The NDU MUN conference took place between April 1 and 2, 2017, at the NDU main campus. This event was the result of months of hard work planned and executed by the NDU MUN founding committee and NDU MUN members with the support of Dr. Ziad Fahed, Dean of Students at NDU Joyce Menassa, and Melhem Rechdan.
More than 200 students from 19 schools across Lebanon participated in the event, and each contributed to the fruitful debates in their respective committees. Students were divided into seven committees: GA-6 Legal, HRC, IAEA, ME Crisis, UNDP, UNHCR, and SC. Each of the committees tackled unique topics, which opened the floor for delegates to showcase their diplomatic and public speaking skills, and come up with an impressive list of solutions for the issues at hand.
The conference began with speeches delivered by the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities (FH) at NDU Dr. Kamal Abouchedid, representing the Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. Elie Badr, the NDU MUN Secretary-General Walid Faddoul, and the guest of honor, the Chancellor of the Indian Embassy Ovessa Iqbal. After a day of exploring the different aspects of the UN and the way it functions, the delegates enjoyed the cultural bash launched by the NDU MUN team, where the band Switch18 and D.J. Ross entertained the delegates, and an interactive photo booth was set up to print instant photos. Two more sessions were held the following day to conclude the debates and finalize the resolutions. To commemorate their experience together, each committee gathered for a photo around the fountain.
At the end of the second conference day, everyone headed to Friends Hall where an informal and light-hearted celebration was held where a video summarizing the conference was screened. The closing ceremony took place at 6:00 p.m. in Issam Fares Hall, where Layal Rajha, a Lebanese director and an NDU alumna, Menassa, and Faddoul delivered their closing speeches in the presence of Assistant Vice-President for Academic Affairs at NDU Dr. Simon Abou Jaoudeh. The team of professional NDU MUN chairs, with the extensive support of the SAO, awarded prizes to the delegates who gave outstanding performances. The seven who won the ‘Best Delegate Award’ received a 50% discount upon enrollment for their first year at NDU, and the 14 who won the ‘Diplomacy Award’ were granted a 25% discount upon enrollment for their first year at NDU.