Broadcast Journalism student to attend Model United Nations conference in New York

Maariyah Kadu, from Blackburn, will be a rapporteur for the Dias team at the Change the World MUN Conference in New York City from Friday 5 April to Sunday 7 April.

The Dias team chair the conference, making sure all representatives act respectfully, accordingly, and follow the rules.

The 19-year-old, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (Type 3) at three-years-old, travelled to Abu Dhabi last year to attend its previous conference, where she represented Egypt.

Maariyah said her dedication to MUN is fueled by her desire to make a positive impact on the world as part of the next generation.

She said: “I want to be an inspiration to those who think that they can’t do anything but in fact they can, and I am living proof that nothing can stop you from doing whatever you want. I am passionate about doing this for the next generation and having a hand in changing the world for the better.”

Maariyah is keen to pursue her interests in politics and journalism and believes the MUN events are an avenue to help nurture her passions into a career. She added: “I thought this would be one of the avenues I can go into which will look good on my CV. I can get a bit of experience from it and it's something new as well.”

She originally got into MUN after seeing an advert on Instagram looking for students to be part of the conference in Abu Dhabi. After doing a handful of Zoom classes online once a week from May until October, she was then given the opportunity to fly out for the event.

When the chance came to be a part of the conference in New York, Maariyah was very keen to put herself forward to become a rapporteur.

“It was really exciting to be picked as a rapporteur because there's only three positions in each team so, for me to get picked individually, it shows that I have got that experience that they are looking for.”

Maariyah has been a wheelchair user since the age of 4 but refuses to see it as a hindrance to taking on new opportunities for herself.

She said: It’s part of my day-to-day life and it's like, I have been born this way, so I know nothing different but every day is like a little bump in the road which could set you back so all you can do is pick yourself up and carry on”.

Find out more information about the event.