MUN: M odel U nited N ations
MUN fits into the Sevenoaks
vision perfectly – working
collaboratively, showing global
engagement, considering ethics,
and undertaking new challenges.
This year’s performance at THIMUN
was outstanding, with 11 out of 12
resolutions passed.
Model United Nations has become one of the most
rewarding parts of my job, and when one recent
Sixth Form leaver told me she had found MUN
‘life-changing’, I was pleased, but not at all surprised.
Students in the MUN team discuss solutions to global
problems using a United Nations-style format, with
formal rules of debate, resolutions, amendments and
points of information. They have to approach the
agenda items from the point of view of a country
(never their own), considering what solutions would
be put forward by that country, and how it would vote
on other delegates’ proposals.
At Sevenoaks, around 30 members of the Lower
Sixth debate self-written resolutions every Thursday,
honing their skills of negotiation and public speaking,
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and researching crucial issues that they might not
otherwise study in their curriculum. Recently we
have discussed the problem of cyber-warfare, marine
plastic pollution, the status of the Syrian Golan, the
regulation of outer space, maintaining the genetic
diversity of seeds, and eradicating child labour and
modern slavery.
Our MUN ethos is clear. There can be a tendency
for MUN delegates to see conferences as a chance
to ‘perform’ rather than to discuss, and we strive to
listen, negotiate and compromise rather than posture
and show off. This year’s performances were stunning
– of our 16 delegates at the THIMUN conference
in The Netherlands (representing Malawi), 12 were
chosen to be main submitters of their resolutions
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