Journal 2.7 : And THIRD is the 'treasure chest!'

   After our unfinished argument yesterday, we went back to our resort and started collecting specific details and evidences to prove the opponent wrong. We wrote down short speeches for each moderated caucus topic given by the chairperson during the last committee session yesterday. Also, we went through the format of a resolution and the criteria so that it would be easy to write the resolution on spot today. We began motioning for moderated caucuses and of course a few unmoderated caucuses in between to discuss the important points with all of the delegates and make them agree with our point of views. At the end, we proved the opponent wrong by having a one-on-one debate. We asked them why they didn't place a court order to reopen their factory if they didn't feel guilty of committing such a disaster. They couldn't refute that one powerful statement, because of which we won the argument. But that wasn't the ultimate goal of the session. The aim was to create a resolution which would help the affected employees and people. So we all sat together and wrote the resolution with perfect criteria followed through out from start to end. Guess what?! Our chair said "Delegates, this is an insanely amazing resolution. Generally, passing a resolution would be extremely challenging, but you have done it brilliantly. This resolution, therefore, clearly passes!" The amount of excitement in me was greater than the power of infinity. Our chair then gave all of us individual remarks. And this is what he remarked for me " You were crucial through out the all committee sessions. You gave three very important points which i expected from the delegates, but nobody else gave. You had no inhibitions while speaking and were very confident. Also, you were active during the unmoderated causes. That is the strength you need to be a best delegate. Good job!" I have to say, I was amazed for a second! Finally, we had our closing ceremony at the same place we had our opening ceremony at. All chairpersons came up to the stage and talked about their experiences with their committees, and how exhilarating it was to be chair for the first time. They also received awards for chairing the committees. Then, each chairperson announced the awards for their committees. The last chair to go on stage was ours. He came up and said that it was so hard to choose the winners as they all had a very healthy argument. He then announced, "The verbal mention award goes to Delegate number 1(me!)". I immediately stood up and tried shaking off the shock for a moment while everybody around me applauded. I didn't get the Best Delegate award, but i am proud of myself for what I achieved. Many of my friends in the other committees got different awards as well. After giving away the awards, the vice president came up to the stage and announced the winner of the Best Delegation award. We (TIPS) were the winners as most of us got awards and performed the best overall! He called us all up onto the stage and handed over that glorious trophy! After enjoying the moment of pride, we thanked the management for their limitless effort to make this IIMUN a success and hugged everybody a bye! After clicking a lot of pictures, we went to the Kodaikanal lake, walked around together and then ate pizza for dinner at Papa Jones before we headed back to our resort. At the resort, to celebrate our victory, we had a camp fire and enjoyed insanely... 

Duration : 8 hours

Journal 2.6 : Second is the BEST!

All trendy!

Presidential..

Waking up today, was so hard! After having so much fun dancing last evening, we had a good sleep, but for a very short time. And we had to dress up in traditional wear! So we woke up quite early and started dressing up. At the same time, we were also practicing our opening speeches since we were slowly sinking under fear. After we reached the venue ( Kodaikanal International Business School), we had breakfast and assembled in our respective committee rooms. My friend and I met only some of our committee mates last night during dinner. But we met all of them in the committee room. I was actually astonished to see most of them chilled out and quite relaxed, while I was shivering in nervousness. Shortly, our chairperson came in and summarized all the rules and told us to be chill. He said that it was completely alright to make mistakes because they are the only stepping stones to success! Guess what?! I was the first delegate to give the opening speech on the floor. Well, 'floor' is how they refer to the dais in MUN. The chair would say “ Delegate number 1, the floor is yours”, and I would have to go up in front of everyone to give my speech. We discussed a lot of moderate caucus topics today and also had a few unmoderated caucuses in between. We definitely had a very healthy debate. Every delegate put their views into such a sequence, that I was inspired by each one of them. Their uniqueness in the way of presenting their point of views was simple fascinating!

Our chairperson 

Thinking hard..

Also, I should tell you that the delegate who represented the company which must be convicted of causing the mercury crime, defended himself beautifully by giving simple counters to anything put forward from our side (the side which was is for the people). Though we didnt come to a stable conclusion today, we had a very balanced debate!

Duration : 7 hours 

Journal 2.5 : The first day!

At the dining..

The opening ceremony

Today we went to the kodaikanal international business school for the opening ceremony. Honestly, the opening ceremony was extremely inspiring. We first saw this video which summarized all the chapters of IIMUN in 5 minutes. After that, the vice president came up to the stage and shared his experience ever since he started MUNing. The way he talked and told us how nervous he was in his MUN was really motivating. All my anxiety and fear just dropped down to the level of zero. Then, the principal of Kodai- International came and gave a short speech. Also, few other people talked about how we should debate and how important listening to others, while debating is. Honestly, those words are still in my mind. “Don't just hear, but listen!”

FUN!

 Finally, the vice president came to the stage and officially called the conference open.

After which, we had a disco dance! They played music, and we went insane, dancing wildly!

That was the best disco I have ever been to. What is still so impressive is that, all of us were dancing together even with people we knew nothing about. That kind of socializing and having fun was a crazy, yet tremendous experience! After dancing, we went out to the field and clicked loads of pictures...

Duration : 4 hours 

Journal 2.4 : Winding up!

We will be leaving to Kodaikanal tomorrow morning, which means today is our last day of preparation! The best part is that we're finally done finding the answers for the listed questions. Now we're filing all our printouts of information and preparing for our opening speech which we will be giving during the General speakers list. The general speakers list is the third part of the committee session which usually happens at the beginning of the conference, but could also happen at any other time according to the number of delegates who vote for it. Every delegate gives their own views generally for a minute in a form of a speech on the floor. We took help of other opening speeches online to form the basic outline of our speeches and then we timed them. Take a look at my opening speech!

"  Honorable chairs and fellow delegates,

The former secretary general believes that the Kodaikanal mercury contamination case has been a tragic incident in the early 2000s, and yet has significant effects in today's world. This official feels that the problem of children being born with severe physical and mental abnormalities, is one that requires immediate attention, because these effects stand a very high chance of being inherited to the further generations if kept untreated.

Statistically, 45 people including 12 children have lost their lives, and over 600 people have been heavily exposed in this incident, which is believed to have taken place in consequence to the carelessness of HUL. The CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child) formed by the UN in 1989,

claims that Children's rights include their right to association with basic needs such as health care and criminal laws appropriate for the development of the child. Hence, the former secretary general presumes that this committee would work cooperatively, in order to obey to this law.

This official strongly encourages Hindustan Unilever to expiate, for the devastating mess it caused, in Kodaikanal. Also, the implementation of an appropriate pollution limit which must be followed by all industries, would be appreciated.

On that note, the former secretary general hopes for an effective and constructive debate in order to achieve justice and bring this unresolved issue to a favorable end at the earliest today.

Thank you "

Well, now we're ready to rock the dais! 

Duration : 7 hours

Reflection 1 : Performance Anxiety dissolving away...

Performance is a whirlpool of all shades of arts, and hence, a single phase of art of itself. Having to perform anything right from tracing a single letter, to debating on the dais is all art. Moreover, anything performed by you, is nothing but a reflection of yourself; not because, it exhibits your talents, but simply because it lets you discover who you are. With that note, I would like to introduce to you the most intriguing ingredient of CAS, CAS Reflections. The trinity bond between creativity, action and service is performance and what defines this performance are the reflections...

      In this reflection, I will be telling you what I perceived from this Sports drill and how much this activity meant to me. In order to start expressing my views, I must say that I am not a person who would go in front a lot of people to perform, fearlessly. Hence, one of the major skills I acquired from this drill was to perform assertively in front a huge audience. The only way to get rid of a fear is to 'do it for the first time'. Just do it! All it takes to make that fear, fear you is to take that first step. That agitation shattered right away, magically!

     Ever since the first practice session, I have been surprised of my potential. Honestly, the person I would have least expected to ever go and perform a sports drill in front of the entire school is myself!

     I also learned how to coordinate continuously with everybody while performing. All the hand exercises and the yoga asanas were things that i learned for the very first time. Having said that, I feel the fact that i was learning something new, was way beyond the skills i learned from this activity.

    This activity has had a deep impact on the way i think and apprehend things. It has made me understand that stage fear is something that has to be broken down at the earliest because the only way to prove yourself to the world is by communicating confidently. Though I didn't communicate to the audience verbally, I believe this activity has led to that kind of thought because i have finally withdrawn from being afraid of audience. Honestly, I can feel the dauntlessness in me.

    I would like to conclude by saying that this activity has undoubtedly inculcated different ways of perceiving things in my mind, and has let me redefine my existence.

Total Duration : 9.5 hours  

Journal 1.4 : Republic Day!!

To see the whole school gathered in one gallery waiting to see our performances was breathtaking. I felt the fear run through me. The adrenaline rush was just too powerful today. After a few other performances, they called out ' DP year 1!'. We jogged into the field in a line and began performing the hand exercises, yoga and also the pyramid. Ours was the last performance in the agenda, so we tried to make it the best. In the beginning, i switched one step in the hand exercise and put my hands up instead of spreading them apart. Except for that one flaw, I managed to do everything correctly in coordination with the others. The whole school applauded for us from the beginning till the very end. I was exhilarated even though I committed a small mistake at the start. However, what mattered at the end of the day was not the applause, but the experience we had in the previous sessions, the skills we acquired and the challenge we were ready to uptake!

Duration : 1/2 hour 

Journal 2.3 : Touching the core of it...

With all the basic information, we actually began thinking of unmoderated caucus topics too. Unmoderated caucus, one of the three parts of the committee sessions is a session where you are free to talk to any of the delegates about any topic informally. Its in MUN terms, called 'lobbying'. Basically, it's an opportunity you get, to communicate with other delegates in order to understand their views on certain issues. Moreover, you could play smart and make them sign your resolution as a signatory. Now coming to the pinnacle of the conference, the resolution! A resolution is a single sentence which you write for any number of pages. It contains the pre-ambulatory clauses and the operative clauses. The pre-ambulatory clauses are an introduction to the resolution and often refer to past resolutions, citations of speeches made and references to the UN charter. The operative clauses are the clauses which contain the actual solution to the agenda or crisis. This is written by a group of people called the authors and sub-authors, towards the end of the conference. Signatories are delegates who sign the resolution agreeing that they would like this resolution to be taken up for voting. Only if the resolution is taken up for voting, it can be passed, which is the ultimate goal of the conference. So we also started thinking of ideas to put in our resolution. Later, we continued researching on our mod-cauc questions.

Duration : 4 hours  

Journal 1.3 : Driving in the skills of flexibility

Yoga!

This session of CAS was undoubtedly the best as off now. Our coach, Mr. Soundhar gave us our own positions for the hand exercise. We then performed all the four exercises continuously for about five times. After a short break, our instructor came up to us and told all the people who want to participate in yoga to come front on the field. The next second, i ran away to the gallery since yoga was something new to me and i was scared of getting my ankles twisted. However, I ended up walking into the field after feeling a rush of courage inside me. I wanted to try something new and in fact wanted to seek for something hidden in me...

We first did padhmasana. This is a form of yoga in which you cris cross apple sauce, but with each of your feet placed on each thigh. It wasn't too difficult. I was honestly amazed of how flexible i was, to stay still in such positions. We then had to bend backwards and touch the floor with our hands to do chakrasana. All of us did it perfectly at the very first time, and our coach was satisfied. Then he let us form a pyramid, and that was what made this session the best of all. It was pretty hard to bare the weight of the person above me. However, it was a wonderful experience!

Duration : 4 hours 

Journal 2.2 : Digging deeper

I actually compartmentalized all the details I had at hand, and started working on my research binder. The research binder is just a collection of all the necessary information and evidences we would be making frequent use of, during the committee sessions. Fortunately, one of my best friends is in the same committee as well, so we began working together. We are the only two people in this committee from our school, hence it is just us researching about the mercury poisoning disaster. We worked in tune with the guide provided by the IIMUN for our committee, by which I mean, we started finding answers for the questions listed as topics to be discussed in the moderated caucuses. A moderated caucus is one of the three parts of the committee session in which all the delegates would present their views on a particular topic. I will get to the other two parts in the future journals, just so that you readers experience the actual IIMUN at mind! While i started right from square one of this issue, my friend began researching the effects and and the company's views. Hence, both of our research material are already supporting each other. Working in such coordination is extremely fascinating...

Duration : 3 hours 

Journal 2.1 : THE first step

   
   The Indian International Model United Nations (IIMUN) is Asia's first and largest youth organization in which high school students are given the opportunity to debate on problems that the entire world is concerned of, and come down to resolutions.
      IIMUN - Kodaikanal chapter 16 is the conference we will be attending at the Kodaikanal International Business school on the 29th, 30th and 31st of January.
      Today afternoon, the assistant director of IIMUN came all the way from Mumbai to our school to give us a detailed introduction. She told us what this conference is all about and how it will help us throughout life. From what she spoke about, I clearly understood that public speaking is the key to success. I learned that ingraining the skill to speak confidently in front of people, even about something you are not aware of, is what will help you survive in the competitive world out there.
     She first briefed us on all the committees and what the main topics are in each of them. The six committees include President's special committee, Commission on the status of women, Human rights council, Security council and North Atlantic treaty of organization. She also informed us all the rules that have to be followed in all the committee sessions.
    Until she told us about the committee I am assigned to participate in - The president's special committee, was one that nobody had a single clue about. I finally got to know that the committee has been formed to talk only about the Kodaikanal mercury poisoning case which has created a revolutionary, and in fact a devastating mess. I also got to know the profile I represent in the conference. I represent a former government official, which means my say at any cost, would always be against Hindustan Unilever ( the company which must be held responsible for leaking mercury into the surrounding).
   Now that I have adequate details, I shall begin my research...
    
Duration : 3 hours 

Journal 1.2 : A tremendous continuation

Our session today was incredible! We practiced all the hand exercises we learned on the first day with more perfection and coordination. It wasn't as tiring as the first day, because of which we repeated it several times to remove even the minute mistakes! Our instructors were trying their best to bring us into perfect sync with each drum beat. It was quite challenging, but we still gave our best.
The best part of this whole team work was the little secret signals that kept pulsing among us. We gestured each other to move with the beat each time. Those tiny giggles were like sprinkles on a dessert; they weren't all over the place, but just here and there for the sweetness. Let me now tell you what we actually did in each exercise. In the first exercise, we stretched our hands on both sides, above our head and in front of us and then turned towards our right until we finish a complete rotation. In the second exercise, we spread out our hands on both sides and spread our legs simultaneously, then bend down on our right knee. After that, we get up and turn to our right and repeat the same thing until we complete a full rotation. In the third exercise, we stretch our hands in front of us and place our right leg in the front. We then half bend. We repeat this alternatively for the right and left leg, for eight counts. Finally in the last exercise, we spread out our hands on both sides and flap them twice and then clap above our head, again for eight counts.

Duration : 4 hours 

Journal 1.1 : A KICK START TO CAS!

 Today was our first ever CAS session! Before I talk about what we actually did, let me tell you what I initially thought CAS was. A year ago, when my seniors told me about this intriguing part of the IB DP course, it seemed like an equation which had only the word 'fun' on the right side of it. Having said that, that was the sort of anticipation i stepped into the class with. Well, I have a confession to make. As our CAS instructor, Mr. Rolf, walked us through an introduction, my thoughts reshaped into different ones after which, I understood that this element of IB DP is infinite miles away from just having fun.
It moulds us to add an essence of discipline in anything we do and it also fuels the journey towards acquiring the characters of the IB learner profile. Basically, it broadens the motive of existence! Today, our activity was a 'Sports Drill'. One of our trainers, Mr. Soundhar taught us four hand exercises that we would eventually be performing in front of the entire campus on Republic Day. We aligned ourselves in four rows on the field and repeated every movement of our trainer, one after the other. Finally, we did all of the drills continuously, mostly flawlessly, with drum beats as our signals. Our trainer was very proud and as a token of achievement, called us the best batch in IB DP at school, with regard to CAS. Though it was a little exhausting towards the end, it was extremely interesting and in fact, exhilarating to work in coordination with the entire team!

Duration : 1 hour