Malaysian wins Most Oustanding Delegate in UN youth competition
Third-year Universiti Malaya law student comes out tops against 172 youths from 32 other countries in Asia Youth International Model United Nations (Ayimun) 2017.
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian student has beaten 172 other youths from across Asia to come out tops in a competition to discover future talents in international diplomacy.
Being one of 15 Malaysians participating in the competition, Wong Kar Ling, 22, made the country proud when she was named Most Outstanding Delegate in the Asia Youth International Model United Nations (Ayimun) 2017.
Ayimun was held from Nov 3-6 in Kuala Lumpur, featuring youths from a total of 32 countries. Their assignment in the competition was to act as diplomats to discuss solutions on global issues.
The objective, aside from evaluating their diplomacy skills, was to help increase their understanding in international relations.
The award recognised delegates who demonstrated great problem solving skills during the competition based on how they proposed their solutions as diplomats in a council.
In the competition, Wong, who is a third-year law student at Universiti Malaya (UM), said she was assigned as a Hong Kong representative in the council of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF is a global organisation that is committed to providing financial assistance to its member countries through loans to restore conditions for strong economic growth.
Being the HK representative in IMF, she said she was tasked with proposing solutions on the conditions under which loans are given by the IMF and whether or not it should be reviewed.
However, to even propose the solution itself was already a challenge.
In order for a delegate to be given the chance to propose their solution, they first would need to be recognised by the chair.
This was done with the participants holding up a placard with the flag of the country they represent, to request for an opportunity to speak.
“You need to act really fast. For them to choose you, they need to see your initiative. The faster you raise your placard, the easier you get recognised,” she said.
Delegates would then be given only one minute to speak where they would use the opportunity to deliver their perspective on issues as well as come up with a solution for them.
Forming an alliance
Instead of finding the task challenging however, she said she found the experience “interesting”.
Delegates were also evaluated on how they were able to form alliances, as these were dependent on the participant’s own initiative.
Wong said she was amazed by how proactive the other participants were, as most would already begin to build their networking and share their ideas from the start of the event.
“I was amazed by how proactive and courteous they were in terms of problem solving but you need to be adaptable at the same time, so I learned from them,” she said.
Instead of perceiving it as a competition, she said she views it as an experience she benefited from having interacted with dedicated youths who are serious about global issues.
While participating in youth leadership events are her hobby, Wong said her experience in Ayimun further expanded her views by giving her the exposure to interact with youths from across Asia.
When asked about her ambitions, she says she hopes to become a lawyer while also aspiring for a role in foreign relations and other aspects of work under the United Nations.
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She said she was also grateful to UM, especially the law faculty, for supporting her participation in Ayimun.