ISN Students participate in ISM Model United Nations

ISN Students participate in ISM Model United Nations
Jennifer Wallace

Delegates from ISN Nice were proud to represent their school at a virtual Model United Nations (MUN) hosted by the International School of Monaco in early February. Eighteen of our High School students participated in this event, and were present in committees ranging from Human Rights, the environment, the WHO, and The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

We asked our MUN Coordinator Sergio Galvis and Grade 11 student Theo L’huillier for their feedback on the event.

 

MUN

Sergio Galvis:

Being the MUN Coordinator at ISN has allowed me to guide young people interested in tackling global challenges through debates, and help them become engaged citizens.

Model UN conferences help students to develop public speaking, writing and research skills. Here at ISN, they provide many students with their first entry point into international affairs concepts, such as peace and security, human rights, development, and rule of law issues.

In the buildup to the event, MUN delegates worked very hard every Thursday and Friday in their Changemakers sessions with me, learning about the UN as an institution and its role in world affairs, getting familiar with their countries through research, and practicing their negotiating and diplomatic skills involved in UN decisions.

All this hard effort has paid off as many of them shared in feedback with the team. The courage and knowledge required to be an active participant in Model UN conferences is just the first step, our delegation has come back from the ISM MUN 2022 conference with the Best Delegate Award given to Theo L’huillier, for his role as the delegate of China in the ECOSOC committee.

The next step of my MUN Coordination in 2022 is to continue spreading the benefits of Model UN to students and the ISN community; and in the short term guide the team preparing our next big event: hosting the Globeducate MUN 2022 Conference (for the second year in a row), which will take place from March 30th - April 1st, and will be focusing on the theme of "Sustainability and Society: Legal Systems, Energy, and Human Rights".

 

Theo L’huillier:

Following my first MUN last year (where I was a nervous wreck the whole time!), I realised that if I really wanted to have the full experience of MUN, I should not be afraid and participate as much as I can. So for my second conference which was held virtually at ISM, I just tried my best and came prepared with ideas that I could voice during debate and lobbying. What really struck me during the conference was the difference in atmosphere compared to my first MUN. I felt as though the overall atmosphere of our Economic and Social council was encouraging, non-judgmental, and constructive. I really appreciated the chairs working together in order to facilitate debate and formulate discussions between the delegates. Over the course of two days I noticed that the overall atmosphere of the committee was full of enthusiasm and prolific debate making it easier for me to voice my thoughts and ideas. Overall, I really enjoyed my second MUN experience and I would like to thank all delegates, chairs, and guest speakers for making that happen.