HFSMUN 2020 Virtual Summit

HFSMUN 2020 Virtual Summit

The morning of November 7th signified the commencement of HFSMUN 2020 Online. In lines with the social distancing regulations, all the participants were gathered avidly from the comfort of their own home in the waiting room of the Zoom platform and with the attendance of over 180 participants, the opening ceremony began in the presence of our revered Trustee Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani and His Excellency, The Consulate General of Belgium, Mr. Pierre-Emmanuel Brusselmans. After a warm welcome by the Undersecretary General of the conference, Sejal Patil, the showers of blessings from our founder Dr. L.H. Hiranandani was rejoiced through a rendition by the school choir. In the opening address the Director General for the conference, Aadhavan Chakravarthy Rajkumar, emphasized on the need for the youth to be part of the change.

“Investing in sustainable development goals allows us to invest in the future and strive for peace and prosperity”. The words of our respected Principal and Head of school Mrs. Kalyani Patnaik precisely encapsulated the theme for this year’s conference- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Our Principal orated inspipring words, mentioning that even with the disturbance of an ongoing pandemic, participants have logged in from all parts of the world, which only showcases the strength of unity and pursuit of goals. Honarable Trustee Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani stressed on the importance of the use of technology in the current world and how it has been a boon in these circumstances. In unision with our theme, he showed light on the futility in the budget for wars and how the money utilized in that could be used to solve global health and socio-economic issues. Our revered trustee was followed by His Excellency Mr. Pierre-Emmanuel Brusslemans, who accentuated the true meaning of democracy, the importance of diplomacy and the need for inter-country relations with examples of anecdotes from the Kingdom of Belgium. The Consulate General also emphasized the importance of humanity that is necessary in diplomacy, urging the delegates of the conference to give importance to negotiation, communication and compromise. Finally, the Secretary General for the conference, Arnav Agrawal, addressed the gathering by starting with a quote by Adolf Hitler- “When diplomacy ends, war begins”. He then carried onto showcase the importance and the need for diplomacy by explaining how even a man like Hitler placed his faith on diplomacy. His words resonated with the rest of the delegates attending, setting the mood for the successful conference to follow.

The first day brimmed with chatter, ideas, discussions, disputes and excitement in each committee. Each of the 6 committees of the conference, UNGA 1&2, UNHRC 1&2, UNSC and ICC were packed with enthusiastic delegates who were excited to partake in diplomacy. UNGA 1&2 had a thought provoking debate on the agenda “Threats to Data Privacy”, an issue that is of prime importance in today’s technology driven world. The situation escalated when Mark Zuckerberg threw out accusations at various countries, including his own for breaching data privacy and the delegate of USA suggested banning Facebook everywhere, offering 2 billion dollars for the data of citizens. However, the delegates were able to band together with other like-minded delegates, in search of solutions. UNHRC 1&2 debated on the impeding humanitarian issue of the brutality on the Uighur Muslims and other minority groups in China. The delegates engaged in intense debates and most of the committee slowly turned against the delegate of china. However the delegate of China was able to keep calm and insisted that they are innocent, which sparked up more intense debates. The delegates of the UNSC addressed the issue of the Kurdish question with fiery accusations and debates that raged on throughout the first day, with the delegate of DPRK even boldly accusing the involvement of Russia and USA for being responsible for instilling propaganda in the Middle East. The delegates of the Indian Crisis Cabinet engaged in enthralling discussions from the get go, with delegates separated in almost two halves, with delegates from the nation of Pakistan on one side and the Delegates from the nation of India on the other. The delegates were put into the scenario of the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and were expected to rewrite history as it were through the use of diplomacy, discussion and debate. With engaging debates and enthusiastic debates in all of the committees, delegates and executive boards members alike were reluctant to see the close of day one but were eagerly waiting for the start of day 2.

At 8pm, after the close of the first day of the conference two of the best delegates from each committee received phone calls, emphasizing on their presence as there has been a crisis! All the chosen delegates were round up for a special Night Crisis committee session where they debated on the topic of illcit drug trade activity by drug cartels. In a dystopic timeline where the death of Pablo Escobar rocked the world, throwing bad blood between intelligence agencies like Interpol against major Drug cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel. Representatives of all of the major drug cartels in the world were lined up alongside representatives of major intelligence organization for a special, one of a kind gathering. The debate ensued with the crisis encroaching the whole committee, rising to a new level by the hour. The delegates engaged in fiery discussions which presented scenarios that were nothing short of a Martin Scorsese movie. With the rise and fall of the Sinaloan cartel, the Night crisis committee adjourned.

It was the second day of what took months to marshal - HFS MUN 2020. It started off without much ado, reinitiating the previous day’s debates. Buckling up to come up with comprehensive solutions for the agenda at hand, both the delegates and the executive board kicked off the next day amidst the heated debates. The day started off, in UNGA 2 with the much-awaited working papers, which were then discussed and debated upon in the form of a Q&A session. This Q&A session is what turned out to be the life of the party. Insults were hurled, jabs were made and drama was brought into committee. The road leading up to this, though, was rocky, to say the least. In other committees, debates were the highlight of today, with serious discussions to pointless arguments, the delegates always ended up with an amicable solution. The experienced chairs were ever so eager to keep the committee on the toes, whether it be a point of entertainment or a serious discussion. Suspense seemed to be passed like an ice cream on a hot summer day. Meanwhile on the other side of the table, or rather, screens were the core committee. Folding up our initial plans, we plodded along to a virtual Model United Nations. After all, we had to bring HFS MUN for the sake of future leaders. From Meluha to Zoom, we made it happen. While the possibility of this year’s MUN flickered to begin with, our Head of School and Principal Mrs. Kalyani Patnaik became our north star. Having not seen each other for months, she obstinately held faith in her chosen six or the “secretariat” as we call ourselves.

Closing ceremony of HFS MUN 2020 commenced with pride, satisfaction, nostalgia and just a hint of sadness. You might say that these were just two days, but the in numerous experiences that everyone underwent in these 48 hours are unfathomable. We taught each other patience, tenacity and perseverance. It was teamwork that made dreamwork. For the closing ceremony of HFS MUN 2020, the respected IFS Officer Pujya Priyadarshni was cordially invited, who joined in all the way from Paris, France. She gave a motivating speech regarding the value and importance of change in the modern world. While exploring the dynamic work environment that the youth is likely to be a part of in the future, she appropriately connected her message to the essence of a MUN.

By,
Aadhavan Chakravarthy Rajkumar (Opening ceremony, Day 1 and Night Crisis) and Sejal Patil (Day 2 and closing ceremony) IBDP-II
HFS International

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