Look behind the scenes of a MUN Conference and the life of one of our student-led and student-organised Societies! Milestone’s prestigious Model United Nations Society attended the BIMUN Conference at Budapest from which every single delegate brought home an award, which is a truly crowning moment of their hard work this Academic Year. Read the review by the President, Emma Somos, and get ready to meet them at the Student Life Fair on the 4th May.
After attending two international conferences in the Autumn, in Berlin and Oxford, during the Spring Term the Milestone MUN Society was concentrating on preparing for the most prestigious Hungarian international MUN conference: BIMUN.
On the first day of the conference, which was on a rainy Friday (04.13), delegates from all over the world gathered at the Urania Movie Theatre to attend the opening ceremony of the Budapest International Model United Nations Conference. The ambassadors of delegations representing the P5 countries were required to hold an opening speech as part of the ceremony, after which other delegates could ask questions. Following France and the People’s Republic of China, the Ambassador of the Milestone Delegation representing the Russian Federation, Emma Somos took the floor. After delivering her opening speech, she was bombarded with questions asking about the annexation of Crimea, LMBTQ rights and other ‘false accusations’ about the Russian Federation. However, it was the first great success of Russia at the conference, as we have prepared well-thought-out answers to every difficult question.
Later that day, every committee had an informal meeting, when the delegates were given the chance to get to know each other before debating and to share some interesting facts about themselves through ice-breaker games. This opportunity provided a solid basis for delegates to have a good relationship outside the committee.
The next day at 9 am sharp, the committees started their first sessions. The Crisis Security Council had to deal with crises caused by the statement of the Israeli Prime Minister, who claimed in a fictional situation that Iran possesses nuclear bombs. In other committees, the delegates started with lobbying time, when they collected co-submitters for their previously written resolutions. In many cases, I am proud to say, that the delegates of the Russian Federation got to be the main-submitters which means, their resolutions were debated in their committee during the four days of the conference.
Outside fascinating crisis updates, exchanging ideas and fruitful debates, the delegates could also participate in many social events outside the committee room during the conference. On Sunday, many delegates enjoyed a fantastic official party organized at the A38 ship and on Monday, the ambassadors of the delegations could meet with real diplomats like the Swedish Ambassador and engage in conversations about diplomacy and politics at the Diplomats’ Soirée.
On the last day of the conference (04.16), at the General Assembly every committee presented their work and resolution. Many delegates from the Milestone Delegation as main-submitters hold a speech in front of the many delegations representing the countries at the General Assembly. Other committees gathered together in another building forming the Assembly of Councils, where a historic process happened. In the Security Council, where the Venezuelan crisis was debated, our delegate, Manna Kenderesi had to exercise her veto power many times as the Russian Federation. However, the United States of America, to get around a threatened veto, invoked the use of the U.N. Resolution 377, also known as the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution. The measure states that, in the event that the Security Council cannot maintain international peace, a matter can be taken up by the General Assembly. This procedure has been used 10 times so far, most notably in 1956 to help resolve the Suez Canal crisis. As the United States called for an emergency “Uniting for Peace” session of the General Assembly, our delegate, Manna Kenderesi had to rush to the other venue, where the session of the General Assembly was hold and deliver a speech on the matter. At the end, after retaking the votes four times, unfortunately the GA passed the operative clause we wanted to veto, as in the GA a simple majority vote was required, which was reached. However, this complicated procedure and the real diplomatic behaviour of Manna, our delegate, earned her the award of the best delegate of the Assembly of Councils.
At the end of the last day, the delegates gathered at Corvin Cinema to see the Closing Ceremony, and most importantly to hear the announcement of the awards at each committee. I am incredibly proud to report that every single delegate of our delegation representing the Russian Federation has won an award at the BIMUN 2019 conference.
Three delegates of our 12-member delegation won the best delegate award at their committees, which means the first place in the world of MUN. Hanna Bitter was named the best delegate in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee. Sophie Dara was named the best delegate in the Economic and Social Council and Bence Borbely won the Best Delegate award in the Food and Agriculture Organization. 7 delegates of our delegation received an Outstanding delegate award, which means the second place in the world of MUN. It is necessarily to note, that in each committee there are around 30-40 delegates. Manna Kenderesi was named Outstanding delegate at the Security Council (and also Best Delegate at the Assembly of Councils). Benedek Sipőcz was named Outstanding delegate at the Disarmament and International Security Committee. Biró-Markovics Dániel was named Outstanding delegate at the Human Rights Council. Bianka Bodon was named Outstanding delegate at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Laura Bánhidi received the Outstanding delegate award at the World Trade Organization. Dóri Tolnai and Emma Somos both received an Outstanding delegate award at the Crisis Security Council. Lastly, two of our delegates received Honourable Mentions at their committees, which means a third place in MUN. Judit Török received an Honourable mention for her enthusiastic work in the World Health Organization and Bori Kovács also received an Honourable mention in the United Nations Environment Programme for her work and dedication. The delegates were able to celebrate their outstanding achievements at the unofficial closing party of the conference and say goodbye to their international friends who they met during sessions.
As the President of the MUN Society, I am extremely proud that every single delegate came home with an award as this was the first time our society was given the chance to represent a P5 country and to send one of the largest number of delegates, a total of 12, to the conference. The results surpassed all my expectations and it was a marvellous honour to be part of such an enthusiastic, prepared delegation that really turned into a helpful group of friends at the end of the conference. We really wrote history. Not only did we first represent a P5 country, but we have achieved amazing results, and for the first time in the history of the Milestone MUN Society, everyone has come home with an award!
Join our society at the Student Life Fair after the Year Opening on the 4th May – looking forward to another successful year filled with conferences and fruitful debates!
The awards of the BIMUN 2019 MILESTONE DELEGATION:
DISEC – Benedetto Sipozzo Outstanding delegate
HRC – Biró-Markovics Dániel Outstanding delegate
SPECPOL – Hanna Bitter Best delegate
UNEP – Bori Kovács Honorable mention
UNESCO – Bianka Bodon Outstanding delegate
WTO – Laura Bánhidi Outstanding delegate
CSC – Dóri Tolnai & Emma Somos Outstanding delegate
ECOSOC – Sophie Dara Best delegate
FAO – Bence Borbely Best delegate
WHO – Judit Török Honorable mention
SC – Manna Kenderesi Outstanding delegate
Best delegate of the Assembly Of Councils: Manna Kenderesi
Read below the short reports about their experience at BIMUN of some of our delegates:
Sophie Dara
Having been added last minute to the Milestone Delegation, BIMUN 2019 was a wonderful surprise. Despite the limited amount of time I had to prepare for the conference, I feel like I could make the best of it. This is due to the outstanding organization of Emma, a wonderful person, delegate and president who the delegation could rely on. Furthermore, the mentoring and support of Manna Kenderesi was indispensable, Manna was of constant help to me during the conference.
Being a delegate of the Russian Federation in the Economic and Social Council was a thought-provking and challenging process, nevertheless immensely enjoyable. Our committee and honourable chairs were a delight to work with.
Manna Kenderesi
In the Security Council, I had the chance to debate on the issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Venezuelan crisis representing the Russian Federation. It was great to see that even delegates who represented countries not directly relevant to the topics were really active, thus making the debates heated and exciting. To me, MUN Conferences have always meant meeting new people from around the globe and widening my perspective, and BIMUN was no different to this. After four days of very productive and professional debates, I was honoured to receive the outstanding delegate of the Security Council and best delegate of the Assembly of Councils awards. I am grateful for Milestone for making it possible for me to attend the conference.
Judit Török
I always look forward to every conference and it was no different in the case of BIMUN as well. I really enjoyed the preparation too: the friendly and fun sessions with the other members of the delegation, exchanging ideas, getting into the ‘Russian mood’ together. This time I was lucky enough to get a topic which I am particularly interested in (mental health) so it was great to do research and develop a resolution with the other delegates from the committee, trying to tackle all the issues linked to it. The crisis was also fascinating and exciting as more and more pieces of information were revealed which made it very challenging to defend my point of view and stay up-to-date all the time. All in all, I can say that the conference as a whole was an amazing experience, I have learnt a lot about diplomacy and cooperative work as well as having a great time with my old and new friends at the parties and in the breaks of the sessions.