UNS — Mas Shafira Azhari, a student from the Food Technology Program Faculty of Agriculture (FP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, brought a proud name for UNS at the international stage. Shafira—her shot name, won the Verbal Commendation award in International MUN Conference 65.0 – United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) held online on Saturday and Sunday (10 – 11/7/2021).
In between her online classes due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Shafira actively finding new opportunities to improve her skills. Shafira has participated in UNS MUN Club since 2019, which opens an opportunity for her to participate in International MUN Conference 65.0 – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
To the uns.ac.id team, Shafira shared her doubt when she was about to participate in the event. Her reluctance was because of the lack of UNS student’s enthusiasm and the close registration deadline. Shafira is the only UNS student who participated in the event. “But after reassuring myself and think when will I have another opportunity to try a conference, and international at that. Not to mention amid the pandemic. So, I just took it,” she said to uns.ac.id team on Wednesday (21/7/21).
During her two days of experience participating in the International MUN Conference 65.0 UNDP, Shafira said that she got many new experiences. On the first day, Shafira participated in MUN 101 to get the conference’s initial knowledge and technical procedure. This introduction greatly helps her because she has never participated in an international conference before. In her first opportunity, Shafira was trusted to represent the delegates from Kazakhstan.
The event was followed by the General Speaker List (GSL) and a formal debate on “Global Goals 2030: No Poverty and Zero Hunger,” which attracted Shafira to participate in the conference. “This is one of my reasons to select UNDP during the registration because I am concerned and understand SDGs, and I think “Zero Hunger” is closely related to my program,” she explained.
She added that the global target to alleviate poverty and hunger in 2030, as mentioned in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 1 and 2, had not been fully implemented. Based on the global research finding, poverty and hunger stay as serious issues the global community faces. Shafira considers that the current condition of the community contradicts these SDGs because many people are still suffering in 2021. “The Covid-19 pandemic worsen this condition. Many countries are collapsing because of this pandemic,” Shafira explained.
Therefore, Shafira is aware of the importance of youth contribution who will lead the world in the future to be aware of international issues, including poverty and hunger. Shafira’s concern grew since she started her university education, and in line with her major, “Zero Hunger” is not a foreign issue for Shafira. She and her friends even made a campaign on the topic once.
On the second day, Shafira participated in another GSL and formal debate on preparing solutions and draft resolutions. The event took eight hours on the first day and seven hours on the second day.
Verbal Commendation Award in First International Conference
Participating in her first International MUN Conference brought experience and an award for Shafira. She won the Verbal Commendation award with her other nine friends from various countries. Verbal Commendation is an award for delegates who delivered their ideas during the conference. “When I got it, I was surprised! Alhamdulillah, from my council, there were ten people, including me,” the sixths semester student stated.
Shafira stated that she wants to participate in other international conferences in the future. Still, she will focus on completing her study and finding new experiences from webinars, internships, and other projects outside the campus.
Tips to Build Self Confidence for International Conference
In the interview, Shafira also shared some tips until she won the Verbal Commendation award. The first tip is honing the English skills because it is the critical support for participating in an international conference. “Don’t be discouraged because you feel your English is poor, because you’re learning,” she said. “While challenging yourself to speak or to listen to other delegates speaking, it could elevate our English. As long as we understand the basic (we will) be able to comprehend,” she added.
Secondly, training to prepare a short speech draft meets the conference topic because participants need to prepare a speech at the conference. Shafira explained that participants would get an opportunity to speak only when they raise their hands. The third tip is to fully comprehend the conference topic by reading the provided guidelines or listening to other delegates’ opinions.
Fourth, understanding the situation and condition of the country you represent. As a representative of a country conference, participants have a significant role in delivering the issues occurring in the country. Therefore, participants need to conduct preliminary research on the issues from the country they represent. Shafira also researched the problems in Kazakhstan, and she thinks it is interesting because she could learn more about a country.
Fifth, actively finding information on the opportunity to participate in an international conference. For example, by participating in clubs. Shafira said that she was helped by participating in UNS MUN Club because her club provides information on the international conference and training and direction for its members who will participate in the forum.
“From UNS MUN Club, I got a training and direction from H-2 and H-1 conference, for example on preparing position paper sent one day before the conference and the general explanation of MUN,” she concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Alinda Hardiantoro
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
