Behind the scenes with the SLMUN Executive Committee!
View(s):When you think of SLMUN,you think of girls in colourful sarees and smart looking boys in suits and Bow Ties, reporters scurrying around BMICH trying to get as much information as they can for their articles, admins walking around selling magazines and making sure everyone is doing ok and in the middle of it all you have the Executive Committee. But there’s not much that you know about the Executive Committee.As someone who has been part of the Executive Committee for almost 3 years,and believe me when I tell you this, I wouldn’t trade the EXCO experience for anything.
The Executive Committee usually meets up for the first time in January. It’s at this meeting that first impressions are made and people get to know each other.As time goes by and and we get closer and closer to conference you’ll realise that you can’t imagine a week going by without seeing them at least once.
The Executive Committee of SLMUN is the literal backbone of the Conference. Everything from Chairing committees to Logistics to News and Media is managed by members of the Exco.And once you’re part of the Exco,you’re family cos everyone had the same goal and that is to make their year the best year of SLMUN.
The head of the Exco is the Secretary General. This esteemed individual has full authority over his or her minions (as the rest of the Exco are usually called) and basically has to keep checking whether everyone is doing their job and that everything is running smoothly. From figuring out Conference Protocol to making sure the Exco turns up for Conference on time – it’s all this individuals job!
Then we have the Under Secretary Generals or the USGs as they’re more commonly called. This set of individuals act as the support system for the SG. They make sure that every part of the Exco and Conference goes smoothly. The USGs each have a section of the Exco to manage. It’s usually divided into Administration, Conference Protocol, Finance and News and Media. Since it’s impossible for the SG to look into every tiny minor detail the USGs take on that responsibility. The SG and the USGs have a special bond as they basically ‘run’ the Exco together as a unit.
The Head and Directors of the Exco are members who have authority over a specific part of conference. Be it being the Editor in Chief, Head of Outreach, Head of The International Press Corps or even taking care of the Administrative Staff, these individuals act as support for the USGs.
The members of the Exco that run committees are some of the most important members of the Exco. I mean you can’t have a conference without chairs. So these individuals have some of the hardest jobs because these individuals have to come up with topics, mark delegate paper and also run the committee debates at Conference and Practice Debates. You can’t have a MUN Conference without the Chairs so they’re really important to the Exco.
The News and Media is the team that handles all the PR and Media for SLMUN. From the articles you read on Facebook to the posts that come up on our Instagram page, it’s all done by the News and Media. The writers of the team work overtime to perfect each and every article, caption or even the annual Magazine (The MUNer) that is published by SLMUN. Even the videos and the photography is done by members of the N&M. The IPC is also run by this team by the Head of the IPC and with the help of the rest of N&M. It’s no easy task being part of the N&M but it’s definitely one of the best teams to be part of as a member of the Executive Committee.
Next up is the Logistics team. This team is made up of many talented individuals that work hard to make sure every aspect of Conference runs smoothly. From making sure delegates have food to eat to orchestrating the opening and closing ceremonies they do it all! The logistics team handles Outreach, Finance, the Administrative Staff and so much more. Logistics is an essential part of the Conference as nothing would get done without this team. The individuals of this team literally work overtime to make sure everything goes smoothly. They’re basically the most under appreciated part of the Exco since they mostly work behind the scenes. But we love them nonetheless because we know how hard they work for SLMUN.
Being part of the Executive Committee means that you have to be ready to do anything. You might have been assigned a certain role but as Conference gets closer everyone just pitches in to help everyone else. Chairs for Logistics work, N&M starts running to Pettah and around Colombo for various reasons and Logistics helps with marking articles and editing videos. It’s a great experience but you must be ready to go through with it as well as a family. You’ll never want the experience to end because by the end of the 9 months you’ll miss the various meetings and outings, midnight calls and spamming done by various people, the sudden emergencies that’ll need sorting out and most of all you’ll miss the people who you’ve worked with for almost a year. These memories that you’ll make as a member of the Executive Committee will last forever. Believe me.
-Amana Iflal