Looking Back at MIMUN 2021

Towards the end of July, on a summer weekend, twenty-five delegates gathered within the walls of the Institute to discuss border disputes concerning the McMahon Line. After countless months of quarantine and online MUN sessions, the MUN Society was thrilled to organize a real, offline conference, making the event the second-ever Milestone organized conference, Milestone Institute Model United Nations (MIMUN)!

‘The conference was very fun and also a great experience, and honestly, I think these days were the best days of my Summer.’ – Péter Paksy-Kliment, Delegate of the United Kingdom

‘One of my best experiences from Milestone!’ – Kata Milner, Delegate of Japan

The theme of the conference was ‘Maintaining cohesion and international cooperation in the face of land disputes‘. Next to a productive committee, DISEC, whose job was to re-examine the border negotiations at the McMahon Line, we also had a Press Committee consisting of talented journalists and photographers, who captured the best moments of the three-day conference, and a Crisis Team whose writers came up with an imaginative story which turned the relatively peaceful committee sessions into complete chaos by an emerging terrorist group (represented by our wonderful Emil Lázár Mészáros) who was responsible for the abduction of the Delegate of Germany. Needless to say, the delegates instantly took a collaborative approach and effectively solved all issues presented by the crisis.

‘It truly was a memorable experience!’ – Christopher J. Lechner, Delegate of Germany

‘I really enjoyed listening to the debate, and watching crises unfold.’ – Bálint Kötcsei, Journalist in the Press Committee

‘As someone from the outside, (not a Milestone student) I found it very interesting and also very helpful, making this conference a really good experience.’ – Milán Gömöri, Member of the Crisis Team

‘The Chairs were wonderful and they faced the task of moderating the debate amazingly. The Crisis Team helped in putting together a hilarious closing day. The Press Committee wrote engaging articles and made sure everyone looked their best on the pictures.’ – Emil Lázár Mészáros, Vice-President of the MUN Society

Before the conference, however, the Presidency had quite a lot to do to ensure that every detail would go as planned. ‘First, I can say, as a Presidency member, that planning the conference was no easy matter. However, it was worth it all the way! I remember the day when, before one of our sessions, the Presidency sat down to discuss our great plans for the conference, thinking about its topic. Weeks of planning, discussions and administration followed, but the final conference blew way past my expectations!’ said Oliver Lontay, the Secretary of the MUN Society. After coming up with a theme for the conference, completing a number of administrative tasks and opening applications, we have organized events, such as the Chair Training and the MIMUN Preparation Workshop, to help the preparation of our delegates. Furthermore, the talented Chairs of DISEC, Tan Li and Áron Péchy, both experienced delegates, have written a comprehensive Committee Guide that could serve as a compass while preparing and writing resolutions prior to the conference. But helping the delegates did not stop with the start of the conference. Right after I opened MIMUN 2021 as the Secretary-General of the conference and we listened to the amazing speech of the Vice-President (Emil Lázár Mészáros) of the Society, we held a Rules of Procedure Workshop so that participants could review the key aspects of the conference before moving into the first committee session.

‘MIMUN has to be the greatest time of the year at Milestone, and it would be something you would regret if missed. Thanks so much to everyone who is on the back and made this amazing event happen! Next time there is MIMUN, come if you can!’ – Jason (Yuan Zhao Han), Delegate of Nepal

‘Watching from the corner of the room, I can’t wait enough to attend the next event organized by the MUN Society, hopefully, as a delegate myself. I would like to congratulate our delegates, members of the Crisis Team, Chairs, other members of the Press Committee, and of course, our wonderful organizers, Bianka Kovács, Emil Lázár Mészáros and Olivér Lontay on making such a great conference possible! Many thanks to our Student Life Coordinator, Eszter Sebők for helping us with the event!’ –  Bálint Kötcsei, Journalist in the Press Committee

‘As a delegate, I got to experience the interesting topic at hand, and discuss solutions with all the wonderful delegates attending the conference. Again, I was blown away by the skills of the participants, especially our newcomers! All the debates were truly interesting, just like the real thing! Finally, I would like to reach out special thanks to my fellow Presidency members, the Press Committee, the Crisis Team, our wonderful chairs, and, of course, all our delegates. All of you played an important role in making MIMUN 2021 happen. I already can’t wait for the next one!’ – Oliver Lontay, Delegate of Ethiopia, Secretary of the MUN Society

As the Secretary-General of MIMUN 2021 and the President of the Society, I can safely say that all delegates have done an exemplary job! Even though I was running around the building most of the time to make sure that everything went smoothly, I could hear the impressive speeches our delegates held and I read the resolutions and articles they wrote. There were many experienced delegates as well as newcomers who only joined at the beginning of the Summer Term, approximately two months ago. For many of them, MIMUN was their first-ever conference experience! Despite the presence of the usual, healthy agitation and a fear of holding speeches or asking POIs, this state has quickly emerged into an unstoppable excitement that did not leave the delegates until the very end of the conference. It was much easier to overcome their fear as we were in a supportive community, where each and every delegate helped one another when needed.

‘It was my first conference and I was really nervous in the beginning, but in the end it turned out great. We had fun and I can’t wait to participate in the next MIMUN.’ – Nándor Gerő, Delegate of France

‘This was my first conference and I can’t describe how much I learned from it. As a delegate, I had the opportunity to make long-lasting and great friendships at the same time getting to know an important and complex international issue. It was great to see how we created a solution together, how we adapted to the crisis and how we were able to make such a great team. I believe the community is stronger than ever and it is an amazing experience to be a part of it.’ – Ábris Tóth, Delegate of India

‘I enjoyed MIMUN very much. This conference developed our community further, and it was truly great to share these experiences with so many wonderful people.’ – Tamara Lehoczky, Delegate of the United States

‘The days leading up to MiMUN, and even the minutes before it, were filled with worrying and scrambling to have everything done just right. Once everyone settled into their seats in the Great Hall, and I finished my opening speech, I realised that it was happening. We were doing this and it was all going ok! The next three days would turn out to be an amazing experience. I was impressed by all our delegates. Preparing for a conference is already a challenging task, but most of them were newcomers. Yet, they presented complex ideas and solutions to the issue at hand.’ – Emil Lázár Mészáros, Vice-President of the MUN Society

After the first two days of debating the topic at hand, the third day was all about a fictional crisis that was previously written by the Crisis Team. The delegates had to solve the issue of dealing with a radicalized US supporting terrorist group who was interfering with the India-China border in an ‘ad hoc’ fashion. ‘Working perhaps a bit too well together, I had to come in and disrupt debate both as a controversial Russian delegate and later as a terrorist’, said Emil Lázár Mészáros, the Vice-President and one of the main organizers of the conference. It was incredible to see their collaboration and how they solved all arising problems effectively. At the end of the three days, the Closing Ceremony took place, where we reflected on the best moments of the conference, reviewed pictures and memes and listened to the speeches of the Vice-President as well as the Chairs, who presented the Delegate Awards. Lastly, the Secretary-General hit the gavel, closing MIMUN 2021!

‘I can only say one thing about this year’s MIMUN conference: It was simply fantastic! From its conception all the way to the final closing speeches, the conference was a blast!’ – Oliver Lontay, Delegate of Ethiopia, Secretary of the MUN Society

‘The MUN Society did the impossible, again! My best Milestone experience!’ – László Varga, Delegate of China

Delegates who received an award:

Best Delegate – Tamara Lehoczky

Outstanding Delegate – Ábris Tóth

Honourable Mention – László Varga

Chairs of DISEC:

Áron Péchy

Tan Li

Delegates of DISEC:

Ábris Tóth (India)

Christopher J Lechner (Germany)

Kata Milner (Japan)

László Varga (China)

Nándor Gerő (France)

Oliver Lontay (Ethiopia)

Péter Paksy-Kliment (UK)

Péter Szász (Russia)

Petra Hargitai (Pakistan)

Tamara Lehoczky (USA)

Jason Yuan (Nepal)

Press Committee:

Bálint Kötcsei, Journalist

Jiayue Fan, Journalist

Dorottya Török, Photographer

Crisis Team:

Milán Gömöri

Sámuel Vető

Organizers:

Emil Lázár Mészáros, Vice-President of the MUN Society

Oliver Lontay, Secretary of the MUN Society

Eszter Sebők, Student Life Coordinator

Bianka Kovács, Secretary-General of MIMUN 2021, President of the MUN Society