MANILA — Former Vice President Leni Robredo told students on Thursday that the practice of diplomacy, more than transactions, was about “building authentic human connections.”

Robredo spoke to over 300 students and officials from different schools as the guest of honor during the 24th Benilde Model United Nations (MUN) at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde in Manila.

In her keynote speech, Robredo underscored the impact of diplomacy and its role in the United Nations.

"Diplomacy is more than just transaction. It is more than just the practice of leveraging what we can offer, to extract from others what we need. It is, more importantly, about building authentic human connections, so that such connections can be elevated to national ones," she said.

"And so today, even as we tackle the details of accessing better healthcare and debt sustainability, we are asked to anchor ourselves to the UN's animating philosophy, to remind ourselves that it is a space not to exercise power over others, but to empower them; not a space to make smaller nations yield to bigger ones, but one where we can enlarge our circles of compassion so that different nations can be looked into one organic human community," she added.

Robredo also reminded students to reflect on the core of the United Nations, where "nations and their peoples can come together as equal".

She said she "looks forward to the good work" that the students would do in the near future.

"At the core of this is the task of constantly reorienting ourselves to the fundamental purpose of the organization. The United Nations is a space where nations and their peoples can come together as equals... To put an end to human suffering, we must all begin to treat each other as human beings that have equal rights and are of equal worth and of equal dignity," the former vice president said.

Catherine Samaniego, chairperson of the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde's Diplomacy and International Affairs, explained the activity was open to senior high school and college students from different courses who want to enhance their public speaking, research, technical writing, negotiation skills, among others.

"Essentially, what we do in a model UN is you're given a role of a diplomat. You're supposed to be representing a country and you will be negotiating on their behalf on matters pertaining to, let's say, climate change, food security, gender equality," Samaniego said.

"What makes MUN activities unique is that it exposes you to different types of issues in a span of 3 days... It wants to help students develop the soft skills, the practical skills that they will actually need when they enter the workforce," she added.

Indian student Shagorika Kar, who attends senior high school at the German European School Manila, admitted she initially joined the Model United Nations "out of curiosity".

"I soon learned, it helped me actually grow out of my comfort zone, which soon led me to my love of diplomatic affairs and learning more about different countries," she shared.

Kar said she was also grateful that physical and social activities have returned in schools, considering them her motivation.

"When I see other people doing what I want to achieve, what I want to do, it also gives me the motivation and strength to carry on with my plans and my goals," she said.

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