This article was written by Elisa Moraes-Liu, a Best Delegate Media Associate and Chair/Secretariat member at GMUNC V.
To start off the MUN season in the San Francisco Bay Area MUN circuit, Henry M. Gunn High School hosted their fifth annual conference, GMUNC, on Oct. 20 2018. Featuring 8 committees chaired by students from Gunn High School and Stanford University, GMUNC attracted over 400 delegates from across the Bay Area. Committees ranged from traditional general assembly assemblies, such as SOCHUM and DISEC, to unique options such as Gunn Venture Capital (GVC).
The conference started at promptly 9 a.m with speeches from the Director-General Ryan Li and keynote speaker Sakshi Satpathy. Satpathy, member and USG of Gunn Model UN, had recently been honored at the United Nations in New York, receiving the Girl Scout Gold Award for her work spreading awareness in human trafficking and child marriage.
Director-general introduces chairs during the opening ceremony
Delegates spent the day debating a variety of topics, ranging from the war on terror to the implications of offshore detention centers. During lunch, they purchased food from food trucks serving Mediterranean food, crepes, and boba, allowing them to fuel up for the heated debate that followed.
This year, GMUNC hosted a specialized committee called Gunn Venture Capital (GVC), which was inspired by BMUNs Berkeley Venture Capital. GVC delegates worked to solve the crisis of food security while veering from the traditional MUN committee style by representing entrepreneurs and trailblazers in the “Gunn Venture Capital Firm.” The objective for GVC delegates was to create a business model and start-up instead of working to create a UN-style resolution. During Unmod, delegates would create teams of 3-4 with similar business ideas, and together create a startup which they would later present to the funding investors (chairs). Delegates pitched their ideas to the dais throughout the day, explaining and elaborating on their new and existing projects, and if the investors were sufficiently convinced and confident about their ideas, they would receive more funding to continue the cycle of investment.
Delegates also participated in traditional MUN committees, such as SOCHUM and DISEC which discussed the topics of education and offshore detention centers respectively. These committees were catered towards beginner delegates and offered a slow style of debate that welcomed delegates just starting off their careers.
UNHCR delegates in committee
GMUNC also had its share of high-stakes crisis committees, including the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOPOTUS). Delegates in EOPOTUS debated the pressing issue of Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, dealing with issues such as the annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine.
At the end of an exciting day of debate, the secretariat awarded the Secretary-General’s award to the following schools:
Best Large Delegation: Monta Vista High School
Best Small Delegation: International High School
Delegates discussing a resolution
