CUIMUN Adventures - Resounding Success!
Written by: Kaiser Kang
On November 8th to 10th, TeamLSE embarked on the 25th session of Cambridge International Model United Nations Conference (CUIMUN), one of the most prestigious conferences in The UK held at various colleges across the University of Cambridge. With nine delegates and two chairs heading to the quaint town of Cambridge for a weekend of fiery debates, this was a first conference for many attending freshers.
As we embarked on a two hour bus journey on a rainy Friday morning from Victoria bus station, we were able to maximise our two hours and a half journey through power naps, last minute research and speechwriting. As we arrived in rainy Cambridge, we quickly checked into the local YHA which was surprisingly clean and pristine. After check-in, we had a wholesome TeamLSE brunch and heading to the Cambridge Union where the opening ceremony was held.
As committee sessions began after a quick opening ceremony, TeamLSE were engaged in debating various topics that revolved the conference-wide topic of “Progress in an Uncertain World”. Topics included the 1979 Iranian Revolution represented by our very own Fernanda Alvarez, in which she noted how cold the committee rooms were. Other topics included the prevention of violence against women and girls with disabilities represented by Clarissa Wang. She noted how she had to make a speech to promote censorship on behalf of representing the Chinese delegation. I personally was involved in the topic of IED disposal amongst non-state actors in DISEC, where I got into a fiery debate with a high schooler who had a physical copy of the UN charter and was trying to recite the clauses within to highlight how my clauses were redundant from the current UN mandate. As day one slowly came to a close with opening speeches and some moderated caucuses, TeamLSE swiftly made our way back into our YHA accommodation from all corners of Cambridge and after a quick dinner at Subway, we waited back at the hostel until the social at 10pm. Although I took on the role of being the boring one by doing last minute research till 2 in the morning, others had a great time in the club (from what I have heard) and even shouting ‘LSE LSE LSE’ at the club.
Fast-forward to day two, this is the day where TeamLSE is able to showcase the hours we have dedicated in a week to MUN training to the wider UK circuit. However, as with all competitive MUN conferences, TeamLSE had to face several hurdles across a six hour committee session day. Many first time TeamLSE members were placed in committees that consisted of high school delegates who did not have experience with resolution writing. Since the majority of countries represented by TeamLSE were China, undiplomatic attacks from other delegates began to emerge and TeamLSE naturally having difficulties forming a bloc simply because of the represented country. For instance, TeamLSE had China in both the Security Council dealing with the Uyghur crisis and the UNDP on the topic of UN-Private Sector relations. Even though these challenges persisted throughout day two, TeamLSE delegates were able to effective lead a bloc that comprised of our values as well as compromises from others. After six hours of intensive debates and lobbying, TeamLSE went directly to formal dinners at Robinson College, a traditional Cambridge convention we were able to enjoy consisting of a three course meal. TeamLSE went back to YHA for some well deserved rest. As many of us went out on the Friday night, the majority of the team stayed at the hostel for some down time.
On the last day of conference, many of us are getting ready to pass our resolutions or conclude on the second topic of the agenda. After a morning of concluding speeches, debates and passing resolutions, committees concluded with elements that makes MUN truly enjoyable - gossip boxes, superlatives and memes.
On the topic of impressive records, TeamLSE swiftly moved back into the Cambridge Union for the closing ceremony. Seven out of ten members obtained awards and ‘best small delegation’ was taken home by TeamLSE! After days of negotiation, being in committee with high schoolers and meme making, TeamLSE took the train back to King’s Cross, took off our MUN hats and returned back to another normal week of school.
We would like to congratulate the following delegates who picked up awards during the conference:
1. Fernanda Alvarez - Best Delegate (China - Historical UNSC)
2. Caroline Maschka - Best Delegate (China - UNDP)
3. Ryan Au - Best Delegate (China - UNEP)
4. Aalekh Dhaliwal - Highly Commended Delegate (Germany - Council of the EU)
5. Aditya K. Agarwal - Highly Commended Delegate (China - EcoFin)
6. Kaiser Kang - Highly Commended Delegate (China - DISEC)
7. Clarissa Wang - Highly Commended Delegate (China - UN Women)
Also a big thank you to our head delegate and director of UNHRC Ellie Cottrell for leading us to victory in Cambridge as well as Sharif Kazemi for being the Vice President of 1970 Hague Summit and Vanessa Lock for being the Assistant Director of UNDP!