The Tale of Digital MUNs

How far has 2020 pushed the world ahead into the digitalization of our lives? Have you ever thought that there would be a point, whereby MUNs are conducted online? Well, not, no one had anticipated that your snacks during MUNs are just going to be your mom’s food. The question might arise, how productive are Digital Platforms? Technology is around and beyond all of us, but despite its power, we still lack some of the best experiences of our lives. So how far have MUNs on digital platforms catered to our needs? 

MUNs on digital platforms give one whole-new level of experience. Physical conferences have an opening ceremony, an intriguing face-to-face debate between delegates, delightful food for lunch, and the most awaited closing ceremony. Can a digital platform cope up with the physical experience of MUNing? We observed, that it did. Digital platforms can hold opening ceremonies and can invite anyone from almost any part of the world ( provided they are willing to be present), delegates can still see each other on video calls, although the heat between the delegates during challenges, moderated caucuses, etc, might be less impactful than that of a physical conference, to a certain extent, delegates can have a fruitful debate with one another. Next, the digital platforms cannot cater to you for lunch, and for the closing ceremony, you will miss the audience cheering up to the Best Delegates. Now one might think, are digital conferences ( MUNs) worth it? 

Digital platforms cannot cater to all our needs, but it manages to keep one engaged. On the contrary of losing some key experiences of physical conferences, Digital Platforms such as Zoom, make a delegate have a fun experience, even online. One can have virtual backgrounds, for example- If it is a committee such as Lok Sabha, a delegate can have a background of Lok Sabha, and not just the building, but the people, or even the Leaders too. A debate always requires full research, and it is a basic need, one might fear that MUNing online, might cancel the experience of having a fruitful debate, and learning something from the conference- this is not true at all. A MUN is a MUN, be it online or offline, one does not frame questions and enter the conference, one cannot entirely anticipate a delegate’s speech, and one also cannot guarantee that, even on digital platforms, a delegate can go wrong, who wouldn’t want to raise a Point Of Information ( pointing out factual inaccuracy)? So, yes, Digital Conferences are worth it. Who would want to miss a MUN wearing Pajamas? 

Despite all the pros, there is one major con- technical requirements. A good speaker might have weak internet connectivity, a heated debate might end abruptly maybe because a delegate lost his/her internet connection. A delegate might have a hard time adjusting and learning how to participate in Digital Platforms. Above all, it is difficult to learn the Rules of Procedure and the whole structure of MUN for a first-timer. A delegate might refrain from participating due to the lack of guidance. Such issues can and are being addressed during the training sessions. These sessions are not only to explain the Rules Of Procedure but also is used to explain how Digital Platforms can be used. Such sessions are helpful to understand the working of digital platforms but most importantly, how a delegate can participate without hurdles. Even though one might face network issues, the Presiding Officers help the delegates, as much as they can, or they reach out to the technical department, who can address the delegates facing network issues, hence some issues of the digital platforms, can be resolved entirely or even if not, it can be up to a certain extent. 

Thus, if you are an avid MUNer, do not hold back even though it is online, because a Digital MUN has its own experience ( which you can talk about to your future kids when they MUN). An online MUN is challenging not just to the delegates, but also the presiding officers, but when both work together, a delegate can still live through one of the best MUNs of their lives.