Fifteen Model United Nations (MUN) high school students at Mount Madonna School (MMS) will attend conferences at Stanford University (November 8-10), the University of California, Santa Barbara (February 15-16) and the University of California, Berkeley (March 7-9) in 2024-25.
At the conferences, students take part in simulations that help them learn more about the principles and functions of the United Nations (UN). The United Nations itself supports MUN simulations by providing intimate knowledge of the work of the UN, providing assistance to create realistic simulations and encouraging MUN students to support UN values and goals, in particular the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On its website, MUN boasts that “[m]any of today’s leaders in law, government, business and the arts ﹘ including at the UN itself ﹘ participated in Model UN as students.”
In the simulations, MUN students meet in committees to represent countries engaged with a specific topic, issue, or crisis. General Assembly (GA) committees include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the committee for Disarmament and International Security (DISEC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
GA simulation topics include childhood immunization and disease prevention, access to education and healthcare for women, and promoting corporate social responsibility and labor protections for global supply chain workers.
Specialized and crisis committees can include historical scenarios such as the Athenian Assembly during the Peloponnesian War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Russo-Japanese War, as well as fictional scenarios such as the Anti-Villain League in the movie “Despicable Me.”
MMS has long valued participation in MUN as a way to educate students about current and historical events, encourage the development of diplomacy and conflict-resolution skills and strategies, promote critical thinking and writing skills; and foster self-confidence and self-understanding through public speaking and civic engagement.
MUN students write position papers for their countries, deliver speeches for or against resolutions and engage in extensive research into international issues and the countries engaged with them.
Recently, several MMS students reflected on their experiences with MUN:
“Model United Nations is by far my favorite extracurricular. If it could be, it would be my hobby. It’s a perfect blend of improvisation, public speaking, debate, problem-solving and teamwork. I’ve been attending Model UN conferences for four years, and I intend to do it for two more years, and perhaps in college. The experience is so positive, helping you broaden your worldview, make new friends and bond with your fellow MUN-goers. I look forward to every conference and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!” ﹘ Delmi McWilliams, 10th grade
“In my first MUN conference, Kyler Nishimura and I took part in a specialized committee about the Russian-Ukraine war. Most of the people on the committee were very experienced, so observing them allowed me to learn how a MUN conference works. There were some interesting characters in the conference, such as the delegate representing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), who was fully in character and treated the conference more like a crisis committee than a specialized committee. In fact, on the second day, after we finished all of our topics, we decided to formally switch our conference to a crisis committee. Overall, it was a really fun first conference and I’ve been hooked on MUN ever since.” ﹘ Nash Wilson, 12th grade
“My first conference was the specialized committee on the Russian-Ukrainian War. However, we didn’t know it was a specialized committee until the second day of the conference. This is an example of what makes MUN special. The delegates changed their approach in response, and despite the rapid switch from organized debate to informal crisis management, I learned how to debate and how to process the information that the leading delegates in the committee had planned. That first conference was great, and I hope that the next conference will also be fun.” ﹘ Kyler Nishimura, 11th grade
“I have been attending Model UN conferences since middle school and every single one manages to be just as exciting as the last. I love how different of an experience you can have depending on your committee. There are always so many different options, so everyone will find something they are interested in. When you are at a conference, not only do you learn about the topic that is presented ﹘ world affairs, cooperation and public speaking ﹘ you get to learn more about your friends and spend time with them outside of the committee. What I found surprising is how prepared people are, but also how laid back it can be. The key is to study a lot so that you know exactly what’s happening and you don’t have to stress while you are there.” ﹘ Noa Zands, 10th grade
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Greg Shirley, Ph.D., teaches World History and Geography, US History, US Government and Politics, English, Psychology, and Philosophy at Mount Madonna School. He is the author of “Heidegger and Logic: The Place of Logos in Being and Time.” He has a son and lives with his wife in Santa Cruz County.
