Sunway students attend their very first Model United Nations Conference

Students from Sunway International School (SIS) and the Canadian International Matriculation Program (CIMP) recently attended their very first Model United Nations (MUN) Conference in Singapore. A total of ten students attended as delegates, four from SIS and six from CIMP. The students were accompanied by Heath Kondro, Communications Technology lecturer with CIMP and Brendan Narancsik, Dramatic Arts and History teacher with SIS.

The three-day conference, the first hosted by United World College, South East Asia-East Campus saw the participation of two hundred and forty delegates from eight schools around the region. For the first two days of the conference, delegates were grouped into their different committees which addressed a wide array of issues related to Disarmament, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Human Rights, Politics, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Security Council. On the third and last day of the conference, all delegates were grouped according to the country they represented for the simulated General Assembly. This provided an opportunity for them to work together with other delegates from different committees.

Sunway delegates with Heath Kondro (back row, first from left) and Brendan Narancsik (back row, first from right)

Participants of the Model United Nations Conference come from culturally diverse backgrounds. The conference aims to unite these young delegates, our future leaders, educating them to embrace challenges and take responsibility for shaping and creating a better world. The Sunway delegates are members of the MUN Club, an initiative by Heath and Brendan, who both had attended MUN conferences prior to setting up the Club. The Club aims to expose students to public speaking and debates, be aware of world issues, learn to conduct research and work in an organised frame. In the Club, student officers are encouraged to take up a more leadership role while Heath and Brendan provide behind-the-scenes support work. There are two student co-presidents, one from SIS and one from CIMP.

“We hope to have a larger group in the future. We have plans to expand, to include students from grades seven and eight from SIS” says Heath. “The club is currently in its second semester. For the first semester, we had the students do mock debates and learning to conduct proper research. At first the students were terrified of speaking up, but after some time, they got used to it and now they really enjoy it! After attending the recent conference, they are excited and looking forward to attending more. We plan to attend at least two conferences per semester.” And here’s what some of the students have to share about their experience.

“I started MUN without knowing anything of the world. And I was nervous at first, it sounded like it was a lot of work but I’ve learnt a lot of things since the conference. I’m now less ignorant and am more aware of world issues. And for someone who didn’t know anything to being President of the Club is like WOW!” said Lydia Cheah, Grade 11 student of SIS and President of MUN.

Ardalan Mahdavieh, an Iranian student from CIMP at Sunway College and President of MUN said, “I didn’t know anything about MUN before joining the club. But I’ve found that I really like it – the debating and research work. The MUN Conference at Singapore was just amazing! I learnt so much! I miss it a lot and would love to go for another conference.”

”I have always been interested in world issues and knew about MUN. When it was announced that a club would be set up, I was interested. But I was nervous about speaking in public. By attending the conference, I can speak confidently now, it makes me want to do more speeches” said Grade 11 student, Ahmad Addeen Syah bin Shahar of SIS.

Indonesian student, Wellney Yarra who is currently in her first semester of CIMP said, “When I was studying in Indonesia, I was in a debate club. So when I came here, I had two choices – the debate club or MUN club. I decided to try something new. In a debate, there are the pros and cons, either way you have to win but in MUN, I get to learn a new perspective, put myself in other people’s shoes. It’s a really good experience as I learn to think about other people.”

Model United Nations

The Model United Nations is a simulation of the United Nations work sessions. There are various types of MUN, created to satisfy the practical educational needs of a range of individuals: students, professionals and managers in the private sector and members of the Armed Forces. However, all MUNs have certain common goals

• to provide a deeper understanding of multilateral diplomacy;
• to strengthen negotiating and leadership skills;
• to improve the ability to anticipate evolving scenarios of complex issues.

Participants are required to act like real UN delegates partaking in sessions of various UN committees. Each participant in a committee represents a different country. The delegate has to work, faithfully respecting the assigned country’s standpoint, to obtain the approval of documents that favor the assigned country and the collective interest.

(About Model United Nations taken from http://www.modelunitednations.it/)