This guest article was written by Ashton Mathias, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Secondary Schools’ United Nations Symposium (SSUNS) 2018 in collaboration with Mohammed Iqbal Omar, Media Associate for Best Delegate
From November 22nd to 25th, 2018, delegates from all over the world arrived in Montreal to celebrate the 26th Annual Secondary Schools’ United Nations Symposium (SSUNS). SSUNS is the largest high-school level conference in Canada and is staffed by over 500 students from McGill University making it one of the highest staff to delegate ratios in the Northern American Model United Nations circuit. Delegates from places as far as Trinidad & Tobago, the Bahamas, The United Kingdom, Cuba, and Uganda, were able to engage in 27 unique committees, including a French bilingual committee and a Francophone committee.
The conference was kicked off at the Opening Ceremony, which began first with a performance by the Medicine Bear Singers, followed by a speech from a representative of the official charity for SSUNS 2018: The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. The ceremony continued with a Keynote speech by the respected Professor Kenneth Deer, the current Secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, and a major contributor to the Working Group on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples since 1995.
Introduction of the Secretariat at the Opening Ceremony
With Opening Ceremonies concluded, the committee sessions had begun. The committee selection brought topics from a variety of world regions and time periods, from ancient China to 1990s Chile. This year’s committees included: CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), the Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement 1961, ICAO 1958 (held in the actual ICAO Headquarters), the Newfoundland National Assembly, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and the Cabinet of Gamal Abdel Nasser.
A number of SSUNS committees also went paperless this year, which (combined with other efforts made by the Secretariat & Coordinators) earned the conference a Gold Sustainability certification from the McGill Office of Sustainability.
Delegates in committee debating a draft resolution
The SSUNS experience didn’t end with the committees- a wide variety of activities were held outside of committee sessions. These included: the GA Speaker MP David Lametti, the annual Scavenger Hunt, the SSUNS Walkway, the Friday-night Delegate Networking Event, MUN Workshops, classic Discover Montreal tours, the Faculty Advisor Cocktail, and finally, the Saturday-night Delegate Gala, held in the Grand Ballroom of Le Centre Sheraton Hotel.
The Saturday Night Delegate Gala Event
After an intense weekend of debating resolutions and adapting to the ever-changing crises, the delegates sat anxiously during Closing Ceremonies as daises handed out the three standard gavels and the Honourable Mention. In keeping with SSUNS’ tradition, daises also handed out Book Awards to delegates that were well-versed in the topics of the committee, and who embodied the spirit of Model United Nations.
Delegates receiving their awards at the Closing Ceremony
All in all, SSUNS 2018 was an incredible success and has seen tremendous growth from its humble beginnings a quarter-century ago. The Secretariat to end the conference awarded the delegation awards to the following schools:
Best Small Delegation: Sir Winston Churchill HS
Outstanding Small Delegation: Collegial international Sainte-Anne
Honourable Small Delegation: Eton College
Best Large Delegation: Upper Canada College
Outstanding Large Delegation: Marianopolis College
Honourable Large Delegation: Western Canada HS
