Some may find Model United Nations (MUNs) daunting, but it&rsquo;s interesting to see how this debate and elocution programme &mdash; which initially started as a simulation of the United Nations &mdash; went from an educational activity to a unique side hustle for students.
Students who regularly participate in or chair MUNs can win up to Rs 50,000. &nbsp;
Paarth Veturkar, 20, organiser of Bombay MUN, &ldquo;It was only after the COVID pandemic that there was a tectonic shift in MUNs in terms of money, with higher cash prizes.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The Sathaye College student adds that Bombay MUN, which comprises seasoned MUNers, is set to host its first conference on August 22-23 in the city. &ldquo;While we, too, have high cash prizes, we choose to cater to students who want to learn instead of earn,&rdquo; he says about the event where prizes go up to Rs 20,000.
Veturkar says he ideally takes part in three to four conferences monthly but stayed mum on his total winnings. However, he mentions that a chairperson can sometimes earn Rs 6000 to Rs 15,000 per conference, while a vice-chair can earn anywhere between zero and R5000. He emphasises that MUNs are &ldquo;more about the ideation of how the world should be, rather than simulating how the world actually is&rdquo;. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about how leaders should act, ideally, rather than how the present leadership does,&rdquo; he adds.
<img title="Paarth Veturkar and Ayuj Menda" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/money-money-b_e.jpg" alt="Paarth Veturkar and Ayuj Menda" width="1280" height="720" />Paarth Veturkar and Ayuj Menda
Ayuj Menda, a 19-year-old who has won nearly R1 lakh over two years solely through MUNs, says there&rsquo;s no guarantee of winning. &ldquo;You will not win your first MUN. But you will at least understand how to do research,&rdquo; says the RUIA college student.&nbsp;
While the prizes are hard to ignore, MUNs are about gaining more than cash, Veturkar says, &ldquo;It is a perfect avenue for anybody pursuing civil services, policy-making, and international services, they also help you fund your future career plans,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;MUNs help you to build a personality. They help you in public speaking, strategic management roles, and leadership qualities.&rdquo;
Veturkar adds, &ldquo;One of the biggest revenue sources for such events is delegate fees. The entire model of MUNs, from an organiser&rsquo;s perspective, solely lies upon registration fees and sponsorships.&rdquo;
With more than 70 conferences under his belt, Mehra says, &ldquo;School MUNs are for beginners, college MUNs are the ones with real cash [as a Political Science student].&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;When young people are given a platform to speak, they choose talking over conflict,&rdquo; says Deepika Guleria, city director (Pune) of Teach for India (TFI), a non-profit organisation &nbsp;that set up one of the earliest MUN initiatives for students from under-resourced communities. &ldquo;For the students who have rarely been told that their opinions matter on a global stage, that experience is transformative.&rdquo;

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