Dulwich Students Shining through MUN
Vivian D, our Senior School Media Prefect has attended the Model United Nations (MUN) activity last week as a delegate of the Economic and Social Council. She wrote the article below to share her thoughts and reflections about the MUN activity during this special year. Dulwich College Suzhou emphasises on the concept of holistic education, and the MUN series is an important platform for our Senior School students to start contributing to the world issues and eventually become a Graduate Worldwise and make a difference to the world.
Model United Nations (MUN) is a simulation of the United Nations committees where students role-play as delegates of member states to discuss relevant issues. Dulwich College Suzhou has the tradition to participate in this event. This year our school is honored to be invited and be able to attend the annual Beijing Model United Nations (BEIMUN) conference again, hosted by the International School of Beijing. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, this four-day conference was held virtually this year.
Attending as a delegate of the Economic and Social Council, I negotiated, discussed, and debated with other delegates regarding solutions to current global issues, predominately focusing on issues concerning the economy. Other committees in MUN include the General Assembly, the Environment Commission, and the Security Council, etc.
Since the conference was held online, the overall experience was slightly different from previous conferences I have attended. One of the main differences being that there was more digitalisation of the conference. At regular conferences, most notes are handwritten; during this virtual conference, notes were sent via designated online platforms, which was a brand-new experience for me. This made the communication process with other delegates during the conference a lot quicker and more effective.
As a result of the conference being virtual, I had the pleasure of engaging with students from all around the world. As with other MUN conferences, it was fascinating to discuss with other students similar my age about our different approaches to current global issues. In MUN, it is often the case that other students will have different opinions or perspectives, and there’s no right or wrong.
After participating in MUN for more than two years now, it has become much more than just a co-curricular activity. Instead, it is now a platform for me to learn and grow as a student, global citizen, and most importantly a person. The experiences gained from MUN allow me to be more aware of events and issues, as well as keeping an open mindset with everything. With the improving situation of COVID-19, I am looking forward to attending more conferences soon.
