A delegation of 14 students and their faculty advisor from Dar Al-Hekma (DAH) College participated in the 2012 Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) conference in Boston, USA, from Feb. 16-19. This marked the first time that a group of students from Saudi Arabia was represented at this annual conference, now in its 58th session. HNMUN 2012 was attended by 3,500 delegates from 50 countries. Dar Al-Hekma's delegation, composed of students of various nationalities, was assigned to represent the nation of Bangladesh across several committees, each with their unique topic. Delegates were required to represent the foreign policy of Bangladesh in all matters during debate and when working toward a resolution. “It was a grueling, yet riveting four-day ordeal,” said Mazza Farajallah, one of the delegates who received an Honorable Mention award in her committee at the closing ceremony along with her fellow delegate, Basma Bahumayd. The win was an achievement for the delegates and for the entire college. “I really would like to see the young generation in our country educated about the UN and how it operates. It is the first step to create a change in the society,” said Bahumayd. Dr. Chaman Rahim, the Model UN (MUN) Club advisor at Dar Al-Hekma, agreed that this achievement was only the beginning for the college: “We hope to engage in other similar experiences so that our girls will have the opportunity to interact with wider fields of thought thus allowing them to enhance their own ideas and ambitions as global leaders.” The delegates will be using the experience they gathered at Harvard to host their own MUN conference at Dar Al-Hekma. This is the only university-level annual MUN conference held in the Kingdom. The third annual conference will be held from April 16-19 with the theme “Settling Sands: A New Horizon?” Registration is now open at www.dahmun.org.
