MUN stands for Model United Nations and is a globally recognized activity. Delegates are assigned a country or a politician which will determine what stance they have in the debate. Delegates are required to do in depth research about their topic and then stance their argument according to the country they represent in order to come up with resolutions to
ongoing, global issues. The main goal of MUN is to promote world peace through understanding and cooperation between cultures and informing the youth on global issues. We interviewed 2 students Adrian Mak and John Chan to provide a few useful
tips and advice for prospective MUN members. Adrian and John received the honourable mention award and best delegate award respectively in the 2021 Renaissance MUN conference.
For the 2, MUN was an eye opening experience which allowed them to learn and explore topics from different perspectives. Both Adrian and John have participated in conferences since the start of year 10. Due to the nature of MUN conferences, students are required to provide a stance on a certain topic based on the country they were assigned to. As some countries have very unpopular opinions on said topics, it is imperative that delegates follow the stance and opinions of their country to imitate the real UN as much as possible.
This was evident in one of Adrian’s conferences as he was required to argue for a conservative country while debating about the topic of LGBTQ rights, allowing him to see things from a different perspective. As for John, MUN has taught him to effectively communicate with other delegates. While coming up with a resolution to the topic, other delegates may not agree with your stance or ideas, so it is important to communicate and cooperate with other delegates in order to make the conference as constructive as possible. A challenge both Adrian and John faced was trying to adapt to the new virtual MUN system. As a result of COVID, many MUN conferences have been cancelled or substituted with new online platforms. Although both of them have not participated in any face to face conferences, they hope to be able to in the foreseeable future as they agree that the non-virtual MUN experience has hindered delegates from social interactions and making deep, meaningful connections with other fellow delegates. How should students prepare for MUN and what should they expect in a conference? Due to MUN requiring a diverse range of skills, one must learn to come to conferences with an open mind and the willingness to to learn and publicly speak in front of 30-60 other delegates. Delegates must know the basics of
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