By: Niall PS. (Year 12) & Lottie R. (Year 11)
The Event
At the beginning of November, we were part of the nine – strong Framlingham College delegation who spent three days together with 1,200 Students from 40 different schools, as we participated in the 2019 Model United Nations at the International School of The Hague. This year was the 29thevent in which students aged 14 to 19 years old from all over the world were invited to participate in an academic simulation of a United Nations conference.
Our Roles
Niall PS. (Ambassador) and Harry Williamson were delegates in the Historical Security Council HSC
Carmen K. was a delegate in the commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice CCPCJ
Freya F. was a delegate in the Special Conference Committee SPC 1
Lottie R. was a delegate in the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee GA 4
Xavier BdM. was a delegate in the International Security and Disarmament Committee GA 1
Alexandra D. was a delegate in the Environment Commission EC
Matt A. was a delegate in in the International Financial Systems/Stability committee G20
Grace R. was a delegate in the Economic and Social Council ECOSOC
The Debates
To get the best out of MUNISH we were all determined to represent the delegation from our designated country (this year it was Italy) with energy, enthusiasm and integrity by contributing fully to the important debates. Across the three days our College contingent became immersed in the process and protocol of collaboration, co-opting, debating and lobbying the global issues that were set for each of the committees. Our experience at MUNISH enforced the fact that a combination of academic argument, compassion, courage, empathy, persuasion and tenacity will always defeat negativity. Will always diffuse an argument. Will create meaningful friendships that can last a lifetime. At MUN, our voices were heard and together we secured the respect and support of our fellow MUNISH delegates.
What We Learned
MUN creates an environment which can encourage us to find out about political and global issues, discover incentives for mutual understanding, and become better informed, through research and the writing of resolutions and policy statements. However, no matter how well-written our policy statements, no matter how ingenious the ideas explained in our resolutions, the essential skill at the conference was the ability to speak to others; to convince them and to debate with them, in order to gain their support for our ideas; as well as to learn about negotiation and compromise.
MUN is a prestigious, enjoyable and educational event which we encourage all students to think about doing. Who knows, maybe in the future we can hold our own model United Nations conference at Framlingham College, under the name of FRAMMUN!
