I’ve never wanted to go into politics. I’ve wanted to write about politics but I’ve never wanted first-hand experience.
Until this past weekend when I participated in Model Arab League in Denver.
Model Arab League is a political simulation, much like model UN. Instead of representing member states of the UN we represented member states of the Arab League, specifically the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Initially when we got to the conference, I felt super overwhelmed. It felt like I was poorly underprepared, even though I had done as much research as possible.
Instead, I went with what I knew and started telling people where I stood on certain topics, who I would like to work with and what I would like to see accomplished.
Lesson number one: fake it until you make it.
So even though I was overwhelmed for the first hour, I started to have fun immediately.
It’s really cool when you’re working with 20 people your age on resolutions about real problems that affect the region. It’s amazing to watch an idea you had be worked on, reworked and grow from two sub clauses to eight. It’s a rush when one of your resolutions is passed.
When I say rush, I mean pure excitement in the dorkiest sense.
Lesson number two: have fun because without it, then it’s like you’re stuck in class.
Teamwork was incredibly important. Without it, we would have never been able to pass the resolutions that we did. It was being able to understand where everybody was coming from and why they might not support a resolution you think is super important.
Lesson number three: teamwork is vital even when you don’t want to work with somebody.
It was, however, not a true Arab League meeting. Everything we learned was over the internet. Most of us came at problems with a Western point of view. We then had to check that point of view at the door and understand what the countries we represented would do.
There were times when the words, “Personally, I don’t support this but I have to represent my country to the best of my ability,” were spoken.
Most of us were able to separate our personal feeling and examine the problems from a purely academic and political point of view.
Lesson number four: check your personal feelings at the door.
One of the topics my council focused on was liberalization in the forms of expression and law. I was representing a pretty liberal country, in terms of economic liberalization. I thought it would be a great idea to write a resolution to allow the free flow of information on the internet.
Maybe it was naïve of me to think that would be passed. Some Arab countries aren’t too fond of the internet and social media because of the Arab Spring.
I had to understand that not many people were going to sign onto my resolution and that there was probably another way for everyone to get what they want.
Lesson number five: cut your losses before you get hurt.
I think people who want to go into politics, enjoy negations or participated in model UN should look for these kinds of groups on campus. You learn a lot, get to go to a city for a weekend and make some really amazing friendships.
Call me a dork or a political junkie; I felt like Samantha Power, former US ambassador to the UN, this weekend. I could feel hope for the future of the world because I was able to interact with future ambassadors.
