From Nov 19-23, the BWYA Model United Nations Club participated in the 14^th Annual Session of THIMUN (The Hague International Model United Nations) Singapore held at the Hwa Chong Institution. The participants, who come from Grades 9 to DP1, took part in the full range of committees, holding various occupations from delegate to president to journalist. The students all left the conference with increased confidence and loads of great memories.

BWYA students at THIMUN Singapore 2018

The THIMUN Singapore conference, established in 2004 as a sister conference of The Hague International Model United Nations, is the most prestigious MUN conference in Asia. Every year, globally-aware students gather in Singapore to hold extensive debates over the most controversial topics, many of which the UN has no solutions for, and draft comprehensive resolutions that may be delivered to the UN.

MUN is just a simulation of the UN and all discussions are kept subjective, given that delegates are merely students virtually representing a country’s stand. Having participated in MUN conferences as a delegate, I used to wonder whether my effort was spent in the right place, knowing that what I said might not ever have an effect in the real world. Furthermore, many of the skills MUN builds, such as leadership, confidence, and public speaking experience, can all be achieved through other debate style events. However, this year, after being a member of MUNITY East, THIMUN Singapore’s official Press team, I have come to a different conclusion: MUN is an effective transition into a globalized society and helps students to achieve the BWYA school motto: “Locally Grounded, Globally Aware.”

MUNITY East press team 2018

“Why is it necessary for one to bear knowledge regarding global politics?” you might ask. The answer is that everyone, no matter what their occupation or field of study, is part of human society. During the conference, the Press team had the pleasure of talking with Mr. Seref Isler, a BBC journalist who actually took part in many THIMUN Hague conferences during high school. His unique MUN experiences helped him to kick off his journalism career. During one workshop, he told us, “Each member of society must learn its essential principles in order to make the right decision and speak justly for the greater good.” From this perspective, thanks to its politically-based attributes, MUN nurtures a student’s fundamental responsibility as a global citizen.

One of the most effective ways to learn knowledge is through reinforcement. However, a student may find it easy to memorize a list of historical events but may not necessarily be aware of why they have taken place and what impact they have brought to the contemporary world. MUN helps students to become aware of the factors influencing global politics through the implementation of knowledge in debates and speeches. Their knowledge thusly reinforced, students become more globally aware and are able to make better decisions.

Being globally aware does not just mean “diligently studying your world history” (although your history teacher will certainly be happy if you do); it also means being able to put oneself in others’ shoes and coming up with comprehensive solutions to problems that benefit the maximum number of parties. Unlike other debates, MUN requires a student to develop interpersonal skills such as communication and negotiation. Tolerance for different voices is another crucial characteristic that MUN helps to develop. After asking my fellow students what they thought was the most important thing about the conference, almost all of them responded “tolerance”, because “different opinions actually enable students to work collaboratively to find a comprehensive resolution.” “In a debate or many other events,” they responded, “there is only one side that wins. But at MUN, everyone is allowed to have a unique statement on the resolution.”

MUN not only builds public-speaking skills, confidence, and leadership, it is also a wonderful platform through which students can become globally aware of political policies and relationships. It may only be a simulation and hardly any of the resolutions have any significance on the real-world situation but students are nevertheless trained to become more responsible for their stance, influencing them to become global leaders in the future.

This post is provided by BWYA
Photos courtesy of BWYA

While nonchalantly walking past a street in the US, I randomly saw an advertisement on the window of a shop, which said “Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being excellent.” I couldn’t even remember why I laid my eyes upon it. It was plain and had nothing except for those twelve words. “Nothing too special about this,” I thought. But because of its simplicity, I started to ponder what the message really meant. It’s not until last month when I did finally begin to unravel what that mysterious and seemingly-ordinary copy was all about.

Together with the delegation from the Model United Nations Club at Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA), I went to Singapore for The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) Conference on November 20, 2016. The annual conference is organized by the Hwa-Chong Institution in Singapore and is open to all secondary school students. Our team was composed of 12 students from 9th grade up to 11th grade and two teachers, Ms. Sophie Lauratet and Ms. Hacina Reienskiöld.

I have been dreaming of working at the United Nations since I was nine years old. Back then, I had always thought that the UN was an extraordinary place, created to bring peace and harmony to the world. I thought then all country representatives and delegates at the UN were the smartest and kindest people in society. When I was young, I would write notes, poems, and prose about my UN dream. Those were just wishes and my most desperate longing, but the most daring prospect of actually getting inside or working at the UN had never crossed my mind. But the conference changed it forever.

All of my hopes and daydreams over the past years had become a delightful reality; however, brand new challenges had also quietly sneaked in like an intruder. Being in our BWYA MUN club has pushed me to analyze many critical issues and topics and approach them with a range of solutions. It also helps us improve our public speaking skills and teaches us how a real United Nations works — from collaborating with other people to addressing global economic trends, political relationships, and human rights issues. As one participant Michael Yang believed that THIMUN challenged his skills to think critically and work together with others. He said, “It is very interesting, just simply hearing and discussing diverse ideas from others taught me a lot.”

I was nervous and slightly hopeless on the eve of the THIMUN conference. But those emotions were not because of my lack of preparation or the number of speeches that I need to work on. It’s the fear of the unknown. I was assigned to the General Assembly’s Economic and Financial committee — but I had no experience with it at all. On the conference day, the General Assembly president told everyone at the opening ceremony to step out of your comfort zone.

I admit I’m a beginner and I allow myself to be like one. No one can be successful from the beginning, so why not venture out into areas that you are not exactly comfortable with and be excellent in them? My co-participant Anastasia Borodina said the conference gave us the chance to challenge ourselves. “We’d met brilliant people who reminded us to show the best of our abilities at all time.”

Throughout the THIMUN conference, I gradually realized that no one will feel sorry for you or attempt to give a helping hand if you are frightened and nervous. No one will notice you for being timid, secluded, and inarticulate. In a room of more than 150 people, if you are willing to sit in the corner and don’t want to speak up, then congratulations, you’re in the right place. But if you also wish to explore new areas that you are not keen to, or not scared to let your voice and thoughts be heard, then allow me to offer you my sincerest congratulations — you’re also in the right place.

Even though BWYA students had been separated into different committees and assemblies, I always received messages in our group chat like, “Oh my gosh, I am the main submitter of our resolution! ¹” and “Guess what? I became the co-submitter of our resolution!” These messages randomly appearing on your WeChat really did give me a warm feeling. Despite being in different rooms to debate about various topics, we knew we would succeed in the end, no matter where we started from. Actually, I also achieved being the one-and-only head co-submitter in our resolution group and passed one of my amendments for other groups’ resolutions in later debate sessions.

My memory of THIMUN is still fresh even until now, and my passion for it has never lessened a single bit. It gave me so much more than I had ever imagined—it taught me what teamwork, bravery, and friendship meant, and what was necessary to give up while exploring. And more than anything, what the Model United Nations was all about.

As the delegate of Venezuela from BWYA in this conference, Spring Xia, told me she learned about how the Model United Nations works and worked together with people she didn’t know. She said, “It was tiring, but it was fun!” BWYA student Christina Zhao also believes that being able to participate in THIMUN 2016 is really an awesome experience. She said, “I made some new friends and we are still chatting online! I feel very satisfied because I challenged myself and really stepped out of my comfort zone!” One of our club directors, Ms. Reienskiöld, thought the conference was amazing. She said, “The student delegates went up and did speeches. They achieved so much more than what they believed that they can do.”

This was certainly a special experience in which we gave our best and bravely stepped out of our comfort zones. In the process, we had discovered our inner selves. We might have started out as beginners, but does that matter now? We have just embarked on a journey to becoming the successful ones in the future. And some day, some time, when we get slightly tired on the way, we’ll just pause and look back to this precious and unforgettable memory of 2016 THIMUN Singapore Conference with a grin, and continue our pursuit to success.

(Note: The main submitter and a co-submitter of a resolution is similar to a leader and co-leader of a group of approximately 10-15 people)