The annual MUN conference at Pilani, BITSMUN, was recently conducted by the BITSMUN Society. Over three days from the 2nd to the 4th February, delegates simulated discussions in the United Nations and the Lok Sabha, debating on a range of topics from the empowerment of women in rural areas, to the effectiveness of the ‘liberalization, privatisation, globalization’ economic model. A new addition to the standard format of BITSMUN was the introduction of ‘cashless’ committees, which seek to divert focus from competition towards constructive discussion.
The conference was attended by delegations from schools and colleges across the country, with over two hundred and fifty people participating. However, this was a steep drop from the three hundred and fifty who attended last year. The reason behind this drop according to Vishrut Shah, the Director-General, was a clash between the event and twelfth-grade laboratory board examinations. This clash led to the de-registration of around a hundred and thirty school students, significantly affecting the quality of participation at BITSMUN.
However, the event itself was generally well-received. While there was some criticism concerning the UNCND committee and the organization of accommodation, participants, including both school-going and college-going students, had a positive experience overall. Praise was reserved for the performance of the executive boards and the helpfulness of the BITSMUN team. Incidentally, this was the first time the event was organized without QED, the annual debating tournament, conducted in parallel.