Parviz Jamalov: Model U.N in Tajikistan, Fighting Extremism through Dialogue

Model UN Dushanbe: No to Extremism!

The world’s most prominent diplomatic role-playing game Model United Nations was held in Dushanbe on Thursday, July 30. The event took place at the large conference hall of the National Museum of Tajikistan.

The official motto of the conference was “No to Extremism” while the specific topic of the conference was formulated the following way: “Preventing the recruitment of youth by extremists”. The Model UN Dushanbe  was a small-scale imitation of the real UN conference under the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) involving 15 country delegates, the Secretary-General and the Dais (UN Secretariat). All the roles were carried out by local students. The conference an all workshops that preceded the event were conducted in English.

The Model UN conference was officially sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe and the UN Tajikistan.

The Model UN Dushanbe project involved 20 talented students who were selected on a very competitive basis that incorporating 137 applications from 10 countries. The core selection criteria were academic English skills, public speaking skills, strong leadership potential and critical thinking skills.

Within the frameworks of the Model UN Dushanbe project all 20 project participants took part in a number of workshops aimed to introduce them to the structure of the United Nations and the format of the conferences organized under the UN auspices. Besides, a workshop on public speaking and diplomatic communications was also conducted to polish participants’ communications skills.

The Model UN Dushanbe was organized by the group of young activists who have quite an extensive experience organizing youth-oriented social projects. The Model UN Dushanbe Organizing Team included Global UGRAD alumnus Parviz Jamalov, SUSI Women’s Leadership Program alumna Rukhshona Narzulloeva, Jamshed Mirzoev and Muhammad Bobiev. Some of the previous projects organized by the team included the first TEDxDushanbe conference, the join TEDxDushanbe and Universal Peace Federation conference on youth leadership (that awarded the first Youth Ambassadors for Peace in Tajikistan), Dushanbe English Community Theater (that staged the historical theater production “Shirak: The Sacrifice”) and Volunteers’ Cup football tournament and other.

According to Parviz Jamalov, the main purpose behind the Model UN Dushanbe event was “introducing talented local youth to the real UN procedures and encouraging them to broaden the horizons of their critical thinking skills up to a global scale”.

“Model UN – is but a great diplomatic game that presents local young people a chance to speak on a certain issue on behalf of the entire nation directing joint efforts towards resolving an international issue and convincing other UN member states to support one or another initiative by means of engaging into diplomatic debates and discussions”, Jamalov said. “The culmination of the Model UN conference is the adoption (or declination) of the resolution by all UN member states. The resolution would further reflect the position of the UN Body (in our case ECOSOC) on the issue”, he said.

According to the Model UN Organizing Team, prior to the conference each of the Model UN Dushanbe project participants did a meticulous research on the political, social, cultural and historical background of the country he or she represented at the conference.

Referring to the conference topic “Preventing the recruitment of youth by extremists” each of the 15 delegates delivered a short report on the policies undertaken by government and community of a country a delegate was representing.

Young project participants referred as the delegates represented the following countries at the Model UN Dushanbe conference: U.S.A., Russia, Iran, Serbia, Syria, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Iraq, France, Germany, India, Turkey and China.

Reflecting the real format of UN conference, all delegates of the Model UN Dushanbe conference engaged into formal and informal debates discussing possible solutions for the issue of extremism proposed by some delegates on behalf of the countries they represented. As a result of the voting by all delegates, the resolution regarding ECOSOC’s position on eradicating recruitment of youth by extremists was adopted. The resolution served as the compendium of the best suggestions brought up by the delegates including a number of extremism-preventing measures: from integrating theological classes in high school curriculum (to avoid the manipulation of youth by extremists who misinterpret religious dogmas for their own gain) to creating more jobs for youth to diminish the extremists’ influence on unemployed (thus more vulnerable) youth.

By the end of the Model UN Dushanbe Conference, FLEX Alumna Khairina Mamadamonova who represented China at the conference received the “Best Delegate Award” for her brilliant and well-grounded speech delivery.

The Model UN Conference was attended by the representatives of embassies, local ministries, international and local community organizations, media and the representatives of active youth communities of Dushanbe.

U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan, Ms. Susan Elliott was the honorable guest of the conference. Ambassador Elliot delivered her welcome remarks to the conference participants emphasizing the pivotal role of the United Nations in resolving global issues. According to Ms. Elliott, her son participated in a number of Model UN events in the U.S. Ambassador Elliott also noted that the Model UN conferences substantially contribute for broadening participants’ global outlook stimulating their critical thinking skills.