UNIS Model United Nations

On Thursday January 26th, 15 UNIS students, along with two faculty advisors, traveled to Boston to attend the 64th session of the Harvard Model United Nations conference. In what could be considered one of the most prominent conferences for high schoolers, our students, representing Switzerland in ten different committees, worked vigorously inside and outside committee sessions, debating a wide range of topics; from antimicrobial resistance, all the way to foreign intervention in transnational conflicts. In this competitive environment, our delegates were able to expand their knowledge of political matters through extensive research and improve their Model UN skills such as public speaking and resolution writing. Many of us rose to become bloc leaders and creatively thought out solutions to recurring problems of today. We would like to thank each and every delegate attending this conference because without them it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable. A special shout out and thanks to Matthias Heindl, who served as our head delegate for this conference, and Tanaka Sensei and Ms. Ladani for chaperoning this trip. (Written by Won-Jae Chang T1)

From January 12 to January 15, eleven members of the UNIS Model UN club attended the 16th annual session of the Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition (CMUNCE XVI). With more than 1,000 delegates and 20 different crisis committees, UNIS students were able to actively engage in riveting discussions that were a result of carefully thought out crises as well as unique committees such as the 1960 Presidential Election Gods of Olympus. It was a general consensus between UNIS students that this was one of the most enjoyable conferences they had ever attended. T2 students Femke Teunissen and Kiran Wijesekera, who represented Brazil in the Ocean Summit committee and Lal Bahadur Shastri in the Kashmir Partition committee, respectively, were awarded Outstanding Delegate for their achievements throughout the four days of debate. We are incredibly proud of the performance of our delegates and would also like to thank Mr. Staccone, Mr. Bassene, Ms. Watt, Mr. Krentzlin, and Mr. Ladani for their supervision and support throughout the conference. (Written by Paloma Delgado T2.)

Fourteen UNIS students attended Princeton's annual Model UN conference, representing Turkey, Norway and Qatar from November 17th to 20th. In this very competitive and diversified conference, UNIS students demonstrated their competency and teamwork, as well as their passion, to create a better world. They gracefully presented their unique ideas and proposals related to the topics, and all fourteen students became sponsors of working papers. UNIS delegates actively engaged in the entire process of caucusing, formulating and voting for resolutions, which all aim at forming international framework to help with humanitarian crises around the globe. Students enjoyed themselves outside of committee as well and are looking forward to attending more conferences this year. We would like to thank Ms. Watt and Mr. Krentzlin for chaperoning us on the trip. -Qiyuan Shengni T2

It's the most MUNderful time of the year! Yesterday: inaugural mock crisis conference for our crisis delegate trainees, who represented members of the Illuminati. Today: filming at the UN for a project with WFUNA that seeks to educate students on the real proceedings of the General Assembly. Stay tuned for our video!

On Saturday October 29th, the UNIS Model UN club hosted its annual mock conference for new and returning members. The mock conference is designed to train students who are new to Model UN, and prepare them for future conferences. The topic of the conference was media freedom, and delegates represented a diverse range of countries from all corners of the world for the General Assembly’s Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee. Club members did extensive research on their assigned country's history and current policies regarding media freedom in order to properly represent their country’s stances on the topic. The delegates got to experience an accurate simulation of a real MUN conference and were able to put their debating skills to the test in a comfortable environment. The following students were awarded for their outstanding performances:

Elizabeth Letsou (T2), Best Delegate
Lea Chambadal (T2), Outstanding Delegate
Matthias Heindl (T2), Outstanding Delegate
Kresten Due (T2), Honorable Mention
Won-Jae Chang (T1), Verbal Commendation
Ning Chang (T1), Verbal Commendation
Sara De Meyer (T1), Best Position Paper

A special congratulations to all our new delegates who successfully completed their first conference. We are looking forward to a great year!

(Written by Awa Ndiaye T3)

Best Delegate ranked us as one of the top 150 high school MUN teams in North America!

http://bestdelegate.com/the-150-best-high-school-model-united-nations-teams-in-north-america-from-the-2015-2016-school-year/

The 150 Best High School Model United Nations Teams in North America from the 2015-2016 School Year With the first few conferences of the 2016-2017 school year starting in the next few weeks, we want to review the top 150 High School Model UN Teams that participated at North American conferences in the 2015-2016 school year. Through hard work

Check out our new website, which has been beautifully designed by our Head of Technology, Ali Mirza!

http://unismodelun.weebly.com/

On May 13 and 14, fourteen members of the UNIS Model UN team participated in UNA-USA’s GCIMUN conference. The delegates improved their debating and public speaking skills, and used them to resolve issues happening around the world. More than 1,000 students participated in this conference and UNIS delegates represented Turkmenistan in many of the committees, such as CND, UNHCR, UNESCO, and FAO. Students debated topics ranging from combatting money laundering to feeding 9 billion people by 2050.

Congratulations to the following students for being awarded for their work during the conference:

Ellie Smith (T1) and Paloma Delgado (T1) - Best Country Statement - CND

Anoushka Joshi (T1) and Erik Lindstrom (T3) - Best Country Statement - UNHCR

GCIMUN was an excellent opportunity for members of UNIS Model UN. It was an exciting and fun experience that we will all remember. We would all like to thank Ms. Watt, Ms. Ladani and Mr. Bassene for all of their help, as we would not be able to have an active MUN club without them.

(Written by Ellie Smith T1)

We had a great time working with Mr. Bill Yotive and Ms. Frances Lee from the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) earlier today to train some of our delegates in an approach to Model UN that more accurately simulates the proceedings of General Assembly committees at the UN!

On April 9 and 10, fourteen members of the Tut House Model UN club attended Stuyvesant’s annual conference (StuyMUNC). The conference allowed UNIS delegates to improve their public speaking, communication and problem-solving skills.
Hundreds of students from the tri-state area gathered to debate about global issues ranging from past, current and future worldwide concerns. At the conference there were a total of nine committees: crisis committees, specialized agencies, and general assembly committees. Committees at the conference included Legal, UNHCR, and the Greek Financial Crisis. Some examples of the topics discussed were territorial disputes in the South China Sea, refugees from the Middle East, and drug pricing regulation. Delegates participated in active and engaging discussions and developed real world solutions for real world problems.

The following students were awarded for their achievements throughout the conference:

Ali Mirza (T3) - Best Delegate - USA - WHO
Roxy Travers (T3) - Honorable Mention - USA - Legal

StuyMUNC was a great opportunity for UNIS delegates to improve their skills. It was beneficial for all the delegates and was fun to attend. The UNIS Model UN team would like to give a big thanks to our club advisors, Ms. Watt and Mr. Bassene, for their support and help during the conference.

(Written by Luna Maki T1)