Allison Chen

At KAS this year, I had the opportunity to be the Secretary of the Middle School MUN. Spending most Thursdays after school guiding my younger delegates, I was ecstatic to be chairing some of these students at an upcoming conference. This was the beginning of my first chairing experience.

I remember receiving the acceptance email during October of last year, indicating that I was to be one of the Deputy Presidents of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for middle schoolers at PASMUN 2021. The following months consisted of writing the chair report, communicating with my fellow Deputy President and Head President, preparing my middle school delegates, and, of course, anticipating for my first-ever chairing experience. Unfortunately, I also remember receiving another email a week prior to the conference that due to Kaohsiung’s tight COVID restrictions, I was not able to attend PASMUN 2021 in person.

During the conference, I immediately noticed the limitation of virtual chairing. Mentoring and providing help during lobbying time was difficult; the online delegates struggled to be part of the discussion taking place in the actual conference; and I could not clearly see all of my delegates when I chaired due to the angle of the camera. However, these obstacles did not prohibit me from fulfilling my responsibilities as a chair. I constantly logged into each breakout room to converse with different blocs and to oversee their final resolution throughout lobbying time. Though they were middle school students, their conversations were no different than those of high school students—I heard their passion to resolve the committee’s issues through their maturity and profound knowledge of the topics. I facilitated conversations between in-person and online delegates by prompting questions, suggesting well-written solutions from both sides, and encouraging online delegates to speak on their ideas. As for chairing more smoothly, I drew a map of the delegates’ seatings and persistently communicated with the in-person chairs. It was of paramount importance that I was able to provide as much support as I could for the UNEP delegates, despite the position I was in. I hope to contribute no differently than I did at PASMUN for the delegates at HSINMUN XVII.

From my this chairing experience, I have become more aware of the importance of teamwork. I am grateful for the collaboration and understanding between my chairs and I so that I had the opportunity to partake in the committee’s discussions as a chair. I saw the collaboration between the delegates, whether online or offline, to create constructive debates. It was also the collaboration among all of the participants in the committee that the conference was remarkable.

Needless to say, I have come to appreciate the opportunities of future in-person conferences in Taiwan.