Young leaders discuss global issues

After three consecutive successful Model United Nation (MUN) conferences, Rajshahi University Model United Nations Association (RUMUNA) conducted another national level MUN this year namely RUMUN '18 which were participated by 220 diplomats and delegates. This four-day conference was inaugurated on March 01 with the motto 'Combating Inhumanity, Prolonging Peace'.

On the first day, delegates from 47 different educational institutes and sectors from all over the country queued up to officially sign in their presence. The conference received a mix of delegates from different levels of academic background starting from high school to university. By 3:15 pm the curtains were wide open to start the opening ceremony of RUMUN '18. Sharmin Ritu, the host, started the opening ceremony by acknowledging the beauty and history of Rajshahi University.

In the inaugural ceremony, chief guest Professor M Saidur Rahman Khan, advisor of Varendra University, club advisor Dr. Shah Azam Shantonu, professor of Marketing department, special guest-Arif Ahmed, deputy secretary of Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment delivered their speeches. Arif Ahmed stated, "We hope that these voices through practicing MUN will be reaching to actual UN someday." Following him, Saidur Rahman Khan shared his experiences of four years as a diplomat in the UK and Ireland, and he motivated the delegates to continue practicing diplomacy and to increase more leadership and public speaking skills.

Acknowledging these young delegates are the future of the country and nation, the secretary-general Sujan Mahmud welcomed everyone and mentioned 90 days of hard work that the secretariat team has gone through to make this event happen. From March 02 all the committee sessions started in their respective venues. Six committees worked on different agendas which were set based on the current world issues. Committees of RUMUN-18 were: 1. United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 2. International Press (IP) 3. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 4. World Trade Organisation (WTO) 5. Organisations for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and 6. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Committees about several global issues such as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussed 'The status of Iran's nuclear project,' Organisations for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) talked about 'Building cooperation between countries and organisations for the implementation of OPCW's conventions.' United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s agenda was 'Conservation and rehabilitation of endangered and vulnerable species'.

After four hard working days, all delegates came up with some very good solutions in their resolution paper. All the resolution papers were read out in the closing plenary session which was held at Statistics Department Gallery Room. Closing ceremony ended with the award-giving ceremony at 5 pm. All the students joined the dinner, and they stated that they gathered some amazing memories to cherish for a lifetime. RUMUN '18 ended on March 04.

The writer is currently studying in the final year of BBA at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). He can be reached at [email protected]