If I had the chance to be any professional for a day, a diplomat
wouldn’t particularly be my profession of choice. That’s not to say that the
duties and responsibilities of this internationally political career path aren’t
interesting; it’s just that if I had one day to be anything, I would like to
try something unconventional –something along the lines of a chef or a
snowboarder or even a violinist in a world-renown orchestra. But after spending
four days at the Belgrade International Model United Nations (BIMUN) conference,
I’ll admit that one huge perk of being a diplomat is the opportunity to meet people
from all over the world.
From March 15 to 18, the BYP Serbia group headed to Belgrade to participate in BIMUN. For those of you who are not familiar with Model United Nations, it’s a type of conference where students from high school to grad school gather and represent the various countries involved in –none other than– the committees of the UN. Needless to say, BIMUN was the international version of model UN in Belgrade. After applying and (shockingly) being accepted, I was told I would be one of two members representing the Morocco delegation in the Security Council; its topic was the crisis in Libya. Jacob represented Pakistan and Tucker France in the Security Council Crisis Committee, which addressed the Israel-Palestine issue; Charlotte represented Jordan in the Human Rights Council, covering corruption in the Balkans; and Yentli represented Serbia in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in order to discuss preserving culture in Kosovo and Jerusalem.
From March 15 to 18, the BYP Serbia group headed to Belgrade to participate in BIMUN. For those of you who are not familiar with Model United Nations, it’s a type of conference where students from high school to grad school gather and represent the various countries involved in –none other than– the committees of the UN. Needless to say, BIMUN was the international version of model UN in Belgrade. After applying and (shockingly) being accepted, I was told I would be one of two members representing the Morocco delegation in the Security Council; its topic was the crisis in Libya. Jacob represented Pakistan and Tucker France in the Security Council Crisis Committee, which addressed the Israel-Palestine issue; Charlotte represented Jordan in the Human Rights Council, covering corruption in the Balkans; and Yentli represented Serbia in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in order to discuss preserving culture in Kosovo and Jerusalem.
Of course, these issues required research and preparation; and while some of us prepared at different intensities, I think it’s safe to say that none of us were expecting what the conference truly and fortunately ended up being about: forming friendships with people from around the world. At this year’s BIMUN conference, 37 countries from five continents were represented. Basically everyone at the conference is currently living in Europe, but there were people originally from Colombia, Singapore, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan.., just to name a few countries. Never in my young adult life had I felt so worldly and so invested in an international community to this extent. Every day at the SC sessions I tried my best to be engaged and participative, but it was always much more exciting for me to have the opportunity to interact with other participants outside of the sessions.
Conversing and spending time with these amazing people has
opened my eyes (even further than the Bridge Year Program already has) to the
importance of connecting with the international community. The world is about
so much more than just the country you come from, and it’s extremely essential
to be aware of that. This BIMUN experience only further confirms that when I
return home to the States, and later to Princeton, I’m coming back as a person
with bridges that will link the world I've known to the new one I’ve
discovered over the course of these six and a half months.
