SUNDAY 7 APRIL 2019 – UWI TODAY
7
OUR STUDENTS
It’s been about a month but Tonicia Williams
can still
vividly recall themoment she saw the words “The University
of the West Indies” appear on the massive projector in the
hall at the Boston Park Plaza hotel.
“I just remember screaming,” says the 24-year-old
student from the Institute of International Relations (IIR)
at The UWI St Augustine.
And well she should. Tonicia, along with her fellow
delegate and IIR student Terriann Baker, had just been
announced “Outstanding Delegates” in the intensely
competitive 65th session of the Harvard National Model
United Nations (HNMUN), besting student delegates from
the most recognised universities around the world. They
weren’t alone.
Twoother IIRstudents,NestorGarciaandAsabiRawlins,
were awarded the coveted “Diplomatic Commendation” at
HNMUN. Students from UWI Mona also received three
certificates, meaning the entire UWI delegation (including
St Augustine, Mona and Cave Hill) took an incredible five
certificates in competition with Ivy League schools such
as Harvard, Yale, Oxford and many others. In total, 3000
students from 90 countries took part.
“It’s really a phenomenal accomplishment,” says Dr
Georgina Chami, Coordinator of the Postgraduate Diploma
at IIR, Research Fellow and Faculty Advisor for the St
Augustine HNMUN.
Founded in 1955, the HNMUN is the “oldest, largest
and most prestigious” (the official statement says) model
UN. Model UN’s are called “simulations” because they allow
students to experience the working life of a delegate.
As Asabi says, “While such conferences are ‘simulations’,
I truly think it benefits your personal and professional
growth. It’s a confidence builder, expands your appreciation
and awareness of complex global issues and strengthens
your negotiation skills. Less than two weeks after HNMUN,
I went to the actual UN headquarters in New York thanks
to my job and I certainly see how MUN prepares you for
real world diplomacy.”
HNMUN is also a competition with the goal of crafting
the “winning” resolution (a type of treaty). Participants can
also win certificates for their performance, as was done by
the UWI team. HNMUN was held from February 14 to 17
in Boston.
“There is a duality,” says Nestor. “It’s all about
cooperation but it is in a competition setting.”
The UWI St Augustine delegates in particular had to
overcome the challenge of a small window of time to prepare
for the event. Model UN simulations are no small matter and
universities make major investments in time and teaching
for their students to compete.
“For several universities taking part in model UNs is
part of their curriculum,” explains Dr Chami. “They take it
extremely seriously.”
Although UWI Mona has a model UN club and St
Augustine created one at the end of 2018, the four delegates
- Nestor, Tonicia, Asabi and Terriann - had no such resource
to rely on. Instead they had a rigorous, three-month training
process to prepare them.
“It was extensive,” says Nestor, who, unlike the others
had taken part in the HNMUN before.
Tonicia elaborates: “First, you have to submit a position
paper which is a country’s stance and solutions to your
topics, for each subtopic in one page. And so, the research
that went into that was intense, because that’s the Dais’ first
introduction to your work and how your country is thinking,
and then on top of that we had training. We had no idea
what to expect. Giving impromptu speeches was one of the
hardest things to learn, especially with no preparation and
IIR students take top awards at prestigious
HARVARDNATIONALMODELUN
B Y J O E L H E N R Y
that’s why research was so important.”
However, the team benefited greatly from the
experience of two HNMUN veterans, Akeela Marin and
Brandon Rampersad, who both have competed in the
model UN several times.
“They are very seasoned,” Dr Chami says of them.
“They came and did a lot of training with us in the areas
we were lacking.”
The complete UWI team for HNMUN was assigned
the role of the delegation for Kenya. Terriann and Tonicia
represented the World Health Organisation and Asabi
and Nestor represented the International Organisation
for Migration Committee. Within their respective groups
both partnerships were competing and cooperating with
more than 160 delegates.
Despite the challenges it was an extremely rewarding
experience:
“It really taught me to be brave and confident in
my ideas,” says Terriann. “There were so many great
experiences. There is a different dynamic when you are
speaking, a different dynamic when you are writing, and
a different dynamic when you are collaborating with your
partner.”
She was also pleased with how UWI was able to take
a position among the top universities on an equal footing
and show its excellence.
Tonicia stressed that even though it was a competition
they were able to become acquainted with people from all
over the world. “It kind of humanises the whole experience,
as much as we were there to win and we are very happy that
we won those awards.”
Dr Chami, who gave a special thanks to the Office of
the Vice-Chancellor of The UWI for its support, was most
pleased for the students:
“It’s a lot of work, a lot of preparation and then they
get their moment in the sun,” she says, smiling. “You know
what these students have been through and you want them
to shine.”
From left: Terriann Baker, Asabi Rawlins, Nestor Garcia and Tonicia Williams with their certificates.
Nestor and Asabi with their fellow international delegates.
PHOTOS: COURTESY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
