Kingswood School in Bath recently hosted its annual Model United Nations conference. The event, now in its 31st year, saw 300 students from 24 schools take part in two days of debate on a variety of issues, ranging from vaccine nationalism and the energy crisis, to the situation in Yemen and press freedom.
MUN requires students, known as delegates, to put aside their own views and debate issues from the point of view of the various member states of the United Nations, working with others to pass resolutions that seek to tackle some of the most pressing problems facing the international community. During this year’s conference, the students were also presented with a number of unexpected emergency scenarios. Again, they had to respond to these in their roles as national representatives, dealing with everything from a nuclear emergency to a coup in West Africa.
The conflict in Ukraine provided a particularly poignant backdrop to this year’s conference. Mirroring the actions of the UN General Assembly, the delegates passed a resolution deploring the violence taking place. After hearing from a Ukrainian student who spoke movingly about the situation in his country, all those attending the conference stood for a moment of silent reflection to remember the victims of the conflict.
An attending school teacher confirmed the value of the conference. “The 31st BISMUN conference was debated under the most extreme global circumstances, which helped focus the students’ minds on why they were at Kingswood: not only to practice their own public speaking and negotiation skills, but to understand the world at large and to contribute to making a more peaceful and fair solution for the global community.
“All student participants debated with great maturity and sensitivity; our students were really pleased with their own performance, and had a fantastic weekend meeting new people from different schools and challenging themselves academically. Thank you so much to the BISMUN organisers at Kingswood for putting on an excellent conference.”
MUN is a student-led event. Kingswood pupils took part as delegates, but also assumed the leadership role of chairing the various specialist committees which were in session over the course of the conference weekend. This year’s conference Secretary Generals, sixth formers Elli and Rose, summed up the value of MUN. “MUN is a great way to meet new people and develop your speaking skills. It also encourages you to solve problems through cooperation and negotiation and fosters awareness of international relations and world events.
“MUN is a great, proactive way to get involved in current political debates and learn more about the different ways countries view key issues facing the global community.”
After a two year break due to the pandemic, it was wonderful to once again host an in-person MUN at Kingswood. Planning now begins for 2023!