by: Ellyce Lim || Photo Credit: International Model United Nations (IMUN)

After two long years of holding the International Model United Nations (IMUN) Conferences through a screen, the IMUN is back at it with its second 3-day on-ground conference since the beginning of the pandemic, following the first face-to-face event held last June 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia. To kickstart the fun, it was proudly hosted in Manila, Philippines, by the University of Asia and the Pacific last November 9 to 11, 2022. 

Understandably, there were mixed emotions from EVC’s delegates, Alchris Marie Ceballos, Kyle Matthew Balasanos, and Joshua Christopher Capada, regarding the return of face-to-face IMUN. Although they were excited and honored, in line with that was the pressure to delight the school.

“We felt pressured to do really well and get awards, since it would be embarrassing to the school if we don’t have something to give back,” Balasanos confessed.

In the span of three days, six simultaneous committee sessions were held for four committees of the UN: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). EVC’s delegates, Alchris, Kyle, and Joshua, participated in the committee sessions of the WHO, UNESCO, and UNDP, respectively.

With the discussion of various pertinent issues, compromise and conflict resolution are the focus of the IMUN conferences. Based on the delegates’ feedback, seeing from others’ perspectives, being open-minded and understanding, working together, expressing your opinions, thinking critically, and analyzing situations are the main points needed on this occasion.

“We have a lot of world problems that urgently need to be solved by doing actions like cooperation, thinking outside of the box, critical thinking, and more,” said Balasanos. 

Despite their initial worries, the delegates acknowledged the conference to be “pretty chill and enjoyable.” Moreover, they have honored the school by bringing home the beacon, with Alchris Ceballos bagging the Best Delegate award for WHO and Kyle Balasanos and Joshua Capada the Verbal Commendation award for their respective committees.

When asked about how he felt after the conference, Capada responded, “I was really happy with what I had achieved not only in terms of the distinction I received but also the improvement in various skills such as speaking, research, and debate.”

At the end of it all, the three delegates agreed that their favorite part of the event was the social interaction, connection, and learning the cultural background of the other delegates from different parts of the world. 

“The bond I’ve built with my co-delegates is definitely my favorite part. Everyone was so supportive of each other, and until now, we still keep in touch despite coming from different parts of the world,” Ceballos shared. 

Truly, the fun activities and learning moments made up for the jitters and pressure the participants felt. IMUN is a learning adventure to engage the younger generation in real-world events—shedding light on the key plans and ideas stored in the brilliant minds of the world’s future leaders.