Model United Nations or MUN is gradually becoming popular as a platform to build communication skills amongst school students. Loreto House recently hosted its first MUN conference that addressed burning global issues.

The conference was essentially convened through four committees. The United Nations Security Council discussed the threat to international security in Syria, the International Atomic Energy Agency came up with strategies to combat nuclear terrorism, the All India Political Parties Meet deliberated upon the viability of a Uniform Civil Code in India and the International Press Corps kept the other three committees on their toes, questioning statements and policy decisions every step of the way. As secretary-general, it was a challenge for me to remove the misconception among participants that the thrust of MUNs is more on eloquence than substance.

A workshop was held in May to explain the rules to the delegates who were also made aware that presentations at MUN should be based on well-researched facts and not hearsay. This helped participants develop the skills of reliable information collection through due-diligence research as well as verification. While reading UN documents and writing draft resolutions, delegates learnt to tackle difficult, long and elaborate concepts and to present them in an outcome document. This is especially useful for future school projects.

Trinayana Panda at the MUN session Trinayana Panda

Model United Nations or MUN is gradually becoming popular as a platform to build communication skills amongst school students. Loreto House recently hosted its first MUN conference that addressed burning global issues.

The conference was essentially convened through four committees. The United Nations Security Council discussed the threat to international security in Syria, the International Atomic Energy Agency came up with strategies to combat nuclear terrorism, the All India Political Parties Meet deliberated upon the viability of a Uniform Civil Code in India and the International Press Corps kept the other three committees on their toes, questioning statements and policy decisions every step of the way. As secretary-general, it was a challenge for me to remove the misconception among participants that the thrust of MUNs is more on eloquence than substance.

A workshop was held in May to explain the rules to the delegates who were also made aware that presentations at MUN should be based on well-researched facts and not hearsay. This helped participants develop the skills of reliable information collection through due-diligence research as well as verification. While reading UN documents and writing draft resolutions, delegates learnt to tackle difficult, long and elaborate concepts and to present them in an outcome document. This is especially useful for future school projects.