending weren’t familiar with zoom which was also another difficulty we as the EXCO, especially the Secretariat had to handle. However, All the hard work and resilience shown by all of used to a wonderful debate in every committee. It was productive and the topics chosen by the EXCO were pertained to the theme of this year which is “Informed action in times of crisis”. The website made by our tech and media team has all the information about the topics and it represents us as the EXCO and the conference itself. Everything we do usually is the same this year and there is no change in general produce for any committee. Seeing it in place during PD 1 was very rewarding.

[Me chairing General Assembly 1: Screenshot]

CAS Learning outcomes and reflection:

LO1: As the secretariat, w did miscommunicate which is why I want to improve on that by PD2. There were a few things that weren’t;t paid attention to such as individual needs and requirements of the environment by the chairs because we were very focused on the delegates. I as the Head of operations need to sort that out with the administrative team as well as how many breaks we can give our delegates so that they don’t feel zoom fatigue by the end of the session.

LO2: Having this conference online is in itself the biggest challenge and all the issues that come with help me grow as a person and a student leader. It was a great learning environment and by the end of PD1, I came out more affirmative and confidence because of working with various committees and chairing GA1 for 2 hours I learnt how zoom can also be a good way to host a conference.

LO3, LO4 and LO5: I am committed to this conference and I do everything in my ability to make this the best learning experience or the 200 people attending debate this year. I also worked collaboratively with the EXCO, Admins and delegates to ensure the smooth running of debate. It was a challenge and it required patience but it is all worth it.  Planning this whole experience was not easy but I had immense support from everyone involved to make I possible. To make the venue possible and to organise the zoom meetings. This was entirely co-dependent and collaboration and communication was key. The communication can be better but within the entirety of the situation, we as the EXCO did a good job.

LO6 and LO7: The whole situation fo COVID and encountering several issues rearing the situation in the world. It can safely be said that this conference as a whole deals with several crisis’ . I chaired GA1, which deals with the nuclear and space crisis which was very interesting for me to hear. The level of debate was good and it also made me realise how space crisis is overlooked many times. dealing with over 200 people online can cause many ethical issues and in terms of how we as the EXCO behave, is also important. There were a few times where we could have improved our problem-solving but other than that we did take care of how we all felt about meeting physically and it’s implications. Safety measures were taken and the necessary people were informed.

 

Thank you for reading!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *