Model United Nations

MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2021-2022

As we emerged from Covid restrictions, we were delighted that our students were able to take part in ‘in person’ MUN events once again, with the return of the weekly school club.

Students met to discuss a range of global affairs issues, including the plight of women’s education in Afghanistan, global terrorism and the Yemen Civil War.

In November, Sixth Form and Year 9-10 students took part in Kingswood’s COP 26 MUN style event. Working as delegates of 19 different nations including Saudi Arabia, China, the USA and the Marshall Islands, students worked together to research their country’s stance on climate change. Delegates then debated key issues such as climate change finance, ocean pollution and sustainable city development, with each fighting for their country’s position. In the end, delegates successfully drafted and passed a very ambitious Kingswood Climate Accord.

In January, a team of Kingswood students took part in the ‘Good COP Bad COP’ international MUN Conference, looking at the issue of climate change. The conference was organised by Engage with China. Kingswood was one of many schools taking part from across the world, including students from Ireland, China and Australia. For some of our students it was their first MUN event, whilst for others it was an excellent refresher and preparation for our own BISMUN conference in March. Well done to Eloise Wilson, Oli Williams, Hari Master, Ethan Wong, Bea Davies, Oscar McGurdy, Kelland Li and Gala Marrack. A special well done to Freddie Williamson who was the lead ambassador for Nigeria and delivered an excellent opening speech.

2022-23 will see the return of MUN trips, including the residential Sixth Form trip to Oxford in November. As students gathered in the theatre for the Opening Ceremony of BISMUN 2022, thoughts inevitably began to turn to the events of exactly two years previously. Covid had cast a long shadow over the 2020 conference, with a number of schools pulling out only days before as the disease had started to tighten its grip.

BISMUN 2022

The first national lockdown had been just a matter of days away, and few if any could have anticipated then what lay in the future. Now, finally, life was at last beginning to return to normal. The presence of hundreds of happy and excited delegates packing the theatre was yet another sign of that, and as I watched the ceremony get under way, a simple thought was uppermost in my mind – it was good to be back.

Not that my sense of relief wasn’t mixed with a healthy dose of anxiety. A break of two years meant that none of our chairs had had experience of leading a committee at a live conference. The MUN apostolic succession – the process whereby the Lower Sixth chairs learn their craft by observing their more experienced Upper Sixth counterparts, before taking on the leadership roles in their turn – had been broken. True, they had had experience leading the online event we hosted in 2021, but the question remained – how would they cope? As always, my fears proved entirely groundless. Elli Duke and Rose Bates proved outstanding Secretary Generals, the powerful speeches they delivered at the Opening Ceremony setting the tone for two days of first rate debate. Chairing an MUN committee requires a range of skills. Not only do you have to be able to communicate clearly and stay calm under pressure, but you also have to display a mastery of procedure, the capacity to deal with the unexpected, and the ability to defuse the conflicts that inevitably arise between delegates. All of the 2022 chairing teams rose admirably to this challenge, with head chairs Elli Duke, Rose Bates, Jacob Fadipe, Naomi Waheed, Aaron Wright, Eloise Wilson, Ollie Williams, Freddie Williamson, Leyla Aysan and Dan Zukas proving especially impressive.

The conference agenda reflected the contemporary concerns and preoccupations of the international community. Russian forces had invaded Ukraine just days earlier, and the war loomed large in everyone’s minds. Few will forget the Ukrainian student who addressed the General Assembly on the Sunday afternoon, asking us all to keep his country in our thoughts, and it was fitting that everyone stepped out of their assigned roles to stand for a minute’s silence in solidarity with those caught up in the conflict. A powerful moment, and a reminder that the issues we were debating are all too real.

As always, the success of BISMUN 2022 was very much a team effort. Thanks to Mr Francis and his crew for their technical support, the catering and caretaking teams, Mr Newbould for his advice and wisdom, and the Friends of Kingswood for their help in running the tuck shop over the conference weekend. Lastly, particular thanks must go to Mrs Davies for the many hours she spends answering emails, making badges and drawing up lists – truly, a herculean effort!