The 10th Doon School Model United Nations Conference was held recently at the Multi Purpose Hall. The Chief Guest for the much awaited occasion was Mr. Pawan Verma, ex ambassador and current Rajya Sabha member.

Over 450 student delegates from 45 schools across India and abroad participated in the conference, making it the biggest such event held at the School to date.

The conference began with the Plenary Session which followed the arrival of delegates. The Secretary-General of the Conference, Ishaan Kapoor, welcomed all participants and guests in addition to introducing the committee Chairpersons. The day saw a wide variety of motions being raised for debate, ranging from the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea to human rights violations in the Middle East, to — in a Historical Committee — actions taken by Nazi Germany over 70 years ago! On the whole, delegates appeared comfortable while participating in these debates despite the numerous challenges posed to them.

Delegates were often pressed to the limits of their skill at negotiations and delegates were seen frantically adding countries to their blocs and writing their resolutions – following which they defended them in particularly ‘grilling’ interpellation sessions. The results of such efforts were quite mixed: while the UN Office of Drugs and Crime commendably passed a unanimous resolution against narco-terrorism, several other committees – including the European Council, 16th Lok Sabha, and the International Civil Aviation Organization were able to pass two resolutions and resolve their agendas. Others however, such as the flagship Security Council, were not able to come to a consensus on the topic, but clearly deserved commendations for the quality of both their lobbying and their heated debates.

The results of the 10th DOON SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE

• BEST DELEGATION (large) Welham Boys School, Dehradun
• BEST DELEGATION (small) GEMS MODERN ACADEMY, DUBAI
• BEST DELEGATION IN CRISIS SITUATION – PINEGROVE SCHOOL, SOLAN

The Headmaster, Mr. Matthew J. Raggett, presided over the event and distributed the various awards for the conference, for both individual delegates and whole delegations. A vote of thanks was given by Rishabh Agarwal the president of the conference.

The Doon School Model United Nations Conference is India’s biggest and most reputed high school MUN conference. Inaugurated in 2007, the Doon School Model United Nations Society has consistently hosted a series of annual engaging, entertaining and intellectually stimulating conferences, with each leaving a unique legacy behind it. Ranked amongst the top 25 high school MUN conferences in the world by BestDelegate.com, DSMUN has grown to be one of the key entries in every MUNning calendar. DSMUN has a history of attracting the best of, both, the Indian and the international delegates from the Pan-Asiatic Region. Over the years, DSMUN has never failed to surprise, with an array of committees ranging from the orthodox to specialised and unconventional simulations, from the regional to the international and covering a range of time periods.