I.I.M.U.N. Digital Flagship Conference 2.0

The Digital Flagship Conference 2.0 - Republic Day Edition of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.) took place from the 22nd-24th of January 2021 on our indigenous platform which provided the attendees with a 3D experience utilising latest technologies of Virtual Reality. The conference saw the participation of 10,000+ students from 150 institutions across 68 cities of India & 27 countries. However, the highlight of the conference was that for the first time ever for a youth-run organisation, I.I.M.U.N. played host to Heads of Nations panel discussion.

A few of the committees that were simulated at this year's conference included the Fourth Round Table Conference, General Assembly Plenary and India Pakistan Youth Summit. Topics that the students discussed included the Framework for stabilising economies across the world in light of the pandemic, using learnings from Arthashastra to revisit and modify the USA-Taliba peace deal & Question of menstrual leaves in schools & workplace.

Over the course of the 3 days, mornings started with yoga, students then engaged in debate sessions in their respective committee rooms with the aim of discussing and finding solutions to the various problems at hand. During the evening, they visited the virtual Auditorium where we hosted the Inauguration ceremony, MUNClave speaker series, Socials and the Closing Ceremony.

On the day of the inauguration ceremony (22nd of January, 2021) we kick-started the proceedings with a conversation on Youth & Nation Building held between Dr. Kiran Bedi, Lt. Governor of Puducherry & Mr Rishabh Shah, Founder-President of I.I.M.U.N. After this interaction was an address on "Multilateralism" that was delivered by Dr. Suresh Prabhu, India's Sherpa to the G7 & G20. Followed by this an address was given by the Chief Guest of the Conference- General Bipin Rawat, the first and current Chief of Defence Staff of India. After this, we hosted a panel discussion with Former Chiefs of the Armed Forces comprising of Gen. Ved Prakash Malik (19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army), Admiral R.K. Dhowan (22nd Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy) & Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik (22nd Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force). During these panel discussions, students got an opportunity to interact with these luminaries.

Apart from these segments, there were several performances depicting Indian culture by Mr Kumar Sharma and his dance group - Kathak Rockers and the ceremony concluded with a soulful singing performance by Penn Masala, the world's first and premier South Asian a cappella group who specialise in the fusion of Bollywood and pop-culture music.

On day two of the conference, during the MUNClave Speaker Series, the students witnessed a panel discussion on the topic of "Multilateralism during the 21st century: It's importance in a world where countries put themselves first" which saw the participation of 6 Former Head of States- H.E. Bertie Ahern, Former Prime Minister of Ireland, H.E. Sibel Siber, Former Prime Minister of Nothern Cyprus, H.E. Igor Lukšić, Former Prime Minister of Montenegro, H.E. Rui Duarte De Barros, Former Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, H.E. Ivo Josipović, Former President of Croatia & H.E. Emil Constantinescu, Former President of Romania. On this day we also had the good fortune of hosting Dr Leslee Lewis, Official Mascott of I.I.M.U.N. along with Kavya Jones. The duo delivered yet another memorable performance for the students at the Socials.

On the final day of the conference, a very special segment unfolded between H.E. Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia & Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations where they spoke about "Multilateralism, China & Cricket" - something that was an absolute delight for all the participating students. This was later followed by the closing ceremony where Mr Rishabh Shah, Founder-President of I.I.M.U.N. shared few words of inspiration with the students after which the chairpersons briefly spoke about their respective committees & announced the winners.

In all, it was an educational extravaganza like none other and true to the standards of excellence associated with our Flagship conferences.