Success story, Egypt - MUN 2016 Assembly UN HQ - Mohab Kaddah

My Name is Mohab Kaddah, I have been part of Model United Nations since 2013, while most of my experience would be related to my model, the German University in Cairo's Model United Nations (GUCMUN), participating in international conferences and assemblies opened up my mind to different MUN directions, diverse ways of delivery of the UN message to youth around the world and various MUN implementation methods, which could not have been possible without stepping outside the borders of my model (GUCMUN).

My journey began as part of the logistics team, that is when I discovered my passion for MUNs, and in the following years, I became a delegate, then an MUN Secretariat, up until becoming Secretary General, in 2016. During these 4 years, I participated in international conferences, such as the WIMUN 2015 conference in New York, held in November 2015 at the UN & Grand Hyatt, and the United Ambassadors MUN 2016 Youth Assembly, held in the UN HQ, August 2016.

During the MUN4UN Youth Assembly, I had the honor of being head delegate, representing the delegation of the German University in Cairo's Model United Nations (GUCMUN) which consisted of a total of 11 delegates. GUCMUN wanted to be part of the discussion of all six specialized topics, and thankfully we were able to have delegates in all six chambers, dedicated only to their respective topics, to both benefit from the experience of other MUNs around the world, and be able to introduce, and share ours in all the aspects covered.

MUN4UN was an absolute on of a kind experience. Without delving into how brilliant it was to be able to actually sit down and discover how other MUNs around the globe view MUNs, talk about how they run it, their directions, as well as goals they want to achieve, while being able to do the same, and be mutually astonished by the similarities, and differences in doing so.

One beautiful thing that happened is that I discovered that we (as GUCMUN) had already started implementing what is still being planned for, by other models in various nations, and I -happily- felt that it is only proper, since this is what the models are trying to achieve in the near future, to try and promote our direction even more and highlight its benefits, as well as its setbacks, putting in mind the different obstacles that might occur, due to the different situations, nations and various other factors. The division of the topics was superbly done, focusing 3 out of 6 topics on SDGs, possibly the most important topic to discuss, which only confirms the importance of the MUNs role in practically incorporating them in the MUN experience.

Not to take away any of the importance of the rest of the topics, like Multilingual MUN, as well as -finally- having a global MUN think-tank, and of course, the topic that I had the pleasure in being part of, discussing the UN4MUN rules of procedures.

Personally, I preferred discussing the UN4MUN rules of procedures setbacks, and how they can be overcome, while maintaining a balance between what an MUN conference CAN be like and what an MUN conference SHOULD be like. Going over the SDGs inclusion in the MUN programs was not of any less significance, attending the UN Youth Day a few days before the MUN4UN assembly was a huge eye and mind opener to how we, youth, are primarily responsible for delivering the message of the SDGs and be the ones in charge of promoting them to literally everyone. And so being a youth, who happens to be an MUN leader, and not take action regarding SDGs just didn't add up to me.

The GUCMUN delegation was very directed, when coming to the MUN4UN Youth Assembly, we wanted to share our experience, learn from others, while making sure we benefit from the outcome, and work by the resolution that we - MUNers of the world - have written, together.

personally, I had the utmost honor of giving an opening speech in the ECOSOC Chamber, which highlighted, as mentioned above, how MUNs should start focusing on not only the conferences, academic and political delegate approach, but it should also be responsible for including both theoretical and practical approaches to contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs. The speech also included the GUCMUN, and my personal take on the application of UN4MUN rules of procedures, as well as future MUN collaborations. During the other opening speeches, I was amazed by how similar other models think of their future MUN directions, not only did they have ideas for committees with the exact same functionalities, but with the exact same names! I would say there is only a timing difference between our model and theirs, and I personally found this beautifully interesting. GUCMUN won awards in three out of six topics chambers. My partner, Omar Yousry and myself won the "Best Position Paper" award, which was extremely reassuring that we are moving in the right direction. Undoubtedly, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of pride, not only of myself, but of the whole delegation, who worked really hard and put so much effort to be able to carry this message on and deliver it to the coming MUNers in the following years. GUCMUN won the outstanding delegation award in the MUN 2016 Youth Assembly.

As earlier mentioned, very few youth will go through such an experience, and even fewer would go through it, then do something with what they have experienced, we all started this assembly with one question " Can MUN change the world? " The answer has been, and will always be yes. Now that we have a clearer, more unified vision, now that we have a resolution to act as a guideline for all of us, I do not see anything that should stop us from changing the world to the better, together, as MUNers of the world. I can definitely say that this assembly was an inspirational boost for someone who always believed in the power of individuals, of leaders, of MUNers. I shall keep thriving for truly making MUN be the influence in the world, that it has the potential to be, and only then, will we, MUNers, change the world.