The first time I traveled to Qatar was in 2011 to help set up the press team at a brand new THIMUN conference in the Middle East. I don't think I slept, at all, during my five day visit because everything was so new to me and I never expected to return to this region of the world. I wanted to soak it all in. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected that my visit in January 2020 would be my fourteenth trip in nine years. You can take the countries out of Qatar (blockade reference), but you can't take Qatar out of Newmo.
I returned to assist the Q-Munity press team, but they sure didn't need my help. I had them engaged in a wonderful pre-conference workshop. Our conversation revolved around best journalism practices for a MUN conference newspaper. The team was bright and we focused on issues well beyond the basics of interview style and photographic composition. This team wanted specific skills so we went right to work on several role playing scenarios. We had a lot of fun and then they just all sort of disappeared, jumping right into their designated roles for the week. I loved watching them support one another and they certainly did dive in depth in their presentation of the paper. Hind Al Thani and Nowair Al Tamimi were extraordinary Heads of Press, clearly committed to raising the standards of a student press team to give the conference participants a very professional product.
Below are some of the many faces of THIMUN Qatar holding the symbolic representation of the Sustainable Development Goal that keeps them up at night.
This year's THIMUN Qatar conference chose SDG 3 as it's theme. Every forum had a topic relating to the Goal of good health and well being. THIMUN Qatar was also proud to support the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Education4Justice (E4J) initiative, and to incorporate many UNODC mandate issues into their 2020 Conference. THIMUN also hosted the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), run with rules of procedure that more closely align to the working of the CCPCJ. Marion Ehalt, from the UNODC Vienna office, was present at the conference to speak with the students in CCPCJ about their resolutions and to help guide debate. There is no question her presence empowered the students and helped them understand that their voices were being heard on a global scale.
One addition to THIMUN Qatar that impressed me was the video content that was created by the Chairs of every forum to supplement the research topic papers that were presented on the THIMUN Issues web page. See below:
An added bonus to THIMUN Qatar (TQ) this year was the keynote address from Dr. Happiness himself, Andy Cope. While he resides in the UK, he travels the world promoting positive attitudes and happiness for all. "Consider becoming the type of energy that no matter were you go, or where you are, you always add value to the spaces and lives of those around you.", says anonymous, but I'll attribute to Andy. The big take-away for me personally after listening to his address and sharing an Uber with him back to the hotel, was that I have no reason to be sad when I return back to John Burroughs after my year-long sabbatical. I have heard the adjustment period back into the school and classroom is HUGE and many people say you go through a period of depression in the fall. During his address to the students at TQ, Andy wore a shirt with a smiley face that said, HAPPY. He tossed a few extra shirts out into the crowd for the students. I had an idea. What if I wore such a shirt on my first day back to school to profess my joy of being back; a reminder that "I am happy" and why shouldn't I be? Why focus on what I've lost (all that freedom and travel and connection with colleagues and students around the world) when in fact that mindset can be changed to the belief that all that I've experienced in this year can now be shared with the school and students I care about and love so dearly. And why wouldn't I be happy that I accomplished all that I have (with still five months to go) and have no regrets and did all that I wanted to do. And many of the projects will continue and the relationships will certainly not fade away, given the work we are doing with MUN Impact and with the United Nations. Ok, reading back on these last few sentences I wonder if I am just trying to convince myself of something that isn't true. But all joking aside, Andy did have an extra shirt for me.....a pink, extra-small....that I believe works just perfectly to help remind me of the important things in life!!!!
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