BY the time the Dar Al Hekma Model United Nations Conference (DAHMUN) reached its second and third day of sessions, the participating students were getting into their stride. The nerves and shyness of the first day had been overcome and most of the delegates were earnestly – and sometimes humorously – joining in the debates. There were three sessions set up: The Human Rights Council, who were discussing the nature of modern media and the brutality against citizens of the popular uprisings; the Security Council, discussing the ‘No fly-zone: will it shift the balance of power in favour of the Libyan uprising?'; and the General Assembly who were discussing: ‘State of Emergency: The situation of Arab States declaring States of Emergency in times of turmoil'. Some 120 delegates from nine different schools attended this conference and, two weeks ahead of time, they were all assigned a country that they had to represent. In that time, they had to study in depth the stance that these different countries were taking on these issues so that they could debate with some degree of authority – even though their own personal opinion might differ from that of the country they were representing. The event was organized entirely by the MUN Officers of Dar Al Hekma college and Nadine Mojadid, the Secretary General, spoke to me about the challenges they faced doing this: “We have been planning this since January and we have had a tough few months, but the officers all worked together as a team. We had lots of brainstorming sessions on how we wanted to organize the committee, the opening ceremony, how we would contact schools, and basic things like how we would order the placades. None of us had any previous experience in organizing any conferences, so it was a steep learning curve. We have made a few mistakes here and there, but we will have better skills to organize the next conference. We are hoping to attend an international conference in another country next semester.” The girls are setting their sights high: “We are hoping to go to Harvard,” said Mojadid. “If not Harvard, there is the world MUN in Thailand.” She is enthusiastic about MUN and what students can learn from taking part: “It is so much more than just politics – that is what I tell everyone. Yes, you have to read and research a lot, but you learn how to debate; you learn how to think critically; you learn how to think under pressure; and you learn how to negotiate.” Nadine is 20 years old and is majoring in Banking and Finance. The youngest delegates, just 14, were two girls from the Bangladeshi school but they didn't want to give me their names – they didn't want anyone else to know how young they are. “We had no idea about anything to do with the UN,” they said. “It has been interesting to see how the super powers and countries in the world get together, and to find out what adults do all day! It is also interesting to hear the different perspectives and understand why they think as they do and how things happen.” Noor Kayyal, a 15-year-old Saudi girl from Jeddah Knowledge International School, was also among the youngest there and proved that the confidence to take part and be interested in politics is nothing to do with age. “You are never too young to be interested in politics!” she said enthusiastically. “I love debating, and my parents are enjoying my involvement with MUN as there are limited activities for us in Jeddah, and this is a good one.” During the Human Rights session, proceedings were suddenly interrupted by a “demonstration” outside with a large group shouting: “Freedom, peace, to the Middle East!” The Officers had made good use of college IT facilities, and immediately there was a “newsflash” on the screens in the auditoriums, showing the demonstration. The demonstrators then came right to the door and their spokesman said: “The Human Rights Council is not giving us what we want!” During the General Assembly session, there were also mock interruptions and news flashes from “Al Jazeera” saying that two female journalists had just been kidnapped in Libya. Immediately a request for a change of agenda was put forward to discuss the kidnappings and the importance of ensuring the safety of journalists in the Arab world, and in areas of turmoil. The debate suddenly livened up with lots of delegates wanting to air their 30-second opinions. Another mock newsflash then came on with Gadaffi announcing his demands and terms for the release of the kidnapped journalists. Shaima Al-Haj from Sudan and Munira Abdulwahid from Eritrea, are both graduates of Dar Al Hekma, and were the Chairs in the General Assembly Committee. “I graduated last year, and MUN has been a passion since 2008,” said Shaima Al Haj. “My first MUN experience was in Germany when I attended a conference at Bremen. It was a huge challenge but it was also great fun, and this was when I got hooked and understood the concept of the MUN. There were so many rules to know, so much information to learn, but no amount of preparation can replace being in the real situation.” The DAHMUN was altogether a well-organized, punctual event and it was exciting to see all these young women from different backgrounds enthusiastically taking an interest in international diplomacy and politics, learning about the role and methods of the UN, and being encouraged to take part in international conferences in Europe and America. It was interesting to note that although many of them are not Saudi, when talking about their experiences at international conferences, they spoke as though they were representing Saudi Arabia – and were proud to do so.
