Hi, I’m Ugbad Kasim from Somalia (Northeastern part – Somaliland to be exact), a young lady who was fortunate enough to go to school and study in one of the best schools in the country. Although those schools are counted as the best schools, they are technologically behind. I’m not saying that they don’t have computers or the Internet but they don’t use them in education, which basically is a useless way of wasting resources. By the time I was in high school I was so bored of our traditional way of learning but I was not in a stage to change anything. But at that time I was lucky enough to have extra-curricular activities going on in my school like debating club, journalism club, art club, science club, etc. I soon joined the debating club as a deputy chairperson and the journalism club as an editor. That is when my passion for technology started.

I  tried to innovate the debating club and to use technology to debate but the school administration didn’t agree with me. I used to always get excuses like it’s destructive, it’s a waste of time, it’s hard to monitor, or there are not enough resources for everyone. It was very hard to get teachers’ attention on technology and how it could be useful for students when some of the teachers were not familiar with many of the technology resources that were available. So I basically finished my high school struggling between the traditional and modern way of learning.

As soon as I started university, I found out about Online Model United Nations (O-MUN). I remember Lisa Martin explaining to me the whole program and how it works. I told myself, “Yes, this where I belong, this is what I was looking for,” and I joined the program as a delegate. I started debating with other delegates from all over the world without meeting or seeing them. What this experience brought to my life was much more valuable than any other thing. I never knew what Model United Nations (MUN) was before O-MUN because in my country we don’t have MUN programs running. I was able to participate in the program without any preconditions of who I am or where I am from or what color I am. Then I moved from a delegate to a moderator and finally to an Assistant Director for the Middle East and African region for O-MUN.

In O-MUN I have developed both professional and personal skills without moving from my room. I have gained skills like public speaking, writing, and debating. Most importantly, I consider myself as a multicultural person as a result of working with a diverse community. It changed my way of thinking and made me aware of what is happening around me. In O-MUN we use social media and I have learned a lot of useful resources that have made my life simpler: for instance, Mightybell, which acts as a research hub for O-MUN. Mightybell is a great resource area for preparation of students for conferences or even classrooms and I act as a focal person for O-MUN for Mightbyell. Without O-MUN, I wouldn’t have been able to use Mightybell or see the need for it.

After seeing how useful the O-MUN platform is, I tried to take it back to my former high school but, unfortunately, the teachers didn’t see the aim of it. They didn’t see the impact it can have on students. They only considered their own benefits and the time they need to give to students to implement the program. They chose the easy way out, which was not to use it at all. Social media is an important component in students’ lives and they should have the right to access it.

I have never been to a face-to-face conference in my life but now, after having participated in more than 30 debates as a delegate, moderator, or assistant director – and attending the Qatar Leadership Conference as part of the O-MUN team – I am no longer a stranger to the MUN world. Now I know that I am a change agent in my community at home. Even if the change I’m making is very small, I still now that I can do something. I know that my journey has just started. O-MUN gave me the opportunity to realize that with the help of social media. I believe that youth should be given the right to access social media.

Check out this collection of interviews conducted on O-MUN at QLC: THIMUN O-MUN, Our Stories

Previously in this series

• Upcoming guest series – Online Model United Nations
• Connected global youth and the Online Model United Nations movement
• The nuts and bolts of online debating
• Palestinian-Israeli citizen calling for peace, making her voice heard through Online Model United Nations
• Online Model United Nations: Raising our voices
• Junior Online Model United Nations: Connecting masters and apprentices

Ugbad Kasim is 22 years old. She  recently finished her undergraduate degree in Economics at Admas University, Hargeisa-Somaliland. She is one of the Middle East and Africa Assistant Directors at O-MUN and hopes to study international development and trade for her Master’s. You can find her on Facebook.