On the 24th April, four students from Queen Anne’s became involved in a Model United Nations with Eton College and Holyport College. It was a new experience for many of us, but just as much exciting and exhilarating as it put us on the spot in new challenges and allowed us to develop our speaking skills- even on Zoom!
To see how the students involved found the experience I began by talking to Rachael F who told me “When Dr Beale first told us about the opportunity to attend and participate in Eton's Model United Nations, I was apprehensive, nervous yet super excited. Standing in front of the computer screen, with my notes and resolution, I felt the exact same way”.
Rachael F continued to tell me about her topic and resolution as she said, “My topic was the Principle of Foreign Military Intervention and Cyberwarfare in the DISEC council for Israel. At first, I wasn't sure what that meant, so to gain more knowledge on the topic I attended an EPQ talk in which I was able to speak to lots of people until I understood what I was supposed to talk about and how to go about writing my notes, opening and closing points, as well as my actual resolution. My council spent 2 hours debating my resolution and we came up with some amendments and then voted on it. Sadly, mine did not get passed, however I can't wait for the next opportunity and am so thankful I was able to take part in this one!”.
Serena C and Heidi F took part in a separate conference to Rachael and I, so to comment on how their conference went Serena told me about her experience as well as Heidi’s. Partaking in MUN was a unique and fascinating experience. I was a part of the Historical Council, advocating for Jamaica and our topic for debate was the US invasion of Grenada in 1983. Several delegates and I were acting as diplomats, discussing and debating our resolutions, imagining the events that took place in the 1980s were happening now. I found the event extremely compelling and insightful; it gave me the opportunity to feel as though I was making a difference by actively helping to restore civil rights and political reunification to a sovereign state. The event holistically was encompassing of a number of key skills, such as: debate, critical thinking, public speaking and negotiation. I thoroughly enjoyed gaining further experience in each of these components, in particular the negotiation aspect as this was fairly new to me.
Heidi F also took part in the event, she was within the Security Council and represented France. The topic discussed in the Security Council was international peace and security in Mozambique and Myanmar. Heidi states, “MUN was a great experience. It allowed me to grow my debate experience whilst stepping into the shoes of a foreign nation. Working with Eton and Holyport was enlightening to say the least. Forming resolutions and amending them together truly taught me the meaning of compromise!”.
Overall, we all took a lot away from this experience and I’m sure we can all agree that the invaluable skills we gained from preparing and participating will be extremely beneficial and transferable in the future!
By Caitlin V and Serena C
