HIAMUN ‘16 - The HIAMUN Impact: Three Years of Experience

HIAMUN’13 was the first HIAMUN with delegates from other schools, thanks to a powerful executive team of that year and the years before. This had a great effect on all the conferences to come. HIAMUN’14 was a year when the conference expanded to greater forums. HIAMUN’15 was the year the conference was granted the THIMUN Qatar affiliation. We interviewed HIAMUN’13 Secretary General, Malak Saleh, HIAMUN’14 ECOSOC President, Marawan Tarek and HIAMUN’15 Deputy Secretary General, Omar El-Shahidi to get their take on the experience, and how MUN has affected their life. 

What experience did you gain from MUN?

Omar El-Shahidi: Well, I was always a shy kid, like me, standing on a podium actually speaking? No way.

Then I joined HIAMUN and it gave me a lot of confidence. Now I love public speaking. I feel like it's a platform where I can express myself or show a more confident side of me, not to mention the socializing skills you gain from MUN. I can go on forever about how much MUN changed me. All in all, MUN transformed me into the man I am today.

Marawan Tarek: It helped me to deal with people better and understand them more.

Malak Saleh: I owe a lot of what and who I am today to that role I was given the privilege to fulfill. It teaches you how to function under stress, which you will have to a lot of times throughout university and life in general. It teaches you how to synchronize your mindset with the others working with you and I think that's the most valuable lesson I've learned because the real market and world is a tough one and had I not gotten that kind of exposure during high school, I don't think I would've handled it all the way I did. It's life changing in all sense and meaning to the word.

How did having such an important position add pressure on you more than being a delegate in the past years?

Omar El-Shahidi: Well, as DSG you're responsible for bring the conference to life, so it's a lot of pressure. Not only that, but we were also aiming for the THIMUN Affiliation so we really had to up our game.

As DSG you connect the ideas of the SG to the real world, you really just have to pressure people into doing their best. So it ends up that you're nagging at the OC and AC to finish their work, and fighting with the SG about budget details and possibilities. So it's a lot of pressure because you have a lot of responsibilities to juggle, but I enjoyed being DSG. Definitely one of the highlights of my years in High School.

Malak Saleh: It was kind of overwhelming at first, since I decided to open the conference up to other schools. It took time to choose the executive committee, to finalize all 5 forums and the press team was the toughest because the main team had graduated the year before so I sort of had to choose someone I know would be able to deal with it entirely and alone at times. But thankfully I had the best executive team and deputy Secretary General so I didn't have to do any of it alone. So having all of us work on this together I think is what made it so memorable and smooth. By the end of the process all of us could pretty much do anything.

So, is being a DSG worth the trouble and the work? Or did you enjoy being a delegate better?

Omar El-Shahidi: Being DSG is definitely worth all the headache. Working with Mohamed Sabry and Karim El-Dib was one of the best things that happened to me, and the feeling you get when everything falls in place is just extraordinary. During the conference though I was quite nostalgic to be a delegate again. Debating has always been my favorite thing about MUN, but if I had the option, I'd still choose DSG, hands down.

If you had the opportunity to not go to MUN, would you have taken it? Why? 

Omar El-Shahidi: I'd still do MUN. MUN had great impacts on my character that make me who I am, so I wouldn't really let go of that. Also, the connections you gain from MUN last for quite a while. Like, during the first week of university, a couple of people knew me because I was the DSG, and it’s kind of hard not to feel proud when they say that.

Are there any mistakes/decisions you took while on duty that made you rethink later when you saw its impact?

Malak Saleh: Of course. Nothing's 100% perfect. And like anyone else there were things, looking back as happy as I am with what the conference was, I wish I would change or take back. A major thing was that I wish I would've delegated better throughout the pre-conference period. I think had I done a better job at that a lot of the small details I saw that could've been better wouldn't have happened. But thankfully I did have a great team and mentor that later taught me how to gradually master that skill.  I just took everything Mr. Karim told me to heart and went with my gut. I had a vision about what HIAMUN was going to be in the future and worked towards that vision and goal.

Marawan Tarek: Definitely, but I always felt capable because I had a great director, team and chair that supported me all the way. They really made things a lot easier for me. I was a bit scared because of the huge responsibility at first, but I was really happy that I got to do it.

What is the most important advice you would give the HIAMUN’16 Secretary General?

Malak Saleh: Own it. Do your position justice, and go with your gut because you got to the place you're in because of your hard work and dedication. Enjoy it while it lasts because experiences like this one are so rare!

HIAMUN ‘16 - The HIAMUN Impact: Youssef Ramzy & Ahmed El-Agha

As HIAMUN’s sixth conference approaches, the conference was awarded the THIMUN Qatar affiliated plaque during the THIMUN Qatar Leadership Conference, QLC on the 15th of October. It was accepted by HIAMUN’14 Secretary General, Ahmed-El Agha, who was a guest speaker in the conference alongside HIAMUN’15 Press Head, Youssef Ramzy on “Photography & Videography in MUN Press Teams”.

We caught up with the alumni to discuss their HIAMUN experiences and the impact it had on their lives post-school.

What would you say about the significance of Press Teams to a conference?

Youssef Ramzy: The press teams are the ones that make the conference successful. They basically do everything from advertising the conference, up until documenting the conference itself. A press team is an essential and key element in any MUN conference, it is an important need to create a successful conference. The press team is what makes the conference an actual conference!

What do you think is so unique about HIAMUN that has gotten it so far?

Ahmed El-Agha: I think HIAMUN is the perfect balance between fun and seriousness. The level of debate is very high, and at the same time the delegates have a lot of fun. It isn't easy to find that combination in an MUN conference. 

How has contributing to HIAMUN affected you personally and helped develop you?

Youssef Ramzy: Contributing to HIAMUN had a great impact on me, I can say that it gave me the motivation to work with many different people no matter what conflict I faced. It made me practice my leadership skills, especially as a press head, and it definitely affected me in terms of organization and time management. Because one day in our lives we will have to face the true meaning of being leaders, and we will face many complications we will have to solve. So yes, HIAMUN had a great impact on me in who I am or what i do today.

Ahmed El-Agha: MUN took me out of my comfort zone, and made me more comfortable with public speaking and communication. Participating in HIAMUN helped me push that further because I was doing it with people I already knew well, which also added to the fun. The executive positions helped me in leadership skills and decision-making. In fact, I got to develop these skills ever since my first conference as a delegate, since even in that position you're technically taking decisions on behalf of a country!

Participating in MUN has definitely affected these two alumni positively, from being Secretary General to Press Head, the leadership positions that they have taken on have helped their organizational skills, decision-making and more, as well as their earlier roles as delegates have. It has helped them branch out to other activities and develop their skills, such as presenting at the Qatar Leadership Conference. We hope they continue to grow, along with many more students.

HIAMUN ‘16 - Secretary-General Interview: Mariam Hassaballah

Meet HIAMUN 2016’s Secretary-General, Mariam Hassaballah. An active high-school senior to-be that has mastered the ability to run one of the most anticipated and hopefully successful MUN conferences as of next year. Introducing someone like Mariam, last year’s GA president, is a mere formality. Assuming that you take part in the MUN community, chances are that you would be quite familiar with the name. Mariam’s notable influence on MUN grounds can be further clarified through the consideration of her countless characteristics that distinguish her as surely an influential leader. 

Her constant stand for what she believes in, as well as what MUN stands for, and the necessary incorporation of that into the upcoming conference, is evident in the following interview which we had the pleasure of carrying out with her. The insight regarding the theme of next year’s conference “metamorphosis” and the future of HIAMUN as well as its technical side can be obtained from this interview.

Mariam Hassaballah, the Secretary-General of HIAMUN (Hayah Model United Nations) 2016. 

HIAMUN has become one of the very reputable conferences in Egypt. What traditions has it developed over the years and how would you characterize it?

HIAMUN has developed traditions that we are keen on keeping. They may not be grand traditions, however, they are small ones that characterize HIAMUN. This would include the layout of the tables with the flags, and the outstanding opening and closing ceremony videos. I do believe, though, that with every new conference, there is a different spirit that is established by both the AC and OC. 

One of the goals of MUN is to bring young, bright minds together to create dialogue and interaction. Do you feel that the delegates of next year’s conferences will be able to tackle the topics and become agents of change? 

Each year, new delegates join HIAMUN seeking means to broaden their skills and knowledge. Mostly, the new delegates are placed in the General Assembly, and because of the exceptional guidance of the president and chair of the GA, and our director Mr. Karim el Dib, the new delegates will, in fact, be agents of change. 

What is the rationale behind the topic choices this year?

The topics this year follow the theme of “metamorphosis,” the final change of transformation. We believe that a solution to these topics, a framework that will enable change, a prospectus would lead to total transformation in the world today. 

Get to know Mariam:

How would you describe yourself in one word?

    Well, it’s not one word, but obsessively organized. 

If you were an animated character which one would you be? Why?

    Mojo Jojo, I’d rather not tell you why.