XIAMUN Conference

This was my first time being a chair for a Model United Nations Conference. The three words I would use to describe my experience during the two days of XIAMUN are: Nervous, experience, and fun.

The first word is nervous, and this describes the process of one night before XIAMUN and the first day of XIAMUN. I have never been a chair before; however, I was a delegate several times. I thought I was pretty familiar with the procedures and rules a chair should follow. To solidify my knowledge of being a chair, I went over the debate protocol on the day before the simulation. Then, I realized there are actually a lot of phrases I have to remember, and also pay attention to when I should say each of them. I got really nervous the night before because I was afraid of forgetting the phrases during the simulation. I imagined the scenes where I forget, and that would be a humiliation because chairs are supposed to be the role model for delegates. The next day was even worse. Since the chairs have to take turns in speaking (running the debate) and doing the tracking sheet (take notes of delegate participation), I automatically told Jason to run the debate first so I can familiarize with what is needed to be said. What comforted me the most is that even the senior chair gets confused sometimes, and it is okay to make mistakes because we will learn. Therefore, I overcame the fear and told Jason I will take charge in running the debate for the second session. I felt pretty good since I remembered most of the debate protocols, and when I needed help Jason would step in.

The second word is experience. After two days of debating, I am finally able to say I’m familiar with the debate protocols. Moreover, being a chair means helping

the delegates with the debate protocols as well. Since this is a beginner simulation, it was good that Jason and I would pause in the middle of the debate to teach delegates the correct protocols. In addition, chairs responsibility is also to assist the delegates in forming resolution groups, writing resolutions, and making sure most of them can pass. It was a completely different perspective to help others comparing to writing the resolution myself. Overall, I gained a lot of experience as a chair from the two days of XIAMUN.

The third word is fun, and I think this is the most memorable part. During the first day of XIAMUN, the combination of nervousness, boredom, and frustration made the conference not as fun as it was on the second day. I felt more comfortable on the second day even when Jason wasn’t here in the morning, and I knew I could handle the committee. The most exciting part was when our committee finished the simulation about 40 minutes earlier. As a committee, we decided to do a debate over random topics such as Apple computer or PC. Also, Jason and I became the delegates and some of the delegates could experience being a chair. That was the time when everyone in the committee let lose because it does not need to be formal. That was the time when we bonded as a committee, and took a picture with everyone together. The room of the Human Rights Council filled with loud “point of information”, “chairs” that were being dictators which made everyone laugh, and a memory all of us remembered.