Surat Student Parliament.

Surat Student Parliament was an event organized as a simulation of the parliament of India where members of the house belonged to various parties and forums. A full day of debating and working on a campaign to make individual parties win. I participated as a member of the house as a part of the sustainable development forum.

1. I learned that one of my weakness was that if I felt like I could lead a group of people, I wouldn’t listen to the opinions of the rest of the group and now that I’m aware of it, I can work to be more cooperative and thus knowing my weaknesses will help me for better in the future.
2. One of the challenges I faced was a teammate who was quite stubborn and made it difficult for everyone to deal with. There was a lack of communication with him, however, after some ice breaking, we were able to get through to him and understand why he was detached. Thereafter, we didn’t face any issues.
3. The formal proceedings of a parliament were followed and thus I organized and presented myself formally. Planning out and executing our party’s agenda required a leader and I volunteered to initiate that. I learned that I could be an effective leader and guide people well. I also learned that it is important to know how to plan and initiate since it gives us clarity into what we exactly want.
4. We were required to perform extensive research on the topics provided to us and therefore it required commitment and many working hours to be spent. However, since the given topic intrigued me, I enjoyed the research and thus committing was not an issue.
5. An essential aspect of this event was to make our party win and thus, as a MOH, I had to work collaboratively along with the campaign managers and the media managers to build the required reputation for the campaign and gain votes of the members of the parliament. I learned that while working collaboratively, it is essential to hear and understand everyone’s opinions and cater equally to everyone in the team. This ultimately leads to better results for a team.
6. The topic we debated upon was the best method to achieve a sustainable development without harming the economy. A matter which requires immediate attention for a healthier and safer future. And thus discussion and the imposition of such ideas in the minds of today’s youth would cater to an issue of global importance and thus I now feel like a more responsible citizen of not only my country but also the world as I am more aware.
7. The ethical issues involved with this activity were primarily on unbiased debating and treating all my fellow party members as equals. After this activity, I feel like I have learned a lot about not being partial towards an opinion and keeping an open mind.