Model UN students discuss global issues

(CNS Local Life): The third annual local Model United Nations (MUN) conference took place Tuesday, 4 April with returning teams from Cayman International School (CIS), which again hosted the event; St Ignatius, and Triple C, as well as the newest participating school, Cayman Prep. For this year’s half-day inter-school conference, CAY-MUN II.V, CIS collaborated with Cayman Prep to prepare for the event.

The conference ran two committees, the General Assembly and the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Although the half-day format is new to CAY-MUN, which is usually a full day, the students embraced the challenge of trying to reach a resolution within just a few hours, stated a CIS press release. Both committees wrote, agreed and signed their resolutions before the end of the conference.

In the General Assembly, students worked to resolve the issue of safe access to education, particularly in the developing world. They discussed the issues many students face travelling long distances, often through dangerous areas, just to get an education. They aimed to find a workable solution among the member nations represented.

In UNECA, the countries discussed the possibility of introducing a mandatory minimum wage for the continent, and whether that could be implemented and enforced without causing negative economic consequences.

All participants displayed teamwork and cooperation as they considered issues of global significance with a degree of maturity and hard work. “It was great to see so many returning students from the schools who had participated before, and we look forward to seeing many of them again and new faces at future conferences,” said Sarah Dyer, CIS teacher and CAY-MUN coordinator.

CAY-MUN was launched in November 2015 as an on-island high school Model UN conference. It was designed for local students to experience an international MUN symposium, locally. The format allows students to interact with their peers from other schools, and to work on their debate and negotiation skills.

CAY-MUN is student driven which encourages leadership in both the planning and running of the conference.

In preparation for the conference, CIS and Cayman Prep students researched background information and created “how to” guides for newcomers to the MUN experience. At the conference, the students took on the roles of chair and secretary of the dais to run each of the committees. The dais in each committee was made up of a mixed-school team, helping to encourage cooperation and collaboration, true to the spirit of the UN.

CAY-MUN III will return to the full-day format during the upcoming academic year, and organisers hope to include more schools next time.

For more information on how schools can participate email CIS

Tags: Featured, Model United Nations

Category: Education