Reflecting on the Model United Nations
Sixth Form, Senior School
On Saturday 5 March, ten girls from the Royal High Sixth Form arrived at Kingswood School for the 31st Bath International Schools Model United Nations.
Our school sent two delegations representing Spain and Yemen. The girls were extremely excited (and a touch nervous) to be joining over 500 other students from schools around the UK and Germany. It was their first in-person MUN since 2020 and it promised to be an interesting and enjoyable weekend.
On Saturday morning, after the opening ceremony, the girls divided into their chosen committees and lobbied other delegates to sign their resolutions relating to a wide range of issues, from vaccine nationalism, the situation in Afghanistan to LGBT+ Rights. Each committee debated a number of world issues, following formal UN debate rules. It was an exhausting but brilliant day, with everyone getting a chance to question resolutions, critically probe solutions in an accepting, respectful, yet challenging forum.
On Sunday, emergency situations were proposed and clauses which focused on the situation between China and Taiwan on Kinmen Island were debated. They required spontaneous analysis and discussion of solutions for global emergencies. Finally, the delegates attended the General Assembly, in which a resolution to end the war in Ukraine was put forwarded and passed. The ceremony closed with a poignant reflection on the current situation in Ukraine.
It was a wonderful weekend. Such was the enthusiasm and passion of the girls from this experience, a MUN club is being discussed.
Below are some of the comments from a few of the students who attended the event.
“ Representing Spain in the Political Committee at the BISMUN conference was an incredibly illuminating insight into United Nations proceedings, as well as a great opportunity to problem solve, with others, through very real situation in the world. We then had to speak and defend our resolutions and amendments, answer questions, and provide logical reasons for it to be voted into passing, all whilst using the correct language and debate procedure. MUN ultimately allowed us to practice and improve our public speaking abilities, and for me personally confirmed my interest in studying Politics and International Relations at university and future career aspirations.”Hannah Elliott, Year 13
“ MUN allowed me to develop an individual perspective on various issues, analyse the core problem of multiple crises, and work towards finding a suitable resolution. The weekend event also gave me a chance to deliberate upon the existing foreign policies and find loopholes in order to increase my thinking capacity. I also had the opportunity to present a speech in defence of an amendment I put forward and it was successfully passed - clapping was in order!”Phoebe Wirick, Year 12
“ Participating in Model United Nations was a wonderful opportunity to connect both with politics and students from other schools. COVID times have made inter school activities scarce, which adds to the value of the MUN Conference. It is important to recognise our place on a global stage and that we are part of an international community. It was so exciting to see all the delegates waving their flags and showcasing national pride. MUN was incredibly informative but the joke resolutions we debated and friends we made meant that above all, we had fun.”Sophie Phipson, Year 13
