LIMUN 2020: Season Finale, Home Run

By Annabel Alder

Between the 21st and 23rd of February, #TeamLSE made the long and treacherous journey to the London International Model United Nations Conference. While home comforts may have played their role (this year’s #TeamLSE ManMUN delegation would certainly say so), our success was undoubtedly down to the hard work of all delegates – which certainly paid off, with a truly outstanding awards list, and the conservation of our Best Small Delegation award.

The conference began with an impressive opening ceremony at Westminster Central Hall, which hosted the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. After enjoying speeches from former MP Rory Stewart OBE and Michael Keating, former UN Under-Secretary-General, #TeamLSE made their way back across the Strand to finish preparation and eat some dinner before our evening committee session. Delegates got stuck in straight away, most of us in the hardest committees of our careers, debating a range of complex and multilateral issues until past 9pm.

Committee started bright and early the next morning, with some delegates even utilising the (most) local Pret’s 8am opening for pre-conference meetings. Despite a few issues with rooms (Bandung delegates didn’t hear the fire alarm, which was not a drill), debate got heated quickly, and our training was put to the test. Some delegates discovered a general lack of subject knowledge in their committees, which allowed our hours of research to shine. In one committee, a certain Belgian delegation decided to use their powers of seduction in order to make the Sponsors List, to the discomfort of one half of the double delegation and the amusement of the other half. Having to express support through jazz hands instead of knocking created great unease in one committee, and as this was some delegates’ first encounter with competitive European delegations, we got to enjoy first-hand some famous allegories and metaphors, even including a lyric from Disney’s modern masterpiece Moana.

Despite one delegate beginning the weekend with the statement ‘So I’ve heard there’s something called the General Speakers List,’ the round-the-clock support of our MSB-style advisors Ellie and Frederik allowed delegates to push past a range of difficult issues, such as one delegate’s notes being systematically answered by the delegate next to him. We put our training to work both inside and outside of committee, from making grandiose bloc-attracting speeches and passing artisanallycrafted notes to potential allies, to lobbying like our lives depended on it and recruiting (whatever the PC term is for ‘periphery’) delegates from crumbling blocs to strengthen our own. In our toughest committees of the season, #TeamLSE shone through and made ourselves truly proud of the progress made across the year. In the evening, delegates headed back to the Grand Connaught Rooms for the LIMUN Ball, masterminded by LSE’s own Jonas Bokelmann, which featured the world’s largest chocolate fountain and an open bar with a bespoke selection of cocktails.

LSE was also proud to play a key role in the logistics of LIMUN. Judy Zhu, Alec Caruana, Anderson Tan and Richard Sathirathaya worked in the backroom of the Seven Sisters cabinet in Crisis, answering directives sent in by delegates representing the big oil companies who dominated the market before the emergence of OPEC. Lina Jeffcock and Francis Acevedo directed the ASEAN Committee, and Camille Coultrap directed UNHRC. We are also very proud of last year’s UN Society President Sharif Kazemi who won the Secretary-General’s Award for directing NATO. LSE was also represented at the highest level, with former MUN Director Natalie Chung as the USG-Chairing and Jonas Bokelmann as USG-Logistics.

Throughout the weekend, LSE delegates faced some of our greatest challenges yet, and our achievements really are telling of the dedication, integrity and determination of this year’s MUN cohort. For many delegates, this conference was the first encounter with competitive delegations like MUN Society Belgium and be.boosted, and also featured seasoned rivals who were bringing their A game, but with our rigorous training, extensive research and collective perseverance, #TeamLSE really pulled out the stops for our most successful conference of the year. From putting our skills and research into practice, to enjoying ourselves at the magnificent socials, LIMUN was a truly memorable experience for all of #TeamLSE.

Congratulations are in order for the following delegates:

Manas Chalwa – Diplomacy Award (SPECPOL)

Dowon Kim – Diplomacy Award (UNHRC)

Natalie Oakes – Diplomacy Award (UN Women)

Clarissa Wang & Ryan Au – Diplomacy Award (UNSC)

Tushar Mehra – Diplomacy Award (Bretton Woods 1944)

Fernanda Alvarez– Diplomacy Award (Bretton Woods 1944)

Annabel Alder & Kaiser Kang – Diplomacy Award (Bandung Conference 1955)

Yasmin Frischemeier – Diplomacy Award (World Social Forum)

Cherie Jia – Honourable Mention (UNEP)

Emily Griffiths – Honourable Mention (African Union)

Mary Samaha – Honourable Mention (Bretton Woods 2020)

Congratulations also to Sharon Zheng and Evan Schlosser (Bandung Conference 1955).

Thanks are also due to the Chairs:

Lina Jeffcock – Director, ASEAN

Francis Acevedo – Director, ASEAN

Sharif Kazemi – Director, NATO

Camille Coultrap – Director, UNHRC

Natalie Chung – Under-Secretary-General, Chairing

Jonas Bokelmann – Under-Secretary-General, Logistic

Thanks again to our Head Delegate, Tushar Mehra, and congratulations to everyone involved.