COMUN 2013

COMUN 2013 WAS A GREAT SUCCESS! Being the Secretary General was a goal I set for myself all the way back in 2011. It required a lot of work, maturity and responsibility yet I have a passion for COMUN and after being apart of it for 4 years, it only seemed natural. The past 8 months consisted of a lot of ups and downs as conflict arose when having to deal with certain faculty advisors and peers yet this showed me the necessity and importance of compromise and seeing a view from the other persons point of view instead of just your own. The entire process made me engage with issues of global importance and broaden my own knowledge on the events that shape our world.. This is helped me even for the IB as I now have a comprehensive outlook on the worlds economy, security issues and humanitarian issues. However the most important thing I gained was confidence in public speaking. Even though I've always been confident, I've never felt comfortable public speaking and when I first spoke on the 1st of March at the opening ceremony, I was shaking. However throughout the 3 days, like all the delegates, I too grew up and built up my confidence even further and when I gave the final speech at the closing ceremony, I was able to deliver it with complete confidence and ease.

The conference itself went smoothly. From an administrative point of view, the conference ran like clockwork and was organized to the heights quality. From a debating point of view, I believe this was the best conference in the past 4 years! Sachin and I made it a point to train the chairs and the training paid off as they were absolutely amazing and stimulated great debate which triggered all the delegates to blossom as well. A great improvement within the delegates of OSC was evident too as Sanoj Jayakody won an award for the best new bee. The calibre of the conference too was outstanding due to the incredible chief guests we had including the former chief justice of Sri Lanka, the Hon. Sarath N. Silva, PC.

Throughout the past 4 years, COMUN more than simply catalyzing my growth has marked my growth. I started 9th grade as a rather shallow teenager not worried about issues that shape our world yet as each year progressed, I grew. I learnt how to collaborate with people of different ages, classes and view points. I gained more confidence than ever whilst broadening my knowledge and lastly, I realized if I set a goal for myself, it can be achieved as i beat out 500 other children for the position of Secretary General.