FALLMUN is an intra-LUMS, one-day conference organised by the LUMS Model United Nations (LUMUN) society. The main objectives of FALLMUN are two-fold; the first aim is to acquaint freshmen and other students, who are new to Model United Nations (MUN), with the concept of a MUN and to also ensure that the new members of the society are given the opportunity to interact with each other in a healthy competitive environment. The delegates are prepared beforehand with training sessions held on the days leading up to the event. The training sessions are conducted by members of the LUMUN society and are held to ensure that new MUN-ners are well prepared to participate at the conference. This year, FALLMUN was held on September 15, 2018.
The conference included two committees; the Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) and the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC). SOCHUM was chaired by students, Shahzar Khan and Shanze Ijaz, while Salman Hanif and Adil Ashraf chaired DISEC. The topic for SOCHUM was 'Tackling the rise of Xenophobia' and DISEC discussed 'Curbing the Propagation of Biochemical Warfare.' The aim behind choosing these topics was to ensure that even those new to MUNs were able to conduct research without being intimidated by the complexity of the topic. This was accomplished when most of the delegates were speaking without any hesitation and appeared to be very well-acquainted with the topic.
The debate heated up as the day progressed, and things took an interesting turn when the senior LUMUN Secretariat members shadowed the committee sessions with their exceptional debating skills. This was followed by a joint crisis for both the committees whereby the delegates got an opportunity to link both of the crucial topics discussed in SOCHUM and DISEC and debate on a wider platform. This not only gave a new dimension to debate but also allowed the delegates an opportunity to develop a greater understanding of MUNs and work around any hesitation they may have towards public speaking.
The highly competitive event concluded with an Award Ceremony where DISEC won a total of eight awards; Israel, Mexico, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea won honourable mentions and the United States of America, Argentina, Chile, Mongolia, and Iran won Best Delegate Awards. At SOCHUM, the delegates representing the following countries won the Honourable Mention Awards; France, Luxembourg, the Philippines, and Syria, while Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and the United States of American won the Best Delegate Awards.
Ultimately, the LUMUN society celebrated on multiple fronts; it congratulated the winners of FALLMUN and rejoiced over the new friendships created during the course of the event.
