Youth assembly

Date:21/09/2020 (Monday)

GSMUN DAY 1:

On the first day of the meeting, the delegates were briefed about the main topics chosen for the Youth Assembly in order to ensure that they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them when they will be researching on the issues.

While the lack of punctuality of the delegates and the low attendance served as a speed breaker, the chair started off smoothly with the introduction. The delegates were debriefed by the chair about what the committee is all about and why it is important that the chosen set of topics we discussed and come up with solutions.

After which, we directly began with the debating session. Encouraging the delegates to refrain from using first and second person pronouns should’ve been a must. However, since there were only two stable participants present during the entire session, and the other two participants were not taking part out of the four participants present. The chair decided that the standard THIMUN procedure could be put into use when the allocation of countries has been completed and after the Handbook has been shared with them.

Very simple debate topics such as “Should the general population be allowed to possess guns?” and “Should juveniles be tried and given the same punishment as adults” were used.

Both the head and the co-head made collective efforts to ensure that all the delegates present engage in the debate and are comfortable enough to open up about their views. Over time, the chair observed consistent efforts from the delegates, specifically Siddhart and Ayman. They also showed immediate response to the requests made by the chair, asking them to keep their cameras on at all times. This was a very positive thing to be noted that they could think and give their views which were highly considerable in a short span of time.

Overall, the chair as well the teachers incharge seemed to be happy with the attempt of the delegates to participate in the informal mock debate that took place.If there was attendance of several other students then it would have been very easy for us to explain them about our topics and also make them comfortable in speaking and removing the fear of not speaking during the debate sessions, but both the head as well as the co head have taken the initiative to do their level best in order to make the delegates realise the amount of strength and spirit they have. The chair feels positive that as the attendance rate increases, the chair will be able to ensure that the delegates are guided well and learn various skills that will ensure their personal self development and confident public speaking as well critical thinking, while the chair benefits from the experience simultaneously.

Date:22/09/2020 (Tuesday)

Attendance details

While the attendance was better than yesterday, there are still a lot of delegates who have not attended even one of the two conducted sessions.

Participation

I am content with the participation of two of the delegates Ayman and Anirudh who voluntarily contributed developed views on the debate topics. The consistent efforts to engage in the debate is appreciated. While Mishthy, Namya and Prachi seemed to be actively listening, they did not engage in conversation unless they were nudged. They seem to exhibit a certain degree of social anxiety which I hope they will be able to overcome as the session precedes.

Issues tackled

It was hard to get a response at first but thanks to the guidance provided by Devya as well as teachers, we were successfully able to make at least a few of them come out of their comfort zones and share their personal views over the debate topics. Mary Miss was especially helpful when it came to making sure that the committee remained active in the debate at all times by putting in her own viewpoints that provided us guidelines. Her suggestions on topic debates also proved helpful.

What worked well

Most of the delegates who were present throughout the session were able to refrain from using first and second person pronouns. They seemed comfortable with the idea of using third person pronouns and referring to each other as delegates of specific countries.

What did not

While I hoped that explaining the THIMUN procedure would ensure that they would be able to immediately grasp what is expected of them, I was answered by silence every time as the chair, I said “Are there motions on the floor”. I believe that I was ineffective while explaining the terminologies and they will have to be redone again tomorrow but this time, the chair will be using demonstrations for the explanations in the hope that this will allow better understanding from the delegates.

How to improve? - what help you need:

More authority over the students is required to ensure that they are meticulous in attending the practise sessions as well as following the basic instructions given to them such as keeping the cameras switched on when instructed.

Date:23/09/2020 (Wednesday)

I am personally still disappointed with the lack of attendance as well as lack of participation demonstrated by the delegates in my committee. I am trying to use various methods to ensure that the delegates attend the meetings by contacting them personally. While the 7 people that attended were present throughout the session, I was hoping to see better motivation while debating. However, as I’d feared, they were reluctant to pitch in their opinions unless they were personally pointed out. In the future, I plan to tackle this issue by trying to put in more effort for making the debates more interesting by using competition as an incentive to motivate them. Tomorrow we plan to divide the teams in order to see a flair in the debate.

Today, we also explained the format of the position and resolution paper in the committee. The participants still lack motivation to go through the GSMUN Handbook and understand the THIMUN Procedure as even today the response was silence when I addressed the committee as the chair and asked them “ Are there any motions on the floor”. Thus more practise will be needed to make them comfortable to use the THIMUN procedures.

Date:24/09/2020 (Thursday)

The attendance was comparatively very good since 8 people had attended the meeting. But on this day since there were new delegates we decided to have a small mock debate about the first topic that was the indoctrination of youth in terorism. Since there were few new students so we decided to introduce THIMUN to everyone.

Date:25/09/2020 (Friday)

Attendance details

The attendance has significantly dropped from yesterday. This was unexpected, however, we are still making efforts to ensure that the attendance rate increases without losing hope.

Participation

I am content to see Namya’s efforts to thrive. While she is still hesitant to speak, she has never failed to come prepared for a session. Furthermore, her seriousness is apparent to me as she contacts me whenever she has any doubts and attends the sessions on a regular basis.

Issues tackled

It was challenging to get a heated discussion while there were only 2-3 people present. We were able to tackle this issue by moving from my job as the moderator to a participant in the discussion. I did this by taking on the role of a UN representative. I hoped that this would help fuel the conversation but more often than not, the participants were unable to come up with a counter argument.

What worked well

Most of the delegates who were present throughout the session were able to refrain from using first and second person pronouns. They seemed comfortable with the idea of using third person pronouns and referring to each other as delegates of specific countries. They have now become more familiar with the THIMUN procedure but there is still a long way to go.

What did not

Since the set of delegates are pretty taciturn, they do not voluntarily participate in the conversation. In order to avoid silence in the committees, as the head, I asked them their opinions/ views regarding the topics concerned. However, it has led to an expectation by the delegates to be pointed out before they speak which should not be the case. I will require further guidance on how to make the committee more lively and communicative.

How to improve? - what help you need:

The day that I manage to ensure that delegates raise their hands using the extension (instead of placards as used by the new virtual method), I will feel that my motive has been completed. I have tried using debate topics that will seem more engaging to them, but the low attendance is a major concern. While I have tried several ways to encourage delegates to come for the meetings, I have been only successful in getting 8 students max in the committee and by the end of it, we are usually left with 2 or 3 while others use network problems as a medium to be excused from joining.

Date:28/09/2020 (Monday)

There were an average number of delegates today. Total 6 in number. The chair started the debate with the main topic that is measures to reduce indoctrination of youth in terrorist activities. It was a relief to see that the delegates had collected a good amount of information and were able to express their points in a wonderful manner with statistics to back up their views. We also gave a brief about MUN to the newcomers who had attended the meeting for the first time. We motivated them and asked them for the topics which they are comfortable in debating so that they can speak without any stops and will also enjoy the healthy debate. Several points of information were added by the chair and teachers as well in order to continue the healthy debate. And the topic which we discussed in today's session was about abortion whether it should be legal or not.

30/09/2020

In today’s session, the delegates were given a detailed overview of the first main topic which discusses the measures to reduce the indoctrination of youth into terrorist activities. I told them what type of activities can be deemed as terror inducing, the reasons for youth joining terrorist organisations, why women and children are seen as essential parts of a terrorist organisation. I ensured that delegates put in their own ideas and inputs on what causes this. Historical events that are remembered for their terror inducing nature were recalled and discussed. I was disappointed to see a lot of them lacking general knowledge on historical terrorist activities. Some of them even got confused between the 9/11 and 26/11, which is why they were instructed to begin their research and strengthen their facts about the topic.

The session ended with a short debate on the topic “Should Animal testing be legalised”. At first, all seemed to be against animal testing. They were thus encouraged to think for points to speak for both sides.

01/09/2020

Today’s session was utilised to give the delegates details about the 2nd main topic which is measures to reduce the spread of misinformation and its impacts on society. The delegates were given guidelines on how to go about their research. They were also encouraged to cite their sources. Since a lot of them seemed unaware of how this was done, they were given a demonstration. The session aimed at deepening the delegates’ understanding of the 2nd main topics. They were told the difference between misinformation, disinformation and mal-information, and were explained as to why the topic only focused on misinformation specifically. By the end of the session the delegates were able to effectively understand the root causes of what leads to spread of fake news and also the destressing effects it can have on a society. I made sure to avoid discussing the solutions so there was still scope for debate on the final MUN day

02/09/2020

In today’s sessions, the committee had around 5-6 delegates attending the session. Due to informing about the session prior to the time, the attendance was actually better than anticipated as today, being a holiday, I did not expect them to show up. I utilised this session to check the progress they have made in their research. They were instructed about how to go about the research. The delegates making resolutions were guided and their doubts were cleared. No debate took place. The delegates have been working on their research at a steady pace. However due to time constraints, they will have to be quicker.