IIMUN conference: Young minds inspired to tackle global issues

KOHIMA — Young minds were encouraged to tackle issues confronting the world during the three-day India’s International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN) conference, which concluded at G Rio School in Kohima, on Saturday.

The day also marked the distribution of prizes to various winners in different categories.

Following lively sessions of various student groups depicting or portraying various delegates during the conference on national and international issues, Hope Academy in Chümoukedima was awarded the best delegation trophy.

There were three categories of winners namely ‘best delegate,’ ‘high commendation,’ and ‘special mention.’ Each award was given to three participants from each committee based on their performances during the session.

During the two-day committee session, the delegates were divided into 12 committees to discuss their allotted agendas, ranging from state and national to global issues.

The 12 committees were Lok Sabha Committee, which focused on “Dealing with the issue of refugees and IDPs in the country;” Joint Parliamentary Committee on “Roadmap to deal with rising unemployment;” Nagaland Legislative Assembly Committee on “Preparing a framework to alleviate poverty in the state;” All India Political Parties Meet on “Preparing a framework for making political campaigns more sustainable;” United Nations Women on “Framework for making public spaces more gender neutral;” United Nations Environmental Programme on “Dealing with global waste management;” Niti Aayog on “Roadmap to promote the development of indigenous technology;” United Nations General Assembly Committee on “Reforms of UNSC;” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on “Status of Rohingya;” Influencer Summit Committee on “The advent of social activism;” FIFA on “Qualifying format for FIFA 2026” and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on “Press and media.”

The mentors, who portrayed as presiding officers during the event, lauded the different committees for their talents in delivering their presentations and appreciated on their quick learning ability.

They praised IIMUN for its efforts in training young minds to share ideas while fostering the spirit of global future leadership.

Khrienuo Rio Moa, managing director of G Rio School, acknowledged the five team members from IIMUN namely Deepaknarayan, Charge D’Affairs/ Core Council of IIMUN; Sreenidhi Srikanth, director at IIMUN; Sanya Agrawal, director at IIMUN; Riya Sanganeria, assistant director at IIMUN; and Aishwarya Manojkumar, senior volunteer at IIMUN, for successful conduct of the conference.

Kevino Savino, Dean of Students’ Affairs at G Rio School, extended acknowledgments to all involved for the successful conduct of the three-day conference, transforming it into a memorable experience. She encouraged participants to share their success stories with others.

She also commended the seamless curation of the event, which featured engaging debates, speeches and keynotes delivered with professionalism and the involvement of a panel of judges and experts, who facilitated impactful knowledge sharing throughout the conference.

Sanya Agrawal expressed the privilege of organising the conference in Kohima and extended invitation to the participants to attend the IIMUN championship conference 2024 scheduled from August 15 to the 18 at Aamby Valley City in Maharashtra. She further encouraged the students to continue their journey and aspire to become local leaders, emphasising the pursuit of truth above all else.

Interacting with Eastern Mirror, students from the host school namely Nyiti Jemu, representing Sri Lanka; Yenniya Ghaponza, representing Australian; and Runyungi Khing, representing the United States of America, apprised how they learned about the global issues facing the world. They also shared how their confidence levels were bolstered through learning public speaking during the session.

Jonathan Lemtur from Pilgrim Higher Secondary, Dimapur, who represented French, and Pfesi Meru from Greenwood School, Dimapur, who represented Switzerland, shared that they have learned how to prepare speeches, make presentations and build confidence by attending the conference for the first time.

Aanya Gupta, a student from The Assam Valley School who represented Bangladesh, stated that she gained insight into the challenges faced by other countries around the world.

Leom Lahkar, a presiding officer from Assam, shared that they discussed and exchanged knowledge about the issues surrounding the new qualification process of FIFA including both its negative and positive aspects as well as the environmental concerns associated with hosting the FIFA World Cup.

Kekhrie Kense from G Rio School representing Evelina Christilin, a council member of FIFA, shared that they emphasised the potential for hosting the next FIFA World Cup during the session.

Students from Dimapur namely Vernica Sharma, Reeva Sharma and Yala as well as Phukulo Tsühah and Vedeto Nyienu from Kohima expressed positivity about learning valuable and memorable lessons during the conference.

According to the team from IIMUN, the conference was attended by approximately 400 students, marking the 13th year of IIMUN physical conferences hosted by G Rio School in Kohima.

The conference saw participation from students ranging from grades 6th to the 12th standard representing various schools across Nagaland along with a few students from Assam.

During the sessions, students engaged in enriching discussions on national and international topics tailored to their respective age groups.

The third -day event commenced with an early morning fitness session aimed at helping students rejuvenate physically and mentally before the final committee session.

The closing ceremony concluded with planting of tree saplings by representatives from the school management, IIMUN and students.