This guest article was written by Elisabeth Hedstrom, an incoming senior at McGill University and the Secretary-General for the Secondary Schools’ United Nations Symposium (SSUNS) this November.
During my time as a high school delegate, I sat in opening ceremonies staring up at the head table, picturing what it would be like to sit on the secretariat of a conference. I always held high admiration for those serving on a secretariat. I imagined the amount of work it took to organize a four-day conference for hundreds or thousands of high school students. I told myself one day it would be me up there, proudly looking out at the work I had accomplished.
My name is Elisabeth Hedstrom and I am currently serving as the Secretary-General of the Secondary Schools’ United Nations Symposium (SSUNS), held each November by McGill University students in Montreal, Canada. When I was elected Secretary-General last winter, my vision as a high school delegate had been realized. What I could have never imagined was an opportunity I received this summer as a result.
For several years, SSUNS has had a partnership with WEMUN Expo, the largest high school Model United Nations conference in Asia. WEMUN Expo, held in Beijing, China each August, is organized by a Chinese youth diplomacy organization called WeLand International. Each summer, WeLand invites organizers of high school Model United Nations conferences from some of the world’s top universities to run committees at WEMUN Expo. This year, I had the honor of traveling to China for three weeks alongside four of my closest Model United Nations colleagues and friends at McGill.
Our time began in Xi’an, located six hours by bullet train south of Beijing. We were joined by members of Boston University’s delegation to WEMUN Expo, BeanMUN. After a week of leisurely touring, we returned to Beijing to begin our time as facilitators at WeAcademy, a week-long summer enrichment program held for Chinese high school students. The SSUNS team assisted WEMUN Expo organizers in running the program by teaching International Relations courses, Leadership seminars, as well as Model United Nations workshops. We also led Greek mythology themed houses in team-building and athletic activities. The week consisted of learning, cultural exchange and assisting high schoolers in their preparation for WEMUN Expo, which directly followed WeAcademy.
We ran three committees at WEMUN Expo: World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, International Civil Aviation Organization, and the Amazon Board of Directors. WEMUN Expo had the most impressive number of conference staff I had ever seen, providing an incredible environment for competition and learning for the delegates attending. The majority of WEMUN’s delegates are Chinese, with a smaller number coming from elsewhere in Asia. The knowledge and level of debate around complex, technical topics held by delegates in their second, or sometimes even third, language was remarkable. We had a blast working at WEMUN Expo and brought back to Canada several ideas we hope to implement at SSUNS this year.
Following SSUNS in November, my involvement in Model United Nations will be coming to a close. For many of us, myself included, Model United Nations has been a driving force in shaping who we are. I am incredibly grateful for the activity that sharpened my skills in high school, provided me an opportunity for professional development in university and offered me a perspective-altering trip 10,000km across the world.
