This Year's Model

Harrodians of all ages across the school are engaging with the big issues that face the World by participating in Model United Nations events. Here a group of them share their experiences and explain why they enjoy getting involved and having their say.

It has been a busy and action-packed spring for MUN aficionados with two prestigious conferences at LSE and LIMUN at King’s College this year. Pupils from the 13s/Year 9 to the Sixth Form, who are members of the school Model UN lunchtime club, were invited to participate. Two delegations were formed, each consisting of around 20 pupils in each, meaning Harrodian was well represented at both events on the MUN circuit.

The LSE MUN Conference took place first in March with over 500 students from ten countries in attendance. Among Harrodians who were given special mentions were Callum (14s) who received an honourable mention for his work in the World Health Organisation as the delegate for Argentina, Asia (Lower Sixth) an honourable mention for her role in the UNHCR representing Malaysia, Kenan (14s) the most improved in the SOCHUM Committee representing Iraq. What makes it even more impressive is that this was the first conference for all three Harrodian pupils!

Former Harrodian alumnus and second year LSE History student Lucas Brownson chaired the model House of Commons in which Athina (15s) acted as David Lammy and Lucas (Lower Sixth) as Jacob Rees-Mogg. By the end of day two Rishi Sunak had been ousted and Grant Shapps was Prime Minister by Sunday with Michael Gove having defected to the Labour Party!

Rosalie, Sophia and Lakshmie in the Lower Sixth were all appointed co-chairs at the LSE conference – roles they had applied and interviewed for in advance. Rosalie and Sophia worked in the backroom of a crisis committee that retrospectively tackled the Suez Canal, whilst Lakshmie was appointed co-chair of the UN Human Rights Committee. On asking her how it went, she smiles. ‘I loved it and I think I did a good job because they asked me to co-chair again but this time for UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) at the LIMUN Conference.’

The LIMUN Conference took place in April at King’s College with around 300 delegates in total and Harrodian students participated in nine committees, debating and drafting resolutions on topics including piracy, social reintegration of children in conflict zones, extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, development of new technologies for a sustainable future, post conflict environmental challenges, and developing disaster resilient infrastructure amongst others. As well as working incredibly hard over the weekend, pupils were also able to benefit from two inspiring talks by David Wardrop (Chair of Westminster United Nations Association) and Alistair Thomas (Governance Manager at the Bank of England).

For the younger Harrodian pupils who attended for the first time, it was a rather nerve-wracking experience. Lakshmie (Lower Sixth) has been instrumental in helping them through the conference process, by taking them under her wing and giving them extra tips and advice – the role of helper or coach is one that she is happy to fulfil because she remembers very clearly how it felt to be a complete novice herself. ‘I was so nervous addressing delegates at my first MUN event. I was always the pupil who would try and avoid public speaking at school! So, standing up to speak for the first time felt like a huge leap of faith. But by the end of the first day almost all the nerves disappeared.’ With her help our MUN beginners impressed staff and more experienced Sixth Formers at both conferences with their dedication, focus and resilience in negotiating on behalf of designated countries, including Poland, Iraq, China, Argentina, Malaysia, Ghana, and the USA.

Lakshmie’s friend and fellow Sixth Former Sophia also distinguished herself by winning the LIMUN Diplomacy Award (the highest award) for her contribution in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction representing Italy. The draft resolution that Sophia worked on as part of the UNDRR is available to read HERE. Both girls are long-standing MUN club stalwarts, and they both say it has helped feed their shared passion for Politics – one of the A Levels both are taking next summer. ‘Being an MUN delegate isn’t simply about expressing your view:  you need to develop your listening skills and look at things from other people’s perspective and that helps you build transferable skills,' says Sophia. 'You learn to think on your feet, negotiate and take people with you, even if you have differences. I think it's great preparation for the world we enter when we leave school.’  The club is currently looking at the Srebrenica Massacre as a crisis Security Council but is acting like the massacre has not happened yet and dealing with the events leading up to it, with Lakshmie acting as Chair.

Alfie and Aimon, also in the Lower Sixth, are just as enthusiastic. Between them they have attended a total of 12 conferences and are seasoned MUN delegates with a few awards to boot.  In March, Alfie was awarded an honourable mention for his role in the Crisis Committee at the LSE conference where he successfully launched a coup and turned the UK into a Soviet State (!) and in the more recent LIMUN he worked as part of the UN Security Council representing France where he spoke about creating an aid corridor to help get assistance to civilians in Gaza. ‘I really enjoyed drafting the UN Security Council resolution at LIMUN this year, which you can read HERE even though it got vetoed and wasn’t passed. There is a sense of frustration about that but at the same time it is a good representation of how it works in real life,’ he says. Meanwhile Aimon was recognised with an outstanding delegate award at this year’s LIMUN and his passion and excitement for all things MUN-related is infectious. ‘MUN is like the game of life, there is an element of amateur dramatics to it as you lobby, convince and negotiate other people but it is great fun and not stuffy at all, like some of the procedures suggest. The skills you learn are invaluable.’

So how do younger club members feel about the experience? Despite worrying initially about getting things wrong and making mistakes, 13s (Year 9) Rose and Kenan in the 14s (Year 10) soon got into the swing of things and both see the weekend as a learning experience and a confidence booster. ‘Some of the complicated language and terminology involved can be a bit off-putting but what I realised is that when you are physically there, discussing everything, you get a deeper understanding about politics and what is going on in the world and it all makes so much more sense,’ says Rose who represented Poland in UNICEF discussions at LIMUN. Kenan, who attended both LSE and LIMUN, feels just as positive: ‘Communicating face to face and getting people on side is exciting. When people agree with you or your amendment/clause is added into a resolution, it is so rewarding. It is worth all the hard work and commitment for those moments!’ he says.

The beauty of Model United Nations is that it provides our teenagers with an opportunity both to engage with issues at the heart of current political debate and practical experience of forming and expressing views and next year we hope to offer the same chance to the Upper Prep by expanding the MUN club to include our 11s and 12s pupils.  

It’s clear that it is something that each and every Harrodian pupil can benefit from and as members of a democracy, we all have a part to play in the political process. Participating in MUN enables those who take part to learn to understand that and to use their voice from an educated position. That can only be a good thing.

Please note that taking part in MUN also counts towards the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. For more information, please contact Mrs Arnold, Head of Politics. She runs the Model United Nations Club together with Mr Sam Wardell, Head of Philosophy and RS teacher, and English teacher, Mr Michael Hardern. The Model UN club takes place this term on a Friday lunch time.