Article submitted by: Anatol Klass (Secretary General of the Dalton Model UN team)
OpeningCeremonies-A representative from the Mount Sinai Global Health Initiative speaks at opening ceremonies.
After several years of planning and false starts the Dalton School hosted its first Model United Nations Conference On Saturday, April 27th. The conference was organized by the two Directors General (DGs) Harriet Fisher and Aiden Slavin. They took on the incredible challenge of putting together an inaugural conference, and organizing a massive event with no precedent to work from.
They worked tirelessly to reach out to other schools in the area and make sure that there would be enough delegates in attendance to make the conference a success. A few months before the conference they went so far as to personally visit schools in Manhattan, and hand deliver invitations. The Dalton School administration was also incredibly helpful in working with us and allowing us to rent out the school building and building services for the day. Close to 300 delegates attended DMUN, and Dalton upperclassmen chaired 9 separate committees, including three specialized crisis committees.
After several years of attending college conferences as delegates, all of the chairs were incredibly excited to translate their MUN experience into running a committee of their own. Everyone tried to bring the elements that they liked best to their own committees, and make the conference maximally enjoyable and educational for the students in attendance. The chairs of the Joint Crisis Committees spent several weeks planning out intricate crises to make the simulation of the Battle of Waterloo a success.
We also felt it was essential that charity be a large part of our first DMUN. To that end we partnered with the Mount Sinai Global Health Initiative to raise money for an important cause. The initiative raises money to buy ambulances for impoverished communities in third world countries. Every committee raised money individually, and in addition DMUN will be donating 10% of its proceeds to the cause leading to a grand total of almost 1000 dollars.
The Horace Mann School brought a delegation of 8th, 9th and 10th graders to the conference and put on a dominant performance, winning best delegate on 8 committees and taking home numerous other individual awards. The Dalton School had a delegation of 8th and 9th graders, and while they were ineligible for a school award they took home numerous individual awards. Several other schools took home awards and the conference overall was a great success. We want to thank everyone who participated in DMUN I and helped to make it such a success, and we can’t wait to start planning DMUN II. DMUN I
Delegation awards:
- Best Large: Horace Mann
- Outstanding Large: Spence
- Best Small: Brooklyn Friends
- Outstanding Small: Browning
Photos from DMUN I:
SPECPOL- Delegates in SPECPO
Logistics-Logistics Staff hard at work
DGS- Aiden Slavin and Harriet Fisher pose for a picture
ChechenDais- The dais of the Chechen Cabinet crisis committee
