Letter: Training future diplomats

Indonesia’s directional foreign policy calls for the strengthening of relations between Indonesia and the 162 countries it has diplomatic ties with.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has thus far done a conducive and good job in carrying out the foreign policy objectives under the reign of Marty Natalegawa.

However, what about the younger generations who are aspiring to become diplomats? In recent years, the interest in hosting and participating in MUNs or Model United Nations simulations has increased drastically. For those who are not aware of what MUNs are, they are simply re-creations of a United Nations meeting and assembly.

The rising existence of these events is quite important as the upcoming generation shows more interest in international issues and fresh graduates are striving to live and work abroad. These simulations are also a great way to train future diplomats as it educates the young minds the etiquette and skills of what it takes to become a diplomat.

Although events such as these excite people, the recognition came a bit late than in other countries. The majority of schools in America and Europe have had MUN simulations for many years and continue to have them. When attending an MUN, one will usually find that the most active speakers are ones that are from America or somewhere in Europe.

Events such as HNMUN are so prestigious and it deserves to garner the worldwide attention and respect from the scholar society. Yet many MUNs in Indonesia go unnoticed because of a lack of media coverage.

However, one particular event, called PMUN or Parahyangan Model United Nations, is a 6-year-old event held by Parahyangan Catholic University. PMUN 2011 is far more prestigious than the ones in the recent past.

The event which will be held from May 1-3, 2011, has been fully endorsed by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry and this is a very good sign that the Foreign Ministry has recognized the importance of these events to train and develop young minds so that they rise to become future Indonesian representatives.

The participants, who are high-school students, only pay a small amount of money to register, but the knowledge and experience they can earn from the event is priceless. The enthusiasm of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry in endorsing this event has brought great pleasure for the PMUN 2011 committee and on a personal level, it is with great delight that the Foreign Ministry is willing to allocate their funds to these educational programs.

It is with high hopes that the Indonesian Foreign Ministry supports more MUN programs since it will benefit them and provide them with an idea of what future Indonesian diplomats will be like.

Cantika Paramitha R
Bandung