For the aspiring lawyers, policy makers, political scientists amidst our students, there is a place at GESS where they can explore their interests! That is the Model United Nations (MUN) Co-Curricular Programme.
MUN is a programme offered worldwide and it enables young students to get an impression of how the United Nations operates. It gets young minds thinking about international issues.
During a typical MUN conference, students represent different countries around the world on selected global issues and make a case for it within formal settings similar to UN conferences.
It is brilliant training for students’ research, analytical, negotiation and persuasion skills!
Till this Academic Year, the MUN after-school programme at GESS was only open to the senior students from Grade 9 to 12 but now, Middle Years students can participate too.
Middle Years MUN Students’ First Conference
Sometime in late February, the Middle Years MUN students participated in their first ever Model United Nations conference organised by the Overseas Family School. Despite it being their first conference, the students’ confidence and involvement was exemplary and each of them walked way from the experience with some remarkable takeaways.
We wanted to hear directly from the students as to why they chose the new Middle Years MUN programme at GESS and what their experience has been like so far:
I want to become a lawyer so I learn things here that I wouldn’t normally for many years and that gives me an advantage. It also helps me understand crises around the world. Lastly, this benefits my future applications for college.
I think it will help me because it teaches me how to research important topics and make well-written speeches. These are all important tools for my future at school and after.
S.G. (student wants to remain anonymous)
I joined the MUN CCA because in most projects in Primary, there was always something about the UN and I found it interesting. At first the MUNOFS conference seemed scary and like something that only extremely well-trained professionals could do and I felt like I would mess up everything. Also the wording seemed way too hard for me, but after a couple of minutes I found it easy; the other delegates and even the chair were like me and made mistakes. I actually finally understood the process and the terminology during the conference. I really enjoyed making a resolution. I think the MUN CCA experience I got and will continue to get might help me get in a university, get a job, and convince other companies to collaborate, sign contracts or even help me make deals with people or other companies in future.
Andrei Predan E-6A
I joined MUN because I heard about it and I thought it would be fun and interesting, along with allowing me to learn more about debate. Debating and learning how to achieve a common goal are life skills that will always matter. And for me, the debating is definitely the best part.
Lucas Gargiulo E-7A
I joined the MUN CCA at GESS because I personally wanted to try something new and wanted to also learn new things. I think MUN will help with my debating skills in the near future and will be especially helpful for special jobs such as that of lawyers etc. I think my favourite part of the MUN CCA is the part where we get to decide what topic we want to work on and which country we can pick. Another part that is also quite fun is the debating part.
A.S. (student wants to remain anonymous)
I joined this CCA because I knew that it would teach me to use my English in better ways, educate me about social issues and it will benefit me in the future.
It was very fun in the MYMUNOFS event. I made many Points Of Inquiries and submitted many amendments.
My favourite part of the MUN CCA by far is debating. We get to answer questions and challenge people on their solutions and opinions.
Liam
German Ambassador’s Visit to the Senior MUN Programme
The Senior MUN Programme has been around for a while and in past years students have travelled to places all around the world – e.g. Greece, Shanghai etc. – for MUN conferences. While all that has come to a standstill for now, the momentum of the programme has not died down thanks to some very unique opportunities.
In March 2021, we invited German Ambassador to Singapore Dr. Riedel to join the Senior MUN students during their regular CCA session. Dr. Riedel, with his vast experiences within an international political area, was a great guest to have. The students discussed globalisation in a post-Covid19 world and learnt more about it from the perspective of an ambassador who has to grapple with this topic on a regular basis.
This was really an opportunity of a lifetime and one day, these students will be out in the world driving real change!
