Why WHS students value the Model United Nations

Wimbledon High School’s six Haileybury delegates reflect on their experiences of taking part in Model United Nations (MUN), and what they learned from the weekend-long conference in March 2022.

I have been doing MUN for a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We get to debate and discuss multilateral issues from different perspectives. I have learnt so many valuable skills, such as how to formulate arguments on the spot and how to address controversial ideas diplomatically. The highlight of the year for me was the national Haileybury MUN conference. Not only was the debating really fun, it was also great to meet so many students from over a hundred different schools, including US schools. In my committee, Special Political (SPECPOL), we debated numerous issues such as the question of foreign aid to war torn countries, which is especially relevant given the ongoing Ukraine crisis. A favourite debate of mine was the question of offsetting the legacy of colonisation and slavery, a subject which I am already very passionate about. I enjoyed working as a team in the General Assembly, and the fact that our WHS delegation won one of only three ‘Distinguished Delegation’ awards was amazing!

Sharanya (Year 10)

It was my sister who initially piqued my interest in MUN by persuading me to attend my first session at the club when I was in Year 10. Once I had learnt the formalities of MUN debates, I became increasingly engrossed and ended up signing up for my first conference at Alleyn’s School. Fast forward a few years and I was lucky enough to be attending one of the biggest MUN conferences in the UK, held at Haileybury. I was representing South Sudan in the Human Rights Council, which for those of you familiar with their political situation, will recognise this to be quite a challenge! In MUN you are required to uphold the values and policies of the country you are representing which meant I was tasked with preventing members of the LGBTQ+ community from being allowed to serve in the military, denying sex workers protective rights, ensuring whistle-blowers were not granted protection by international law and encouraging other countries to absorb around 2.3 million displaced South Sudanese people (whilst conveniently leaving out that they were fleeing genocide). The weekend did not come without its challenges but it was an invaluable experience that not only gave me greater insight into the inner workings of the UN but also encouraged me to see things through an opposing lens – although I must clarify that I do not and will not hold any of the views I had to represent over the weekend.

Chloe (Year 13)

Although the real UN can seem somewhat powerless with its inefficiencies and bureaucracy, the values it promotes – of peace, development, and human rights – are indispensable. Through the medium of MUN, we learn hands-on about these values and the actions needed to achieve them. Of course, MUN is great fun as well (I volunteered to give up my weekend for a conference). Memorable moments from the Haileybury conference included: everyone referring to themselves as “the delegate” – even when not in debate; disputes over the etymology of “cryptocurrency”; and my desperate attempts to argue that South Sudan, often deemed the most corrupt country in the world, is in fact, not at all corrupt. Additionally, my committee’s topics, including terrorism and outer space, were fascinating to debate. I was lucky enough to have my illicit arms resolution debated and passed in the General Assembly – a moment I will never forget!

Lara (Year 10)

I applied for this Model United Nations conference because I enjoy a challenge, although in the moment, when I feel under pressure, I do regret embarking on such an adventure. But afterwards, unscathed and evolved, I thank myself for it. This conference taught me that my trait of searching for intellectual stimulation is a gift. I now fervently recommend Jordan Peterson’s advice that “If you are not willing to be a fool, you cannot become a master”. Putting myself in the hot seat to be grilled by delegates who were more experienced than me developed my public-speaking skills and, most interestingly, taught me about myself. I was in the Special Committee which had the theme of ‘Health & Youth’. The four topics we discussed were: the right to healthcare for migrants, addressing mental health disorders in young people, equitable vaccine distribution and sexual education for all teenagers in school. These topics are all extremely complex and relevant to our lives today. Responding to points of order was exhilarating because I was encouraged to think quickly whilst remaining eloquent about the arguments I had. It is also something I value greatly because, when you listen to points of order, you are putting yourself in a new position by trying to understand other delegates’ perspectives to help you present your own.

Tawana (Year 13)

Having only done one MUN conference before, I was surprised to be invited to Haileybury – a very prestigious event. Despite being worried initially, I was very glad I went; it was the most incredible experience. My committee was Environment and Ecology and we discussed many topics including multinational corporations, desertification, sustainable fishing and GMOs. After COP26, these subjects felt particularly important to discuss and we had lots of fruitful debate as a committee. I feel like I learnt so much over the weekend – about the inner workings of the UN, resolutions, and procedure. Fun fact: resolutions from the UN are not legally binding. Overall, I had a wonderful time and made lots of friends!

Elspie (Year 10)

I developed an interest MUN when I was in Year 7, as the idea of discussing world issues and learning more about diplomacy appealed to me. At Haileybury MUN, my council touched on the issues of world hunger and discrimination against marginalised groups. Speaking from the perspective of South Sudan, reaching a compromise on these issues proved difficult as more developed countries failed to recognise the complexity of the problems faced by developing countries, or the religious barriers causing discrimination. Such experiences in Model UN always remind me of the great challenges faced by diplomats: MUN only really begins to skim the surface of the difficulties and complexities of compromise between countries. The experience imbued me with greater appreciation of the workings of the UN and has encouraged me to consider taking on the challenge of different careers within the field of international relations.

Nooriya (Year 12)

Training for peace with the Model United Nations

Ms Lucinda Gilchrist (Head of English) and Ms Judith Parker (Head of Spanish), Model United Nations Advisors at Wimbledon High School, explore the value for students in taking part in MUN conferences, and the important collaborative and peacemaking skills they build

What is Model United Nations about?

Image from Pixabay

At Haileybury Model United Nations conference in March 2022, delegates and advisors heard about this passage of the Bible from Isaiah Chapter 2, during a chapel service:

He will judge between the nations

    and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into ploughshares

    and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

    nor will they train for war anymore.

Established in the aftermath of the Second World War, the United Nations aims to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ and ‘promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom’[1]. The image of taking instruments of death and destruction and transforming them into tools for productivity and growth inspired the statue pictured here[2], which stands in the UN garden in New York, and was a gift from the USSR in 1956.

The UN’s focus on finding solutions to conflict or global issues without recourse to military means makes the style of debating which Model United Nations (MUN) fosters quite different from parliamentary debating or other forms of school debating. Rather than being combative, MUN debates are collaborative, with delegates working together to draft and ideally pass resolutions which represent a commonly-agreed plan for future action.

What do pupils learn from Model United Nations?

The formality of the language used in MUN debates, and the typical forms of address (‘esteemed delegate’ or ‘the delegate of France’), avoiding the use of direct personal pronouns, takes personal elements out of debates. Delegates never represent themselves, but rather the views or policies of the country they are representing. The purpose is to engender debate that is civil, polite, and impersonal – although, admittedly, sometimes the heat of the moment can get too much for some delegates. They may well have to express views and ideologies which are entirely different from their own.

The removal of the personal does not preclude opportunities for individuals to shine: at Haileybury MUN, several WHS delegates were awarded for impressive contributions within their committees.  As with any form of debating, crafting one’s language and artfully applying knowledge to create impact are key, and our articulate, energetic pupils put their skills to the test, presenting powerfully on a range of issues. MUN is also distinctive in that those who speak most often, or most loudly, are not necessarily the most successful or admired delegates. Instead, it is powerful to witness younger or more reticent pupils quietly and calmly making their points in a fluent, cogent way. In our mini-MUN conference with Kings College School (KCS), we were delighted to see Year 9 pupils holding their own against Sixth Formers.

Some pupils can be intimidated by the formalised and highly-structured language required in MUN debate, but this is actually one of the benefits of taking part. Listening to a few debates in a relaxed context such as our weekly co-curricular club helps students acclimatise. This style is particularly effective for those who are nervous about public speaking. Formalised language provides participants with a script and a safe formula to speak from; it is striking how pupils who find social interactions more challenging open up when it comes to MUN debates.

The collaborative element of MUN goes far beyond the debating. We were particularly impressed by how our Haileybury delegates actively engaged with peers from other schools, persuading them to add signatures to their draft resolutions during lobbying sessions, or collaborating with them to submit co-authored resolutions. The most skilful chairs supportively encourage the less experienced delegates to contribute and coach them in the language of the debate, something our chairs at the KCS mini-conference exemplified.

Final thoughts

Ms Parker participated in MUN conferences as a school and university student, which led her to a human rights internship at the UN in Geneva where she witnessed diplomacy first-hand. And while Ms Gilchrist was new to MUN on joining Wimbledon High, she has always been intrigued by the relationship between language and power. The increasingly divisive nature of public discourse, not only on social media but also in the political sphere – often characterised by one-upmanship more akin to the swords than the ploughshares of Isaiah – is well-documented. Given current political contexts, with war in Ukraine, the rise of the far right in Europe and beyond, and the combative, highly performative format of UK parliamentary debates, the collaborative style of MUN debating is more valuable than ever. Diplomatic skills should be prized as part of a twenty-first century education.


[1] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text

[2] https://www.un.org/ungifts/content/let-us-beat-swords-ploughshares#:~:text=Bronze%20statue%20representing%20the%20figure,the%20benefit%20of%20all%20mankind.

Can we reawaken an age of debate?

Students debating at WHS

The Head of WHS, Ms Fionnuala Kennedy, introduces Civil Discourse, a new strand of the school Curriculum which will equip students to join and influence crucial debates on the issues of our time with confidence, integrity and nuance.

Many critically important issues have arisen in the last eighteen months and many injustices are rightly being uncovered. Outrage is being expressed, with good reason, and Generation Z are politically active, knowledgeable and engaged, in a way that generations prior to it simply were not. Larger numbers of people than ever are seeking for a fairer, more equitable world for all, and it feels timely and positive that this is the case; not least because the unfolding events in Afghanistan this summer have served as a shameful and terrifying reminder of how fortunate we are to have access to an education system which is open, free, and encourages debate and diversity of thought.

Yet at just the moment when the world should be pulling together in our battle against a global pandemic, it seems we are more polarised than ever. At a time when we are questioning the notion of binaries in all sorts of arena, argument itself has become trenchantly binary. This is an era of no-platforming, of cancel culture and of offence.

Asking questions, not seeking answers

And so at Wimbledon High, we want to ask the following questions, and explore their potential answers together:

  • How do we balance challenging and calling out hate speech with protecting freedom of speech? 
  • How do we resist the digitally driven mode of oppositional, reductive discourse which has begun to dominate, and which leads to the silencing of so many voices?  
  • How do we access opinions which differ to our own, avoiding getting stuck in the echo chamber created for us by social media? 
     
  • How do we reclaim the art of listening, of reasoning, and of thinking with nuance?  
  • How do we articulate through our emotion, rather than relying on emotion alone to express us?
  • How do we learn to be offended and to argue back, both learning in the process, but also – crucially – teaching the listener why our viewpoint deserves to be heard, perhaps even changing their mind in the process?
  • And how do we explore the very notion of offence, ensuring the term does not get weaponised by those keen to fight what has become known in the press as a ‘Culture War’, and acknowledging that prejudice and hatred can cause genuine hurt and distress, not just ‘offence’?

These are big questions, and not easily answered – but that’s the point. The important discussions aren’t easy but that’s exactly why they should happen. 

Bridging the generation gap
And, crucially, these discussions need to happen in an inter-generational forum. We cannot submit to the lazy and divisive notion that our age and level of experience renders us either too naïve/impassioned/‘woke’ (Gen Z) OR cynical/entrenched/outmoded (Boomers and beyond) to understand and learn from those of a different generation. As the Head of a leading school filled with amazing young women, it is not only my privilege but also my duty to listen to all of the voices around me and take on board a diversity of viewpoints – those of the students, of course, but also of the parents, the alumnae and the staff. It’s such a fine balance between allowing our amazing girls to feel heard and valued and respected, and also understanding that those of us in authority have wisdom and the perspective of experience to bring to bear. As one of our former Head Girls put it in an email to me:

“It really is people like you and the WHS teachers who make the difference, by acting on the recognition that the wisdom of your generation can be supported and enhanced by listening to and engaging with the voice of ours.”

Hear, hear.

What next?
And so, we will be threading Civil Discourse through the curriculum, through academic and pastoral, with sessions for Y7-9 in PSHE with Ms Kennedy, for Y10 in their PPE studies, Y11 in form times and Sixth Form in their Onwards programmes.  

And the aim? Well, it’s simple: for our students to be truly flexible, robust and open in their thinking, and for the world to re-awaken itself to the notion of real debate and discussion, based on authentic encounters between enquiring hearts and minds.