The story of MUN journeys – An interview with Sebastian Cofas

Here you are again, it seems. Last time, I told you a little bit about the whole concept of MUNs, basically walked you through what it means, its history and what actually goes on at such conferences. However, even though I think the article was pretty comprehensive and insightful (I wrote it, so of course it must be so), I’ve always thought that the best way to learn about anything is through hands-on experience. I can’t exactly offer you right now the MUN experience, but, as Muhammad once said, “If the MUN will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the MUN” (or was it something that had to do with mountains? I guess it doesn’t matter). So, I’ve brought y’all the next best thing: the story of a real-life MUN journey, that of Sebastian Cofas (or Sebi, to his friends aka me), a true veteran of the MUN community. Sebi is a senior, at “Tudor Vianu” National College for Computer Science and, as most MUNers, he has a true passion for debating, politics and international relations.

Q: Hey, thank you for sitting down with me.

Sebi: Thank you for inviting me.

Q: So, just let me say this: you’ve attended a lot of MUN conferences, like, how many?

Sebi: Aa, that’s a really hard question, since I’ve attended many online conferences as well, but I’m pretty certain there’ve been over 15 conferences I have gone to, per total. Including when I was a chairperson.

Q: Wow, that’s way more than I even imagined. At what conference did you actually start attending MUNs?

Sebi: Hmm, I think my first MUN conference must have been in 2019, at LazarMUN, in the Legal Committee. I represented Serbia and I was pretty excited about that, however, it didn’t actually end up as well as I thought it would. I was just a first-timer and everyone else in the committee were like the ‘elite’ of the MUN community at that moment. I was just a little not so significant country, in a corner of the room, trying to learn something from those amazing people, you know?

Q: That must have been a lot of pressure that was put on you at that moment. But, at the same time, kind of amazing, since you got to experience your first conference with such an amazing generation of MUNers.

Sebi: That’s so true. What really helped with the whole ‘I’m just a first-timer’ mindset was the fact that I represented a country that I liked, and yeah, I know that people were wondering ‘Why do you like Serbia so much? Doesn’t it have loads of issues with refugees and stuff?’ While that was true, with Serbia it was really easy to research for the topics at hand and to write good position papers. I was actually really proud of them and, fun fact about me, I’m kinda better on the writing part of MUNs, position papers and resolutions. And even though I was less confident on my speeches, since I had so many great MUNers in the same committee with me, I truly learned a lot from them, like how to best deliver a speech, how to take advantage of someone’s mistakes, which is a very necessary skill in the MUN world, and many other skills that I use to this day. You know, I had a really nice show in front of me through what they were debating, so yeah, I was really glad of taking part in that MUN, not because I had participated a lot in the committee, but because I had the chance to watch and learn from the best.

Q: That’s quite an interesting view-point of a first MUN experience, actually. And, aside from meeting so many amazing people at your first conference, what else inspired you to continue attending?

Sebi: First of all, I think it was the community itself. Seeing the same wonderful people again, at my next conference, and also meeting others, some of whom were first-timers, just as I had been a little while before, really motivated me to continue to pursue MUN conferences. Of course, it also counted that I actually really liked MUNs as a whole, to the point that they quickly became a really nice hobby of mine. And, aside from all that, I decided to continue because MUNs taught me such a great deal of skills: how to speak up, how to make my point, how to no longer care about others’ opinions, which was really important since many times in life we tend to make choices in order to please others. At MUNs I learned to accept when I was wrong, but also that it was really important to stick with your country’s opinion, or, in real life, with your own, even though others might not find it so ‘politically correct’.

Q: You’ve just mentioned being ‘politically correct’ and I was wondering something. I’ve been in the same committee as you at two MUN conferences, but I always thought, that even though you might not have had the view of the majority, you always made a point of carrying yourself with a great deal of etiquette. How did you develop such a MUN style when there are so many delegates who resort to less than diplomatic means of expressing themselves?

Sebi: I’m actually really glad you asked me this. I’m of the opinion that if you are debating with somebody, you have to show that person a certain level of respect, even though you might not agree with them, at all. I would not like debating with somebody whose only arguments are based on shouting, screaming or mocking officials of their government or the opposition’s government. I believe that the best arguments are based on facts and reasoning, and that’s the way you can truly dominate a debate. I think I developed such a style because I did not necessarily want to find enemies in the committee room, but to make allies, people who would agree with my view on the topic, ‘cause that’s the way you actually ‘win’ in a committee, by making enemies into allies. Not only that, but I’ve always seen MUN conferences as a place where protocol should be upheld and, although a part of MUN will always be to make jokes and, of course, have fun, that doesn’t mean it should be taken to the extreme.

Q: Yeah, I totally get what you’re saying. The issue of protocol could also be brought up in the context of virtual MUNs, which have become quite popular thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. How do you feel about such conferences? Do you think they live up to the ‘real thing’?

Sebi: I have to admit that, unfortunately, they are not really filling in the shoes of ‘real’ MUNs. ‘Real’ MUNs train you for life. At such conference, there are generally around twenty delegates per committee, representing different countries with different views on a certain topic. Now, at ‘real’ MUNs, you actually see and interact with those people, truly observe how they tackle their country’s stance and so on. Not only that, but at ‘real’ MUNs, people dress up, they raise their placard when they wish to speak, they stand up when they hold a speech and so on, and don’t get me started on each delegate’s style of representing their country. Everyone has a unique style of being a delegate, and I just don’t see how that can be captured through an online format. It just doesn’t work the same way. Sure, at the same time, there are some advantages to online MUNs. You can do them from the comfort of your home, which is certainly a plus, and, of course, they keep the MUN community, across the globe, connected during this pandemic. But that sadly doesn’t mean that they live up to ‘real’ MUNs.

Q: You might be onto something there. One thing I remember from an online conference I attended with you, is that you represented Russia, a country that you’ve also represented a lot at non-virtual conferences. Now, I can take a guess and say that you don’t always agree with their views, so what do you do when you represent such a country which has completely different views than yours?

Sebi: Personally, I could simply never represent a country that has an incredibly oppressive government, like, take for example the People’s Republic of China. Their government is known for horrendous human rights violations, and I just can’t bring myself to represent a country with such a government. I do think that Russia is actually a more interesting case, because, even though at first glance you might think you could never agree with their policies, what do we actually know about their policies? Because, the thing is, in the sphere of worldwide powers, Russia’s presence is important too, even though they could be hardly called saints. In its own way, this country really made something out of itself from nothing, and I can only respect that. I think the thing that gets me through representing Russia’s policies, which are often clashing with my views, is the fact that Russia inspires you a great deal of power and confidence, and, well, sometimes it is quite funny to get to mock the United States.

Q: Given the fact that you have attended so many MUN conferences, in so many formats, holding such a variety of positions, you must have had many amazing experiences. But I was wondering, what was the most memorable MUN experience you’ve ever had?

Sebi: Hmm, I think one of the most memorable conferences I’ve attended was RosettiMUN 2019, my second conference, where I represented Russia. What made it so special was that, at that conference, I properly learned how to carry myself at MUN conferences, the proper etiquette and protocol that had to be carried out, you know. This was especially important since I represented an incredibly powerful country on a quite controversial topic, relating to the military. And aside from RosettiMUN, another conference experience that really stuck with me was SavaMUN 2019, in the SPECPOL committee. I’ve met so many amazing people there and I still have a great relationship with everybody who contributed to the resolution, which adds up to over 18 people. Like, just imagine this, 18 people who wrote together a resolution regarding climate change, who also agreed with my stance as Russia. It truly meant a lot to me, to see so many different delegates, who represented such a diverse range of cultures, come together, in spite of their differences, and each proposes solutions on such an important topic. I think it was then when I could see, once again, how wonderful this community is.

Q: Those really sound like amazing conferences and I can see why you also have such a strong passion for MUN conferences. Since you are a senior this year, will you continue attending, or do you feel like now is the time to put an end to your MUN ‘career’?

Sebi: This is actually a question that I’ve also had on my mind in recent months. I’ve applied to some MUN conferences that should have taken place this spring, but they had to be rescheduled for next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am still a little bit sceptical regarding if they are even going to be held next year, seeing that this crisis does not seem to leave us anytime soon. I have been a chairperson this October at BMNATO, but, aside from that, I’ve decided that I won’t attend any conferences in 2021, since, as you have said, I’m now a senior and I really have to focus on the baccalaureate and university admissions. But what I would really like to do after these exams would be to organize a MUN for friends, since, at the end of the day, I’ve met a lot of incredible people in this community and I love attending conferences with them.

Q: That is a pretty neat idea if I can say so myself. And now, just to bring this home, do you have anything you would like to say to somebody who is considering starting to attend MUN conferences?

Sebi: I’d tell them that, even though you might feel at first kind of alone in the room, your arguments and the way you handle yourself, will truly show others that you are implicated in this committee and a valuable presence, so they will approach you for sure. Also, don’t be scared if your country policies are not really the most popular ones or respected by others. Use your country as your shield and stick with your stance, and you will be for sure in the top of the committee and have an incredibly valuable experience.

Q: And that’s a wrap up for our interview. Thank you so much, Sebi, for taking the time to make this interview possible. It was a real pleasure.

Sebi: Thank you for making this possible, I had a great time.