IIM Bodhgaya organized Model United Nations event
Bodhgaya:The International Relations Committee of IIM Bodhgaya in collaboration with the Envision, the Entrepreneurship Development Cell organized their maiden Model United Nations event. It proved to be an exciting learning experience for the students. The event aimed to provide its participants the feel of UN ambassadors – drafting resolutions, plotting strategy, and negotiating with allies and adversaries. Participants took on diverse roles to resolve a conflict, to cope with a natural disaster, or to bring nations together on an issue like climate change. It was led by Dr. Medha Srivastava, Chairperson, IRC and E-Cell.
The subscribed agendas aimed to address critical issues the world is currently facing. “Global Economic Crisis due to Covid-19 Pandemic-How countries can fight this recession due to Covid-19 Pandemic” was for the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and was chaired by Prof. Sushil Khanna, Professor of Economics and Strategic Management at IIM Calcutta. He was accompanied by Dr. Tamali Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, IIM Bodhgaya. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), chaired by Dr. V. Giridhar, Assistant Professor, IIM Bodhgaya along with Dr. Soumyajyoti Banerjee, Chairperson Student Affairs, IIM Bodhgaya aimed to address the agenda, “Realizing the SDGs for Water and Ocean Governance”. The Organizing committee consisted of the Secretariat, the Academic Council, the Delegate Affairs, and the International Press.
On 7th November 2020, the first day of MUN began with an introductory speech by Honorable Director Dr. Vinita Sahay. After this, both the committees commenced with their respective sessions. For each session, the executive board did a brief introduction, about the agenda for the conference and then a motion was raised to open the general speaker’s list.
After this, the discussion began formally with delegates introducing their countries, their stand, and issues regarding the ocean and water governance and reasons for the recession in COVID-19 for UNDP and EcoFin respectively. The executive board recommended some solutions and propositions for the raised issue. Day one ended with a Q&A session by International Press as they questioned the delegates about their proposed plan and other details.
Day two, the final day of MUN started with discussions on different sub agendas presented by countries that were decided and passed through a majority vote. Moderated Caucus was conducted for each sub-agenda, which is a debate format that allows delegates to make short comments on a specific sub-issue. It was carried forward with a round of Q&A, this time among delegates. After this, a discussion for the possible solutions for the issues raised in the sub-agendas took place. For this, a team of four delegates was formed, with one author and three co-authors. The draft resolution with maximum votes was passed and reviewed by the Executive Board. Another Q&A round was conducted with the International Press which concluded the day’s session, and marked the end to this engaging event with a vote of thanks from Dr. Medha Shrivastava.
Owing to the ongoing pandemic, the organizing team had made use of multiple technological tools to organize the event on a digital forum while not compromising on the real essence of a MUN event. It is their firm belief that this event would help enhance the ability to solve complex problems which could help future leaders to fathom the pressing issues of our nation and the world. It was a great experience to help students understand International Diplomacy and Relationships.