Tenth anniversary: LUMUN set to break barriers, build bridges

Delegates to experience the past, present and future of UN diplomacy.


Our Correspondent December 17, 2013
LUMUN student delegates at a conference. PHOTO: EXPRESS/IJAZ MAHMOOD

LAHORE:


LUMS United Nations is set to celebrate the past, present and future of diplomacy and international cooperation at the LUMUN X conference that kicks off at the Lahore University of Management Sciences this week. 


The theme for this year’s conference is Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges. The participants will deliberate on a variety of issues including drone strikes, drug trafficking, literacy and development disparities; and futuristic issues like possibilities of water exploration on Mars and nuclear holocaust in 2030.

Committee sessions begin on Wednesday and will continue till Saturday. The conference features three General Assembly committees, five ECOSOC (Economic and Social Councils) and Regional Committees. Seven Specialised Agencies have also been added this year. “This year’s conference has a special X factor to it,” Sagar Jagani, LUMUN secretary general and head delegate, told The Express Tribune.

Unique committees like the International Court of Justice and the Futuristic Security Council are some of the new features this year. The organisers have gone the extra mile to ensure historical accuracy and futuristic features at the sessions.

“Typewriters and notepads will replace laptops and projectors at sessions to mark the Bandung Conference held in 1955,” Jagani said.

He said members of the Futuristic Security Council session would have an interesting experience using special software that assumes the technological advances of the year 2030. “The idea is to augment the MUN experience by taking our delegates on a journey through various eras,” he said.

LUMUN will be celebrating a decade of hosting Model United Nations, one of the oldest of its kind in the country. More than 800 delegates from across the country and abroad will arrive at LUMS on Tuesday for registration.

The conference will officially commence after the opening ceremony. Former ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

LUMUN president Imran Ahmad Khan said his team was very excited about the conference but also felt overwhelmed. “There is immense pressure to make the conference memorable for all the delegates,” he said.

The delegates will deliberate on diplomatic issues of global significance, he said, this would offer them a chance to “live the diplomat’s life” for a few days.

“On the academic side, the conference allows delegates to learn about pressing global issues,” he said. “But what truly engages young delegates is the experience of interacting with peers, both local and foreign.”

The executive council approached as many as 3,000 international delegates but could receive confirmation of attendance from 13 delegates only. The delegates from Indonesia and Germany have already arrived but several Indian and Afghan delegates could not make it. Khan said the six Indian delegates had not received their visas. Teams of delegates from the Lahore School of Economics, the LACAS, Lahore Grammar School, Karachi Grammar School, St Patrick’s High School, the SZABIST and the NUST are among the participants.

Daily plenary sessions will feature prominent people including Aisamul Haq, Major Geoffrey Douglas Langlands, Dr Khalid Zaheer, Almas Bobby and Gibran Nasir.

The Diplomatic Meet will give delegates a chance to interact with serving and retired ambassadors in an informal setting. Social events including the cultural cabaret and a concert have been scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

The five-day conference will end on Saturday.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2013.

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