Model United Nations at the International School of the Hague which is held annually, stands out as one of the biggest and worldwide known MUN conferences. From November 8- 10 International School Hilversum had the incomparable experience of attending MUNISH. The theme of this year’s conference was “Multilateralism: Building Pathways to Peace and Security” which had tackled a wide range of topics from artificial intelligence to antibiotic resistance. The conference, focusing on current issues, allowed our students to educate and engage with these world problems while having fun through debate. The conference had over 500 delegates and 37 delegates from our school has the privilege to attend, with 15 being first-time delegates!
Figure 1- ISH delegates at MUNISH
The MUN conference took course over three days and began with an opening ceremony to welcome delegates. The opening ceremony included a speech from the secretary general, Anna Vallette d’Osia multiple guest speakers at the conference explained their understanding of the theme and what multilateralism is but also how these theme applies to MUN and to our society. The opening ceremony was a warm welcome to all the delegates and, through the various keynote speakers, was also a trigger for thinking and learning. In the words of the secretary general, “MUNISH is a once In a lifetime experience” which the delegates from ISH had been able to connect with.
Figure 2- MUNISH opening ceremony
Over the next three days delegates debated issues in their committees that they had prepared to tackle. The MUN was truly outstanding in its organization with a flag presentation at the opening ceremony of all countries attending, showcasing the sheer variety of perspectives. We would also like to thank the Board of Directors for their hard work in making all of this happen and run smoothly, and in giving us the honour to experience the product of their hard work.
MUN or model United Nations is a stimulation through which students can take up a role of an UN delegate. It relies highly on skills such as debate, collaboration, communication, public speaking, problem solving and creative thinking. This makes MUN a great opportunity to develop a plethora of academic skills. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the conferences focus greatly on occurring issues which raises global awareness in our students and brings the younger generation to take action in the world. Additionally, MUNISH included delegates from across all countries such as Egypt, France, Germany and turkey making it a great opportunity to make friends and to meet people from other countries. Many delegates from international school Hilversum as well as other schools stated that this sense of internationality and connection is what they believe to be one of the highlights of MUN. It is an opportunity to investigate other perspectives and to, very importantly, learn from one another.
Our school had a lot of first time delegates coming into this conference, up to 15!. These delegates already had workshops organized by the school MUN club so that they are prepared and confident for the conference. They were given opportunities to write resolutions and debate before the actual conference so that they are ready to take action.
““Going into MUNISH I was rather intimidated, especially as I do not do a lot of public speaking however everyone was very welcoming and it was a great experience that I would recommend” -Tilly Glass, first time delegate, EVC
MUNISH is a conference that is friendly to both beginner and advanced delegates due to its variety in committees. As mentioned by Tilly, delegates are very friendly, and a welcoming learning atmosphere is established by both trained chairs and experienced delegates. We continue to encourage any interested students from grade 9 or above to take part in MUN not only due to its amazing academic impact but also because of how special such an experience is. Set in the Hague, attending MUNISH was not just an MUN conference but it was an experience to broaden horizons. Many students had stayed in the city in the peaceful local community. Many delegates from ISH stated that staying in their accommodations in the Hague and being able to connect with others there made it very exiting and enriched their experience.
“Mun was a great experience, even though I have been to another MUN this felt like my first.” - Shourya Sangwan, Lebanon, spc2
We are immensely proud of all attending delegates. We would like to give special recognition to Merijn Schumacher, HSC who made ISH shine through winning best delegate! It is also important to give a thanks to Anushka Seth, chair of ICJ and Johan Zijverveld, chair of WHO. We are so proud that students from our school are taking the initiative to help make MUN the incredible experience that it is and that have led and helped such important committees over the course of three days. We would like to thank the MUNISH board of directors again for making all this possible, and our ISH MUN directors for organizing and overseeing this trip.