The “UN Q&A” video series engages experts from the UN system to provide answers to frequently asked questions about the United Nations. This episode on organizing hybrid Model UN conferences features Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Nigeria.
What are the benefits and challenges of organizing a hybrid Model UN conference?
Oluseyi Soremekun: Organizing a hybrid Model UN conference could be tough at the beginning, but honestly it is exciting. It is a great experience for its novelty and extension of the boundaries of possibilities. It provides what a fully onsite conference could not probably provide. It provides a wider reach in terms of audience participation across geographical locations. It is cheaper for the participants as it eliminates the cost of travels, the costs of accommodation, feeding and other associated cost elements. Technical speakers could join from any location; as well as the possibilities of creating virtual rooms for committee sessions.
However, there are some challenges, and these include stability of internet access; cost of deploying the technology to ensure a seamless convergence and interaction of onsite and online audiences.
What are the key steps of setting up a hybrid Model UN conference?
Oluseyi Soremekun: Talking about the key steps of setting up a hybrid Model UN conference, the first step is to do a recce of the meeting room, and that I mean the physical venue of the conference. We have to do a recce, we have to be there to determine the size, the structure - is it a theatre type or classroom type; the lighting; the availability of public address system, if any; the big screen, if any, and so on. A recce would also help in determining the number of cameras and microphones to deploy for excellent coverage of both audiences.
The next step is to identify a multimedia services provider. However, I must say that most universities have this capacity through their ICT centres. These services include deploying video cameras, microphones, all connected to a video server. The Zoom meeting platform signal is also looped into the server to ensure interactivity. It involves the live-streaming equipment. After this, a technical rehearsal is organized and fixed for the day before the event.
Handling committee sessions requires more attention. There are two approaches to this. As onsite audience breaks into various committees, so does the online audience. Every committee onsite would have one or two microphones and a screen to interact effectively with their online committee members. Both physical and virtual audiences see and interact with each other. This is very key in a hybrid meeting. The online audience and the physical audience must be able to see, hear and interact with one another.
The second approach, which we used for the Lagos State Secondary Schools Model UN Conference (LASSMUN), involves the use of pre-recorded video footages of the six committees of the General Assembly in sessions. Each committee is expected to share a 5-minute video clip of their debates leading to the resolutions. These video clips are played
one after the other. The Chair and Rapporteur of the committees are expected at the physical space. They are expected to be part of the onsite audience representing their committee members; committee members join the online audience as delegates. At the end of each committee video presentation in the physical space, the Chair and the Rapporteur would step out to present their committee’s resolutions for debates and adoption by the General Assembly. This method saves time and reduces possible hitches in navigating from one virtual meeting room to the other. And it is an interesting method.
How do you retain the attention of online participants?
Oluseyi Soremekun: This is very, very key, especially when online participants are in different locations, probably in their rooms or in the public space with so much distraction.
Retaining the attention could be very, very tough but not impossible. First, the provision of clear pictures of onsite that is, the physical speakers and the audience enhances the virtual audience’s attention. Sometimes with the aid of the video server and mixer, online participants get to see on their individual screens, the picture, the photograph of speakers in the physical space, the cross-section of delegates in the physical space which are mixed together via the video mixer. They can see the two shots juxtaposed on their screen. This also helps in retaining their attention.
Furthermore, the online audience needs to be engaged and be intermittently reminded that they could drop questions, interventions, suggestions, concerns in the chat box.
Also, at the end of the opening ceremony the online audience should be asked to switch on their videos for a group photograph. You know, just as it happens in the physical space, the online audience will have the opportunity to have a group photograph, asking them to switch on the video makes it interesting. When the plenary adjourns to go into committee sessions, we need to repeat the photo session and announce that the same group photograph will be done in each of the committee.
And lastly, ensure that not more than 20 participants, 20 delegates are in each online committee. That is very, very important.
How do you help students who have difficulty connecting to the Internet?
Oluseyi Soremekun: There is no doubt that Internet connectivity could be a major challenge. However, a way to address this is to organize a watch party in participating schools, as we did for Lagos State Secondary Schools Model UN Conference, the LASSMUN.
We asked all participant schools to organize themselves into watch parties, so the delegates are assembled in the meeting rooms in the schools. In fact, some of the meeting rooms are also branded in the name of their schools. So, through one connection we are reaching a lot of people. In this conference, we had 30 delegates per school, and they were there representing various Members States of the United Nations.
Another way that we address this challenge is to get individual students who are within the family space, they are at home, with leverage on the interest of parents to get them to help their children to connect. This is also helpful.
Generally, it is important that these are watch parties that are talked about organizing delegates in groups in various schools to join the conference. It helps to eliminate individual challenges of internet connectivity.
How do you ensure that COVID-19 protocols are followed in a hybrid Model UN conference?
Oluseyi Soremekun: Ensuring that COVID-19 protocols are followed was not too difficult for us to achieve. UNIC [United Nations Information Centre] Lagos provided UN-branded re-useable double-layered cloth face masks to all participants, to all delegates, all dignitaries, all journalists that attended. We also provided bottles of sanitizers for use by participants and use on microphones and podium surface every time a speaker used those facilities. More importantly, we capped the physical attendance at 50 people in a 120-seating capacity hall. This ensured physical distancing within the meeting room. The 50 physical participants comprised of 30 delegates and 20 dignitaries and journalists. The 30 delegates were the Model UN conference officials including the Chair and Rapporteur of the GA committees to be simulated.
What were the highlights of your experience?
Oluseyi Soremekun: My highlights include the opportunity to innovate. COVID-19 provided an opportunity to innovate. It means that there is an opportunity in every challenge; and that also means that necessity is the mother of invention. We, at UNIC Lagos were not ready to live with Model UN being incapacitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to be innovative to achieve the same objectives and in fact, to achieve more than if we had organized the Model UN conference in a physical space.
Technology is the future and the future is technology. That is another highlight for me. As an Information Centre, we should be keeping abreast of technological development within our space.
Also, it showed that young people are ready to learn and contribute to the development of their space under guidance by someone who is more knowledgeable than they are in that subject matter.
Then more importantly, is the issue of leadership. Leadership remains key in driving change. The UNIC Lagos Director is committed to an uninterrupted Model UN conference in Nigeria. And I also want to mention that it was not just this moot right for us. Because at the initial stage when we mooted these ideas and shared with our partners, a few of them expressed reservations and concerns about a possibility of a virtual Model UN conference, or a hybrid conference format. But we were able to get them to see the possibilities inherent in a hybrid Model UN conference. They bought into it and together we organized a successful Model UN conference using the hybrid format. Thank you.
