On Saturday 19th of November, hundreds of teenagers gathered in Croydon High School to discuss problems that the world faces today. 27 schools sent delegates to participate in this prestigious event. The event featured 7 committees:, Security Council, Political, Economic and Social, Human Rights, Race and Gender, Environment and Development, each of which discussed issues that related to their committee’s specialisation. The topics that were discussed ranged from the rights of sex workers to the protection of the Arctic and Antarctic.
Model United Nations (MUN) is an educational simulation of the United Nations for schoolchildren and students, that helps young people understand politics, moral values of democracy and peace. It was formerly know as Model League of Nations which were a series of student led discussions that occurred during the 1920s. Although current MUN terminology is slightly outdated form the current UN standards, it is still a good way for young people to understand modern politics and start thinking about issues that humanity must overcome.
In MUN delegates (students), are split into delegations (consisting of 3 – 7 people), each of which represents a certain country. Then each country sends a delegate to different committee. Committees discuss issues specific to their problem area, for example the Human Rights committee would discuss contraception while Economic and Social discuss the Syrian Refugee Crisis.
There is no governing body for MUN, which means that each conference can have slightly different rules and procedures, so the size, time and format of conference can vary greatly. For example CroyMUN took up a Sunday, and was attended by nearly 300 delegates, meanwhile LatiMUN lasted 4 hours Wednesday evening , and only approximately 50 delegates participated.
Overall, I think that MUN can be an enriching experience for young people who currently live a world where politics is facing troubling times, and where global issues are often pushed aside instead of being discussed, and where decision making is becoming more complicated than it has been in the past.
