The Model United Nations (MUN) conferences are an important part of Secondary School life at Park House English School. They are something our senior students enjoy participating in, and they look forward to the many different conference options they can be a part of locally and regionally.
Binaisha, one of our students in Year 12, shares her experience from the three-day MUN hosted by Georgetown University Qatar.
On Thursday evening, with the bang of a gavel, the Secretary General of the Georgetown University Qatar Model United Nations officially began the conference. The opening ceremony was the beginning of our journey. The General Assembly (the committee I was on) had over 105 delegates from dozens of different schools all over Qatar and so naturally, conversation was a bit slow to brew. However, as any experienced MUN-er will now recognise, it was time for the icebreakers!
Bright and early at 9am on Friday, the debating really began. Collaborating with delegates from other countries, we drafted a resolution to help resolve issues on a variety of topics, ranging from the refugee crisis to cyber-terrorism. Rigorous debate followed these resolutions, with amendments made and clauses struck down.
If you ask any delegate, the best part of the conference was the breaks, when you could explore other committee rooms like the UNHRC or the Peace-Building Commission, where karaoke and dance were in full swing, or just have a coffee and chat with the new friends you made, near the much-needed Tim Hortons.
This was my first in-person conference and whilst I may not have been as eager to jump into the debate as, for example, the delegate of New Zealand, it was truly inspiring to see many other outspoken candidates, debating with so much vigour and passion, whilst representing a country they may not even be from.
On Saturday evening our 3-day experience was unfortunately at its end, with a closing ceremony and awards given out, it was truly a memorable event and great motivation to continue doing MUN. A big thanks to Ms Julies and Ms Mohamed for giving us the opportunity to attend this amazing conference!
Binaisha B. (Year 12)
