Last weekend, our MUN students took part in the SEASAC virtual MUN Conference, working through global issues with students from a range of schools and countries. In this week’s Secondary Blog, our Head of Enrichment, David Morris, and Year 8 student, Caitlyn, share more about the experience of being part of the MUN community.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our Model United Nations community has worked tirelessly to ensure they continue to thrive despite being significantly impacted by SOP restrictions. Under the guidance of our MUN Coordinator, Manueal Navarro, our students have re-developed the structure and sequence of sessions to be more developmental. They have built in a mentoring focus to ensure those who are inexperienced or new are supported and can grow in both skills and confidence, while still providing adequate challenge to push for further progress in our experienced and long-standing members.
As conferences shifted to an online format, it has been wonderful to see our students taking these opportunities to stay connected to the wider MUN community outside of the school provision and gain a real-world understanding of current events and issues. One of our members, Caitlyn in Year 8, has written about what MUN means to her:
“MUN is an abbreviation of Model United Nations, a student driven and led extracurricular activity which replicates the United Nations - we strongly debate on popular international topics with a resolution! Honestly, I definitely do not regret joining MUN as it does not only concern learning about and emulating the United Nations, it is also where you can meet new and insightful individuals to form a community, as well as develop your confidence to speak in front of a huge audience.
I have met a large number of new people that are in varying years throughout my time with MUN, which was an amazing experience for me while getting to know them and competing in heated debates about current political controversies. Due to the fact that MUN is a naturally student driven account, you are able to get first-hand experience and feedback from those in older years, as well as tips and tricks about competing in competitions, such as SEASAC MUN which is a school-led competition that concerns Alice Smith!
My experience in SEASAC was absolutely astounding. I had the opportunity to meet new friends and enjoy the thrilling debate throughout it all. In my opinion, it does take quite a large amount of courage to speak in your first conference, though, eventually, your confidence will arise and you will enjoy the flow of debate! This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my time at MUN and I will definitely continue to be a part of the MUN community in the future. I encourage anyone interested to do the same and join up in Term 3!”
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Maria Osowiecki
