Kathmandu: The 9th edition of Everest International Model United Nations (EIMUN) 2024 has started in Kathmandu. More than 200 youth delegates from 10 countries are participating in this conference.
The five-day event is being organized by the Youth Thinkers Society (YTS) in collaboration with the US Embassy in Nepal with an aim to engage youths to confront and solve global issues including human security crises and cyber threats, women’s participation in politics, digital misinformation, agricultural biodiversity conservation, sustainable energy, and water management.
“Intellectual poverty is a major problem plaguing our continent, and investing in youth through programs like this is essential. There will be five committees in this EIMUN, where the participatory young leaders will have an in-depth discussion on current issues including artificial intelligence, water resource management, and refugee crisis among others. After five days, a policy-based solution will be put forth. We have been organizing this since 10 years. Policy awareness, political awareness, and diplomacy and international relations is our main vision,” said Chewan Rai, Co-Founder of Youth Thinkers Society (YTS).
EIMUN is considered one of the most prestigious Model UN conferences in the South and Central Asian region. The conference provides an opportunity for young people from diverse cultural backgrounds to strengthen their diplomatic skills by engaging in intensive debate and dialogue.
Sofi Sangat, partnership officer at Youth Thinkers’ Society, said that the main vision of the program is to empower youth through policy literacy. “Youths are not politically inclined as they think it is a dirty game. This is the mindset that we want to change . We want to change such negative narrative and turn it into a positive one.”
“This time, we have delegates from 10 different countries, who belong to different fields but have similar mindset. We need to bridge the gap between youth and resources. We have resources but the youths are unaware about the access. There is no pathway. For example, there is start-up loan for youth entrepreneurs but they do not know how to get these services. Making resources accessible to youth is something we can mitigate. Our YTS is also working on issues relating to youth migration. If we can utilize the skills of our youth within the country, both income and employment can be generated. We hope to make such programs accessible to every youth,” said Sangat.
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amrit Bahadur Rai, US Ambassador to Nepal Dean R. Thompson, and the representative for UN Women Nepal Patricia Fernandez-Pacheco, were present In the opening ceremony held in Kathmandu on Monday,
Speakers at the opening ceremony emphasized the importance of youth engagement in world affairs. According to the organizers, EIMUN aims to provide participants with the necessary tools to build a better and sustainable society in the future by encouraging cultural understanding and sharpening diplomatic skills.
The five-day conference will be attended by young leaders from countries including Bangladesh, India, Japan, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
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