Our first ISHMUN!

Last weekend, on June 9th and 10th, the school organized our first Model United Nations (MUN) conference in 15 years, ISHMUN 2023. MUN is a simulation of the real UN, where students come together from its councils such as UNICEF, the Human Rights Council, and the Security Council, as delegates representing countries. We discuss resolutions, adding clauses and making amendments, through fruitful debate and diplomacy, based on real global policies. It provides students with an excellent and one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about global issues beyond a superficial level, by allowing them to gauge an understanding of solutions.  

Five schools from across the Netherlands including A. Roland Holst College, Alberdingk Thijm College, Stedelijk Gymnasium Haarlem, International School Utrecht, and the International School Almere participated in the conference, with over 150 students involved in total. This gave us the opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with other schools, and invite those who invited us in the past, allowing other schools to experience ISH.  

ISHMUN revolved around the theme ‘equity and equality’, focusing on achieving both and distinguishing between them. The conference began with a workshop for new delegates given the MUN Club President, Tara Chanda. ISHMUN’s opening ceremony featured a speech by our Ridhi Maganahalli, our secretary general, as well as Mr Edwin Keijzer, our guest speaker, an experienced diplomat, who talked about his journey through his diplomatic career and his current role at NATO.  

The conference consisted of six committees from the United Nations: General Assembly committees, the Environmental Commission, the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council and Security Council. Surrounding the theme of equity and equality, the delegates debated topics such as ethnic tensions in China, inequalities in sustainable development, reliance on Russian gas, the fast-fashion industry and refugee protection. In the end, the six committees passed over fifteen quality resolutions.   

ISHMUN was a collective effort and brought together parts of the entire school community. The MUN club, the baking club, the photography club, the school’s technology and IT team, administrative staff, caretakers, teachers, students from grade 7 to DP1 to even past ISH students were all involved in one way or another.  

For being ISH’s first own conference at this level, it was an immense success. Our team is overjoyed by the learnings we experienced, and the wonderful feedback received from students and teachers of schools with years of experienced in hosting MUN conferences. We are glad to have set the precedent for what we hope is a long line of future ISHMUN conferences. 

Take a look at the ISHMUN Daily Day 1 and Day 2 for more about our conference.