In June we held our first larger Model United Nations at Dover Court International School. Initiated and organised by our Year 12 students the event was a vast success and a wonderful start to, what will hopefully be, a new annual tradition.
The DCIS MUN Secretary General and Year 12 student Shafneen shares her reflections from the conference.
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations where students play the role of delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world issues with the policies and perspectives of their assigned country.
Though we are all well aware of the prestige surrounding MUN, this event is so much more than just a tick-box activity. The MUN was a fantastic way for students across all of our Secondary School to come together and share an interest in and understanding of the world around us, a world that we, as young people, soon will lead. Our delegates learnt the skills of communication and collaboration, amongst a plethora of others, which allow them to practise diplomacy and international relations in a school environment. From establishing a masterful breadth of knowledge regarding the country each delegate chooses to represent to applying their written skills in the form of position papers, opening speeches and resolutions - Model United Nations delegates build competencies in a dynamic and educational event.
This year, fellow Year 12 student Anushka and I, Shafneen, worked extensively, with a vast amount of teacher support, to launch DCIS’ first ever somewhat large scale Model United Nations event, in-house.
Owing to the constant support of all those around us, we were able to hold our 2-day Conference on the 11th and 12th of June - an event that will forever remain memorable for us. We were so proud to see our delegates exemplify what it means to partake in the Model United Nations and build strong relationships and friendships with those from other committees and year levels. And finally, during our closing ceremony, we were ecstatic to recognise the exceptional talent of a select few delegates who, regardless of being first-time MUNers, truly emulated seasoned delegates with certificates and awards.
Regardless of all the challenges we faced - this was not the easiest year to initiate a large scale event - we feel so honoured to have had this opportunity to start something so important in our school community. We would especially like to take some time to fully acknowledge all the support from the Business Management, Marketing, Facilities and Finance departments at DCIS; as well as our teacher supervisor Mr Bailey without whom this experience would not have been possible.
If this is something that interests you, stay tuned and apply to next year’s MUN where an even stronger team of Secretary Generals is working on organising another event with the possibility of inviting delegates from other international schools in Singapore!
Shafneen
Secretary General of DCIS MUN 2022
