AMUNC - Asia-Pacific Model United Nations Conference 

AYV member Anna Zhang went over to Melbourne to take part in AMUNC, hear what she has to say.

Every second of every day, you make a decision that can and will change your life forever.

My decision to attend the Asia-Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2012 in Melbourne definitely made its mark on my life.

AMUNC, as it is commonly referred to, is a congregation of at least 600 young people over the course of a week in a simulated UN setting. Each individual takes on a role of a member state of the UN - or in my case, an NGO (Global Poverty Project). My role as an NGO was to remind delegates of the greater issues at hand - the fact that there are 1.4 billion people in this world living in extreme poverty and these numbers will increase if further self-driven decisions are made. 

AMUNC was a week of challenges, debates, inspiring speeches, commonality, differences but most importantly, it was where life-long friends were made. The amount of passion and conviction exhibited in the committees and during the conversations that took place at social events ignited desires inside of us - desires to make a positive mark on this world. As to how and what? These questions will involve some serious thinking and more discussions to be held.

As long as dialogue is taking place within our generation - and as long as our generation refuses to be silent, there is definitely hope for the future.

In the case of global poverty, we CAN end extreme poverty within this generation. It is possible.