e-MUN: A(not so)brief overview

When the MEC MUN Society Instagram page posted a coming soon poster for a phenomenon slowly gaining popularity in MUN circuits in the wake of the corona induced lockdown, called e-MUN, most of us were probably bewildered at these people for hosting a MUN during the quarantine. Well, for those who attended, however, it was an oddly fun experience that not only reduced the gloomy air 2020 has been giving us but was also an opportunity to debate about some seriously interesting stuff (with fancy words).

Conducted over Zoom, with around 100 participants discussing topics from marijuana to the economic impacts of a worldwide pandemic, MEC MUN Society’s first-ever e-MUN was a huge success and hella fun to be a part of. But the best part of the 2-day event wasn’t the online debates or the newly formed friendships or even the panel of awesome Executive Board Members. The best part was the fact that everyone attending the event got the chance to contribute to COVID-19 relief efforts because all profits of the event went to the Kerala Chief Minister’s relief fund. Not only did the participants get to attend an online debate with delegates from all over the country for a very humble fee, but they also got to donate to corona aid as well.

For all those of us who still get confused when we hear the word “Model United Nations,” the MUN Society also held a simple orientation program to help baby MUNners get a grasp on what to do (debate with all your heart) and what not to do (attend the event in your underwear with the camera off).

We even had collaborations with 3 other prominent MUN Societies; NITK MUN, IIDMUN and UNNATI MUN. The title sponsor for the event was Mittalium steels, and MUN OFFICIAL was the online media partner. News about the e-MUN and the money raised for COVID-19 relief was covered by The Times of India and e-Manorama.

The event was inaugurated with the wise words of our beloved principal Dr Vinu Thomas sir, Dr M V Rajesh sir, and Mr Anup Nair, MD of Martin Engineering India. The delegates were reminded of the importance of debates and discussions with the words of Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (yes, that was totally cool), through a pre-recorded video.

Now, the most important part of any MUN (no, not the food, I was disappointed too), the committees!!!!!

All CM Meet PM (ACMPM)

Like what one would expect from the name, this was definitely one of the most exciting committees. The Executive Board consisted of Jairam R Prabhu as the Prime Minister, Rahul RM as the Principal Secretary and Abhishek Premnath as the Cabinet Secretary, all of whom stayed true to their roles and gave guidance and advice to the delegates whenever necessary. Even though the platform was online, the delegates held nothing back, and the best parts were probably the fiery unmoderated sessions. A room full of screaming and passionate delegates is always fun after all. With the agenda of Analysing the role of states in the socio-political-economical revival of India post-Covid, the delegates got the chance to be heads of various states. All the delegates had to make decisions with this tremendous responsibility upon their shoulders and they embraced this task with everything they had.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Ah yes, riveting discussions on monetary and economic matters after the devastation of a worldwide pandemic crisis. While some people (*cough*me*cough*) might find this a little boring, the delegates somehow made this one of the most efficient committees, ECOSOC was the first to set up moderated caucuses and get the debates underway. There were captivating discussions on the agenda, Critically analyzing the various forms of aid and economic policies of counties during the COVID-19 pandemic and reviewing associated allegations. With Jerin Mathew and Hashir Jaleel as the Co-Chairs imparting their wisdom and Harinarayanan Shaji as a fun Director who even took up the role of USA at a point to make the committee interesting, all the attending delegates participated actively throughout.

The World Health Organisation(WHO)

Perhaps the committee most looked forward to, with the agenda, Legalization of Medical Marijuana, not only attracting a large crowd but also giving way to some very passionate discussions. With debates sometimes deviating from the topic to everyone talking about Dosas and Sambhars (I know, I’m confused too, were they actually on crack??), to 2 days of intense discussions, WHO was definitely the place to be. With experienced MUNners like Harishankar Padhmanabhan as the Chair, Aswin Shanil as the Vice-chair, and Samaira as the Director, the committee was filled with versatile discussions and debate.

The International Press

Roasting someone miles away while sitting at home is no easy task, but these guys pulled it off. Asking the questions that needed to be asked, and putting the delegates on the spot, the press conference was definitely a delight to watch (the burns, we were there for the burns). Ema Arun was the Head of Journalism, and she had some questions that had the delegates sweating.

The Secretariat (aka self-promo time)

The event was organised by an excellent team of rising MUNners from the second years of the MUN Society. Heading the group was Niranjana, the Secretary-General, Sandra Sam, the Director-General, and Arjun R Nair, the DSG Finance. The Under Secretary Generals were Alan Antony, handling Delegate Affairs, Sreerenjima and Malavika R Vikraman taking care of Publicity, Aswathy S, in charge of Content(and this article!) and Adil Rafeek, who was the head of Design and the man behind the stunning set of posters forming a sea of intricate patterns of red and black on MUNSOC’s Instagram page.

The event came to an end with a message from Hon. Minister VS Sunil Kumar and the prize distribution ceremony. We saw the participants bid a sad goodbye to the people they’ve been screaming at for the past 2 days. Overall, the e-MUN was a fun boredom-alleviating event that introduced us to new people and opinions, and also raised money for a good cause as well! So if you weren’t there, it’s your loss really.

Please do read the article on MEC IntraMUN 2020

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