On July 8-12, 2024, the Yerevan Model United Nations conference was held in Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia. During the entire forum, Armenia, and Yerevan in particular, hosted foreign youths and teenagers who appeared on behalf of their respective states in various committees and tried to protect interests and benefits. Now it’s time to share with you my impressions and feelings about the conference.

A little about the Yerevan Model United Nations

YereMUN is the largest model United Nations conference in the Caucasus, which is held annually in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The conference brings together hundreds of young minds from all over the world. This is an internationally recognized simulation of the United Nations in which students participate as delegates representing different countries to discuss global issues in an organized diplomatic fashion. YereMUN 2024 had 8 committees: 5 English, 1 French, 1 Russian and 1 Armenian, and each delegate had the opportunity to join one of them.

You can learn more by visiting the official website of YereMUN.

Organizational and technical issues of the conference

Before the start of the conference, each committee, represented by the chairpersons, held its own course, during which the procedures and forms of convening meetings, discussions and debates, resolutions adoption, approval, etc. of the respective committee were discussed. An important reference was made to the agenda of each working day. I must mention that July 8, the first day of the conference, was also a day of clarifying technical issues. After the opening ceremony (which will be discussed later), each committee was given their auditoriums, flags, cards, as well as the representatives of the member states were given the opportunity to get to know each other, establish business relations, come to a common denominator on some important and urgent issues.

Representing the interests of another state

Within the framework of the YereMUN conference, each delegate represented a specific country. By luck or by chance, many represented either their country or the country of their choice. I can confidently claim that I am satisfied with the country that was my lot. Thus, I represented the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the North Atlantic (NATO) Committee during the conference. It was a great honor for me to represent one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world. I must add that even though this was my first experience at such an international conference, both I and the others were very satisfied, and there was even a moment when we were joking saying: “The United Kingdom has missed a real representative.” Now I will present our working days below.

July 8:

Arriving at Yerevan State University, where the sessions were held, delegates and chairs were given special badges by volunteers, as well as gifts that were a pleasant surprise. How many different impressions and feelings overwhelmed us when we entered the door and found ourselves in an important place where everyone spoke to each other in official and diplomatic language, established connections and discussed everyday issues. I would like to emphasize that from the very first minutes that I arrived at the park adjacent to the state university, I made smart and goal-oriented friends with whom I had the opportunity to meet and exchange words and thoughts within the framework of the conference. The connection between us is strong even today and continues to strengthen and develop day by day. According to the agenda, the reception and registration of the delegates was followed by the opening ceremony, which took place in the hall of the Scientific Council of YSU.

The main organizer of YereMUN, President Vruyr Hlghatyan, Rector of Yerevan State University Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, General Secretary Lilit Manukyan and others gave the opening speech. It was specially noted that the experience gained during the conference will have an indescribable impact on the future diplomat’s career and will help to form a better understanding of that profession. After the solemn ceremony, it was time for lunch, which was accompanied by the reception and tasting of delicious food. Lunch was followed by technical work with delegates and committees.

July 9:

Already familiar with the protocol and procedure of the UN, as soon as the delegates arrived at the YSU auditoriums, the sessions began, which were opened with lists of speakers. During each session, the member-states of the North Atlantic Committee made statements, appeals, exhortations or proposals: presented their views and concerns on the topic relevant to our committee: “The Implication of Russian-Chinese Cooperation, Strengthening the Positions of NATO”. I should mention that the member states were: the United Kingdom, the United States, Poland, Italy, Finland, Canada, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark. The first working day was mainly spent presenting each other’s positions, proposals regarding them, discussing the points that require special attention and first reflections on the adoption of resolutions. All of us were satisfied with the first working day, got to know each other’s positions better and came to an agreement on some issues.

Apart from the conference sessions, various social events were also organized in hotels and entertainment centers. On the first day, we continued in the park of TUMO, where we socialized together, got to know each other better, played board games and walked around the area a little.

July 10-11:

The two consecutive days were the most difficult and time-consuming in our schedule, because it was during these two days that the main resolution had to be adopted in order to understand the context of Russian-Chinese cooperation and to strengthen NATO’s positions based on it. The sessions and discussions took place in a relatively mild and intimate atmosphere, but it is important to note that during the discussion of proposals and solution options, sharp criticisms, corrections and comments were made from time to time outside the procedure. Despite all this, in any case, we finally managed to come to a common denominator and even adopt three resolutions, according to which the positions of the North Atlantic Alliance and especially its member states should be strengthened. In addition to the discussions, there were also exchanges of ideas in the direction of the development of trade and economic relations between the member states, the need for the applicability of strategic and tactical technologies and methods, respect for each other’s territorial integrity and borders and the implementation of appropriate steps towards them, and the adjustment of relations with the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. During the whole session, thanks to the unanimous decision of the NATO member states, more attention was paid to the points mentioned below:

  • Strengthening the positions of NATO and its member-states, taking into account the interests,
  • Development of strategic and tactical technologies,
  • Increasing the level of intensity of work carried out to reveal the context of Russian-Chinese cooperation,
  • Estimating Military Costs,
  • Acquiring the necessary weapons and ammunition,
  • Increasing the level of member-states to ensure political-financial independence from Russia and China,
  • Assessment of possible risks and threats to NATO and its members against the background of the ever-growing Russian-Chinese cooperation,
  • Developing policies to address the above risks and threats,
  • Include relevant items in the main resolution,
  • Development of appropriate steps in the event of a sudden attack on member states,
  • etc.

The main resolution mainly includes questions and proposals related to the below-mentioned areas:

  • Increase in military spending,
  • Modernization and investments,
  • Cooperation in the field of cyber security,
  • Improvement of open door policy,
  • Joint training and exercises,
  • Specialization and load sharing,
  • etc.

Thus, all the steps, in the end, led to the adoption of resolutions, which were passed with applause and positive shouts. The member states were really very active, everyone tried to get involved in debates and discussions and protect the interests of their country. I must specially mention that we managed to establish practical-alliance relations with almost all countries, we managed to conduct effective discussions and reach the desired final result. I am very satisfied and grateful to my committee, led by chairs Angelika Manasaryan and Xiaojie Ji, for our effective, efficient and fruitful work.

We continued the day in the room of the scientific council and participated in an extracurricular course, the speakers of which were Mrs. Tatyana Panajotovich Tsvetkovic, Ambassador of Serbia to Armenia, and Mrs. Cristina Conesa, chargé d’affaires of the Kingdom of Spain in Armenia. We had a really productive discussion, we exchanged ideas on a number of issues related to the bilateral agenda, we also touched on the ways of young people to overcome the difficulties of visiting these countries, we talked about the importance and expediency of foreign education, and we shared our impressions about the conference. The meeting with the diplomats was followed by the closing and the awarding ceremonies, according to the schedule.

I must mention that we ended the second day at the President Hotel, where a Gala concert was planned, which was also aimed at establishing positive and, so to speak, “philanthropic” relations between the delegates. At the end of the third day, we had a good time as a group at the Arena Center, where we played bowling and billiards.

And on the last day, on July 12, the group visited the Mother Armenia Military History Museum of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, where we got acquainted with the military departments of the first, second and third republics of Armenia, the activities of the armed forces, got to know the heroes of our day, learned about military operations, battles, and war tactics. We paid tribute to the memory of the soldiers, officers, non-commissioned officers who sacrificed their lives for the motherland and the state. We ended the day with a walk and said goodbye to each other, each of us dispersing in different directions, with the hope and expectation of meeting and debating again in the future.

Summary

When talking about YereMUN, you know, it is difficult to find appropriate words and descriptions. And don’t let this sound like a sad, imaginary, crudely put formula: this comes from the heart. During the conference sessions, breaks, and extracurricular courses, seeing how most of the delegates tried to do everything to protect the interests of their country, to advance their interests, I really felt happy. During those days, I met so many people that I was finally convinced that there are many young talents in our country and people who think about the well-being and development of their country every day, who can leave everything in the background, even their personal life, the interests of their own country to bring forward. Of course, I was also impressed, emotional and happy that I was able to get to know foreigners (French, Indian, Serbian, Chinese, Russian) and communicate with them, learn something new from them (of course, they from us too).

And this was really a unique opportunity: I got to know many nuances of a diplomat’s career, and since the procedure of the conference, the protocol, the format of voting, debates, discussions, everything was raised to the official level, it affected my more accurate understanding of the diplomatic profession. I should add that it can be considered that I have made a professional decision. I think we need a lot of diplomats, and as I already mentioned, we have a lot of young people who are ready to work, work and work for the benefit of our state…

In short, this was the “surface” characteristic of our YereMUN conference. I hope I explained and told about our five-day activity in an easy to understand way. It was really more extensive and fascinating. Just to have those feelings and impressions, you need to register and participate in YereMUN. I am sure that no one will regret it. I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the organizing team, led by Mr. Vruyr Hlghatyan, for developing such a great program and holding it in Armenia. Without any doubt, it can be stated that one of the supreme goals pursued by the organizers, that is to activate the Armenian youth, involve them in similar international forums and contribute to their professional orientation, was completely justified and to some extent achieved its desired result. I would also like to thank the volunteers who were with us throughout the process and supported us in any matter. And of course, the biggest thanks to all of us, from the delegate to the chair, for holding such a wonderful program with honour and raising Republic of Armenia even higher on the world stage.

Photos by YSU.am, and if you want to see more, I suggest you visit YereMUN’s Instagram page, where various videos related to our fun working days are published.