This moment feels unreal to me, the fact the conference is over. I have spent eleven months on it and it’s time when I write this blog. COMUN was a surreal expeirence. I remember sitting in a room with Ms. McQuillan and Dr. Lundin saying, I want to make this conference the best we have ever had. I think with this years’ EXCO, admins, delegates, and the COMUN Faculty we have made that possible. The dedication and rigor they have worked with are commendable and I cannot thank everyone enough for making my last conference so memorable. I am truly grateful to EXCO and admins this year for the work they have put into this years conference. 

There were two ceremonies held for COMUN. Here are the livestream links for those.

Day 1:

The opening ceremony went so smoothely. We had an intial issue with ethernet but the Tech team, Lithira, Johail and Oliver helped us solve that.[LO5] I had to make a speech at the end of the opening ceremony to officially declare session open and I really enjoyed that. Here is an excerpt from my speech:

 

 

“The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia calls for this conference to be sensitive towards these nations, present solutions with ethical consideration and make sure to have a multilateral approach in their resolutions. As the Kenyan Ambassador said, “Multilateralism lies on its deathbed tonight, as it has been assaulted today as it has been by other powerful states in the recent past.” It is concerning and saddening to see the situation in Ukraine and many more situations of crisis across the world. We together can solve this, we together can stop this and we together can believe in ourselves to do our parts so that we do not suffer. [LO7, LO6]

As Antonio Guterres said on 25th February 2022, “We must give peace another chance.””

With successful debate on day one, sessions were closed with excitement for the next day.

Day 2:

Day 2 was a day that I got to chair committees. A committee that I started and brought into the Sri Lankan MUN circle was CCPCJ which is the Commision on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. This committee discusses crimes across the world and what type of action or change in justice laws has to be made in order to prevent this. It was an incredibly fun day for me where I also learned and saw a true spirit of debate between delegates. Here is an excerpt from the resolution of CCPCJ.[LO6, LO7]

Operative clause 4: 

Accepts that a prolonged State of Emergency becomes meaningless and calls for nations in a state of emergency to lift it, replacing it with a new law that will: a. Bring some emergency measures into normal law to create an ‘environment of alertness’ that will:  Increase powers of judges and investigators temporarily or permanently when investigating cases that became the reason that a state of emergency was required ii. Identify public places heavily vulnerable for suspects of terrorism to convene/visit and monitor it closely. 

I was thoroughly impressed with the passion delegates showed during this debate and aditionally, we also enjoyed our time with them. I also chaired General Assembly 3 which was another productive debate. After a long time in the COMUN history, every committee passed a resolution. That means every committee was collectivvely able to come up with a succesful and feasible soltultions after a long reso-debate with many ammendments.[LO5]

I saw myself learning from delegates who spoke with pure passion and always gained attention by the whole house. Their way of speaking, adressing the house and articulation was admirable. [LO1, LO2]

Day 3:

Day 3 started off slow as committees were still finishing up debate. On day 3 we started crisis. I chaired the crisis between General assembly 4 and the Economic and Social Council. Their crisis had many witty delegates and the chairs were no less themselves. It was a fun process where I learned about the situation of spy organizations across the world. [LO2, LO6]

Whilst doing that, I had to handle the organization of the closing ceremony. It was a stressful process as we were a bit behind schedule for the cerificates. I was stressed but I also learned how to manage it. It was a draining process to get eveything in order but it was all worth it. [LO5, LO4, LO3]

In the proceess of MUN as a whole, I’ve learned leadership skills, how to deliver a speech, how to manage funds, budget, get sponsors, organize an event from scratch and network. As I end my COMUN journey, I am emotional and at the same time hopeful for the future. These skills are things I will use for the rest of my life. Be it in the next MUN I do, at University or in my future career. I met some of my bestfriends through this process and I will always cherish and remeber it. [LO2, LO1, LO4, LO3]

There are people who have been there for me and supported me in this process and they are: Ms. McQuillan, Dr. Lundin and my secretariat. I am grateful for them and I will always value this experience.