Prompt: Describe an experience where, working in a team as a member or leader, you successfully managed to deal with a challenge posed by the diversity of the group. (Maximum 500 words)
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I was surprised on learning that my council president for the conference is a son of the King of Qatar. Even though I have greeted Qataris I was nervous as I never greeted a Qatari royal before. Should I wish him 'As-salamu-alaykum' with the cheek to cheek kisses as per the cultural norms? Luckily before I leaned in for the kiss, the Prince greeted me with a handshake. An awkward moment due to a generalization was averted. We then went on to discuss the topics that were going to be deliberated upon in the council over the next 2 days.
Nothing beats the diversity seen when it comes to a Model UN (MUN) conference. With hundreds of participants from across 5 continents, the International Georgetown MUN Conference is definitely the one of the events where I encountered diversity not only in ethnicity, religion and culture but also in ideas and opinions.
In my council one of the topics up for discussion was: 'Controlling the trade of fissile materials'. As the delegate of Zimbabwe, which is an autocratic country with capacity to export Uranium, I joined a bloc of nations that traded Uranium. Our bloc's aim was to prevent the passage of any UN resolution made by opposing nations that can adversely hamper our exports of Uranium. For that to happen, we needed to write a counter-resolution that can either prevent imposition of rigid controls on the exports or filibuster the opposition till the conference is over.
But soon cracks developed in the bloc as many delegates wanted their nations' position to take priority. Many delegates complained that their points of view were sidelined by the bigger nations. Some weren't happy that most of the decision makers in the bloc were from Western nations, thus not reflecting the diversity of the bloc. Similarly more small differences in opinions cropped up, leading to a situation where we couldn't develop a consensus on what agenda our bloc should have.
I negotiated with those delegates that initiated the bloc and are writing the resolution. Just like any work environment, the delegates are expected to be very professional and are required to accept reason over any emotion. I made them realize that if they alienate the smaller nations, including mine, the bloc will fall apart. Our differences in opinion will result in our failure to achieve the collective aim of our bloc. I convinced them to write the resolution based on a common agenda outlining the minimum objectives of the bloc where the diverse concerns and opinions of nations are incorporated. In return, the smaller nations agreed to not oppose the lack of regional diversity in the group that is writing the resolution. After we completed our resolution, the president, who was happy with the discussion we shared earlier, was more than willing to discuss my bloc's resolution before our opposing blocs could finish theirs. Thus we were able to achieve our aim of maintaining the status quo regarding the exports.
Like how I did in the above example, I truly believe that in any diverse environment where professionalism is required, one can solve any issue that can arise from diversity if one can empathize and cogently argue for the benefit of the collective good.
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The first para is an anecdote that i wanted to show of the diversity I encountered. Do let me know if it c=goes well with the rest of the essay.
Also do comment on the content, structure and grammar as well.
Thanks in advance..
