Awards and other successes for QUTUNSA at SydMUN2018
SydMUN2018 proved to be a rewarding extracurricular experience for QUTUNSA members both experienced and new to MUN. Some of our most experienced delegates garnered awards, and our other members thrived in diverse and dynamic roles at the annual Sydney conference held from Friday 30 November to Monday 3 December.
An award winning delegation
QUTUNSA was proudly represented by an outstanding nine-strong delegation at the four-day long conference, with three of QUTUNSA’s recent delegation to SydMUN2018 scooping up awards at the closing ceremony.
SydMUN was the fifth state-wide MUN for second year QUT law and business students Tom Slater-Jones and Phillip Armstrong. They won the Best Delegate and Most Diplomatic awards respectively on the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC) directed by fellow QUT law student and QUTUNSA Competitions Officer Alexandra Cameron.
Tom represented France, and was commended notably for seconding a working paper on the Prevention of Terrorist Acquisition of Weapons of Mass Destruction that the committee ultimately passed as a resolution.
“I found the topic of arms trafficking in Yemen to be thought-provoking and enjoyed working collaboratively with the other delegates. It was pleasing to see that measures included in our resolution for the port city of Hodeidah were implemented at the United Nations a week later,” Tom said.
Tom worked closely with other delegates including Phillip, who represented Germany on the committee and relished the challenge of constructive diplomacy that saw him recognised as the Most Diplomatic delegate on DISEC.
“Germany’s unique, ‘middle-ground’ position on the topical issues discussed at SydMUN’s DISEC gave me the opportunity to converge sharply divided States to reach resolutions working towards peace in Yemen, and disarmament on a global scale,” Phillip said.
“For Tom and I, the opportunity to travel and represent QUT interstate represented another exciting step towards discussing these issues on the international stage.”
I myself was honoured to win the Best Delegate award for representing Associated Press on the International Press Gallery committee by my directors, who viewed my contribution to the conference’s press coverage as most consistent with my news organisation’s reporting style.
SydMUN – a rewarding experience for all delegates
The rest of our delegation, varied in their faculties and experience in MUNs, flourished at SydMUN2018.
QUTUNSA Competitions Officer and the QUTUNSA delegation’s head delegate and Jeffrey Wang found the opportunity to direct at SydMUN to be “an incredibly fulfilling experience”, having previously made his directorial debut at QUTUNSA’s own WebMUN in August 2018.
“I was under a lot of pressure as the committee I was chairing, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, was an Australian MUN first,” Jeffrey said when describing the challenges of directing his committee.
The sixth-time MUNer said he enjoyed “imparting my experience in MUN on my delegates” and being “able to advise delegates on what to do and what to be wary of as they embark on their MUN careers.”
Fellow QUTUNSA Competitions Officer Alexandra Cameron, was also a director at the conference, directing the DISEC committee.
Health faculty student Andi Agbejule and Law and IT student Bola Agbejule both enjoyed serving as Treasurer and Intelligence Officer respectively on the Space Crisis committee which saw China and America join forces in a multi-nation alliance to dominate outer space amidst growing civil unrest on earth.
“I liked that the Space Crisis was very dynamic and forced me to think quickly. Dealing with the internal politics (and different agendas of members of the cabinet) as well as the race to leave earth and colonise space was very exciting,” the Health student said.
Andi, who has “always been interested in foreign affairs and international relations”, proves that MUN is a great experience for students of any faculty, saying that “The skills from MUN (debating, conflict resolution) can be used in many areas” and that “Even though I’m not studying law, I still think it’s important to know what’s going on in the world around you.”
QUTUNSA Treasurer Patrick Ellway represented France on the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. From the first topic on Macroeconomic Development of Cyberinfrastructure and Security, to the highly relevant second topic on the current US-China trade war, Patrick was noted by many attendees for guiding the nature of the committee’s debate. He is also the co-secretariat of the upcoming BrisMUN’19 conference, which he promoted at SydMUN's closing ceremony.
Meanwhile, QUTUNSA Marketing & Publications Officer Samara Wendt attended the conference as a first timer and did not shy away from the opportunity to shape her committee’s debate.
Initially representing the UK on the EU Council’s first topic on European energy security, Samara was given the sudden challenge from her directors of representing Poland during the committee’s second topic of the EU’s migrant crisis and refugee quotas.
“I started off the conference nervous and out of my comfort zone, but by the second topic I had a pretty clear grasp on how MUNing works and loved the room dynamics. I even proposed a working paper despite it being quite simple, my director commended me on the quality and effort,” Samara said.
Samara recently posted her diary entries of the fabulous time she had at the conference on our website’s blog, which you can read by clicking here.
The delegation capped off their four intense days of debating and negotiating with a well-deserved luxurious evening ball aboard a boat cruising around Sydney Harbour.
QUTUNSA sponsored the delegation’s accommodation in Sydney during the conference, and would like to thank its major sponsors for their ongoing support, namely BDO, the QUT Guild, and the QUT Business School.
QUTUNSA’s delegation to the Sydney Model United Nations 2018 conference comprised:
Andi Agbejule (Space Crisis)
Bola Agbejule (Space Crisis)
Phillip Armstrong (Germany, DISEC)
Alexandra Cameron (Director of DISEC)
Ian Cheung (Associated Press, International Press Gallery)
Patrick Ellway (France, ECOFIN) Tom Slater-Jones (France, DISEC)
Jeffrey Wang (QUTUNSA’s Head Delegate, Director of COPUOS)
Samara Wendt (UK & Poland, EU Council)
QUTUNSA Marketing & Publications Officer Ian Cheung is a third year Law and Journalism student.
