Pune/Hyderabad: Through forums, panels, and other key initiatives, Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) India 2019 simulated the young minds to become proactive initiators and problem solvers, bringing about a positive change in the society. The event was held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre from August 15 to 18.
HMUN India was also hosted by Harvard International Relations Council (IRC) and was co-hosted with Worldview Education, theme of the 9th Annual HMUN was ‘Converge for Change’. The aim was to empower Generation-Z with the opportunity to find solutions to the world’s most daunting issues. Over 1,700 students and teachers from across the globe participated in HMUN. The students presented committees on WHO, UNDP, Security Council and others. They had to debate the given subject in the committees. A student from Pune for example would be given ‘Belarus’ and had to debate issues concerning that country, said Husain Abbasi, educator with MSB Education Institutions, Mumbai.
Jenna Wong, Secretary-General, HMUN India 2019 said, “We have been working towards making HMUN India a community that unites young minds from across the globe and provides them a platform to solve world’s issues. And it is incredibly heartening to receive such an enthusiastic response.”
Sampreeth Reddy, CEO, Worldview Education said, “At HMUN India, our objective is to sustain the values of United Nations, encouraging the ‘Generation of Solvers’, to take a proactive stance towards meeting the SDGs and making a scalable real world impact.”
Sampartha Pradhan, Bidhi Pant, Partha Wagalui from Kathamandu-based Manpi City School were representing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) committee. According to them, this conference helped them understand how economic growth takes place in African countries. “Also how to approach problems and how the solutions are found,” they said in unison.
Himanshi Aarya, a Class 12 student from Gwalior represented WHO committee. She said, “It helped boost my confidence. I was presenting Mauritius on one of the committees. I learnt diplomacy, negotiation skills and how to work in a team.”
Std VIII students Gurushiv Perumal and Anjali Iyer from Silver Oak International School, Saksham Dev from Santa Maria School were liaison officers who would help the delegates manage their forum. “It was a huge learning experience as we got the confidence of how to relate with the delegates,” they said.
The HMUN India Leadership Forum, led by Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, Vice President, Strategy and Insight, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, and D Shivakumar, Group Executive President, Aditya Birla Group for Strategy and Business Development, enabled young minds to gain insights into the industry.
At the India@75 panel, delegates deliberated on the India@75 vision with thought leaders such as Arun Maira, former member of the planning commission, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of Industries & Commerce and Information Technology Department of the Telangana government, Anu Acharya, CEO of Mapmygenome and WEF Young Global Leader and Abhijeet Pai, Group President at Puzzolana Group.
