Press Editor Keerthana Reddy met with Head of Conference Management Kamalini to talk about managing a Covid-era online conference and more.
Kamalini is an incoming university undergraduate who strongly believes that vanilla is the essence of life. Having been in the MUN circuit since Secondary Two, she takes great pride in admiring and showing off her extensive collection of lanyards. As an "angry feminist", she finds the unique intersection of social advocacy, politics and policy particularly interesting. When she's not drowning in work, Kamalini can be found jamming with her band or finding new restaurants through her discount app. She sincerely hopes that delegates step out of their comfort zone to gain meaningful experiences over SMUN and stay safe during this challenging time.
What are some of the main differences between last year’s conference and this year’s conference?
Personally, I think one of the main differences is that we started out wanting to do a hybrid where there would be an in-person conference for local delegates and online conferences for overseas delegates or those under LOA or SHN. Obviously, as the year progressed, we had to push it to a fully online conference as MOE started ramping up their own restrictions and everything. Another difference is that we are running the full four days this time and we had a plan for this to be online, from the start itself so it was much easier to adapt as the situation, unfortunately, worsened. We also know more about running things online and are more familiar with online platforms such as Zoom and Telegram.
So, how did you end up on the SMUN planning team?
Valen, our secretary-general, asked me to join.
How did you get into the MUN circuit in general?
I started my MUN journey in 2016 when I was in Secondary Two. A teacher sent out an email telling us about UNASMUN and that we could debate about issues. I guess I wasn’t told a lot about what it was actually about and I went in and realised that this wasn’t anything like the formal 3v3 debate that I had done in primary school. At UNAS, I figured a lot of stuff out on my own but also realised that I didn’t know a lot about what was going on in the world and I think that’s why I continued, and that’s why I’m still here.
I figured a lot of stuff out on my own but also realised that I didn’t know a lot about what was going on in the world and I think that’s why I continued, and that’s why I’m still here.
How has the journey for your conference management team been so far?
We essentially lost our jobs halfway because we were doing a lot of venue and catering stuff which essentially were useless when we had to shift it to an online conference. So, now it’s just Zoom links and Telegram channels. I guess we’re just doing what we can given how our job scope has shrunk a lot.
Apart from COVID-19 which is essentially a pretty big challenge in itself, what else would you say was your biggest challenge in planning the conference?
When we were still trying to get a physical conference to happen, I think one of the biggest challenges was the fact that they were charging us pre-pandemic prices for a post-pandemic capacity. With the SMM
restrictions and everything, we had to get more rooms for a significantly reduced number of people but I guess it all worked out in the end because we didn’t have to book the rooms in the end. I think another thing was that my team is pretty busy as well because they’re both university students and they have exams and their own work so it’s pretty hard to coordinate sometimes but we’re making it work. I think we’ve got a good plan for the conference.
I think we’ve got a good plan for the conference.
What has your most memorable MUN experience been so far? One good and one bad.
I would say, as a delegate, my favourite conference would be THIMUN. I went for THIMUN in 2017 and what’s different about it from other conferences is that there are no awards. So, the toxicity is reduced by so much because nobody’s competing for anything. I met a lot of international delegates and people who go to international schools and I made a lot of friends. It was really eye-opening as well because I got to see so many different cultures and got to know more about how students around the world are schooled and how they do MUN. SMUN 2019, was also a memorable conference but it was memorable for very different reasons. I was stressed throughout the four days and it was really cutthroat because there were delegates that were a little hard to deal with.
What is your worst fear?
I would say that my worst fear is rejection. Being rejected by people around me and society, but just being rejected in general and being left alone.
What is your worst fear about the conference?
It would probably be zoom mishaps like we send out the wrong link and there’s a whole bunch of people who can’t get in and we’re flooded with telegram messages from delegates. Or if we mess up with the breakout rooms and delegates hear conversations between chairs that they aren’t supposed to hear but I guess this just is something that we have to deal with.
If you could have only one vanilla flavoured food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I actually haven’t found really good vanilla yet. I’m still trying to find a good vanilla ice cream despite being lactose intolerant so I wouldn’t place my bets yet. Actually, Starbucks’ vanilla bean frappuccino is pretty good, although it’s diabetes in a cup so if I had to choose now, it would be that. (Kamalini texted me after the interview and said that coffee bean and tea leaf’s vanilla bean cold brew latte would beat Starbucks’ frappuccino anyday)
What animal do you think represents your spirit and why?
Cat. Cats are just better than human beings aren’t they, they’re such a mood. For context, my office has a cat who’s the greatest thing I’ve ever met. I just really love cats. You have to earn respect from a cat so I’m kind of in love with the chase.