Model United Nations Conference

7 October was the date of the third annual Model United Nations conference, open to students in years 9 to 12, held at Bede’s Senior School in Sussex. On arrival, we listened to the opening address and heard from the teachers and students coordinating the event. Then, we were each assigned various delegate positions and headed off to our respective conference rooms to begin the spirited debate.

The morning breezed by as we discussed issues ranging from drug and gang violence in Latin America to forced child marriage in the Global South. Covering weighty topics such as these really brought the conference to life - everyone involved themselves with gusto in the speechmaking, criticising and forming alliances with other nations. This, in turn, made the day incredibly enjoyable and eventful.

Following the morning debates, we gathered for a quick lunch before convening in the main hall, where we were notified of the “crisis situation”. This is where the event organisers throw us a curveball by creating an imaginary political disaster inspired by current affairs. We, as the delegates of our nations, faced the challenging task of finding a solution whilst averting war and destruction. As time went on, the organisers made new announcements, increasing the drama of the situation whilst we scrambled to keep up. Despite the stress, this was an amazing opportunity to test our political mettle, both as a team and as individuals.

Our crisis situation involved an occupation of Greenland by one of the parties. Not only did they have masses of resources at their disposal, but their strong rhetoric on the subject strengthened their defence, making this a challenging situation to defuse. We in Challoner’s had been split between two countries - France and New Zealand - so naturally we found it difficult to make ourselves heard among the heavyweights such as the United States and Russia, as well as coming to an opinion on the plaintive voice of Denmark on the matter of invasion of its own territory. Nevertheless, we proved ourselves by writing a lengthy resolution, and we certainly earned our spurs that day as we claimed one of the four trophies for best delegations, on top of various individual commendations. From there, it wasn’t long until we had to bid farewell to Bede’s Senior School and return home after a tiring but memorable 12 hours spent travelling, debating and winning prizes.

Writer: Rishav (Year 10)

Editor: Ben (Year 13)