This article is part of our Celebrating Success in MUN: Recognition and Rankings in 2020-2021 series. Please read here to understand about the purpose behind these articles.
Model United Nations has been more important than ever during a school year with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting student learning and human connections at schools. Virtual Model UN has helped students connect outside of their homes, discuss world issues and social justice issues that were happening in real life, and build valuable public speaking and leadership skills in an increasingly polarized world. Model UN participants were resilient in making MUN happen this year. Students, teachers, and conference organizers had to navigate many challenges with school, MUN, and beyond this year. Nevertheless, our community collectively created one of the most engaging virtual educational experiences available.
The MUN Leadership Stories recognize leaders who contributed to MUN in intangible ways besides winning awards as delegates. This could be making a virtual MUN club or conference happen or even thrive at their school this year despite COVID-19. This could be hosting a panel about social justice issues or doing a club project on the SDGs. This could be leading an initiative that improved their school or community. For some, this could be appreciation for the journey of navigating the financial, mental health, or logistical challenges this year, even if MUN ultimately could not happen at your school this year.
We all navigated challenges and achieved our own definitions of success for this school year. And we want to recognize that. This all contributes to the larger mission of making a difference in the world.
We start our series with four stories from colleges. We’ll highlight stories from high schools later this month!
***
Georgetown University, The 58th North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN LVIII)
Amy Li and Alexander Chen stepped into the roles of NAIMUN Executive Director and Secretary General thinking that they would be running a 3,000 person conference in Washington, DC. When it eventually became clear that NAIMUN LVIII would need to be virtual, Amy and Alex did not for one moment let the challenges of the pandemic deter them from putting on the best possible virtual conference. It would have been easy to do the bare minimum, but Amy and Alex had a clear vision and innovative ideas for NAIMUN that they shaped to fit a virtual setting. Alex completely modified NAIMUN’s organ structure into much more logical categories, which future NAIMUNs will use for years to come. Despite universal decreases in conference registration due to COVID, 2116 delegates attended NAIMUN.
Furthermore, Amy oversaw the organization of virtual embassy visits and committee speakers, and in doing so, found a way to integrate the unique aspects of a Washington D.C. conference to the virtual environment. She also introduced new programming options that NAIMUN will continue to offer in the future, including a guided meditation, a woMUN and POC-in-MUN panel, and a college-101 panel. The feedback we received from NAIMUN was extremely positive because delegates had a true opportunity to explore and engage with issues they were passionate about. Alex and Amy’s synergy, commitment to NAIMUN, and passion for MUN allowed them to make the conference incredible. They put so much work into building a virtual NAIMUN that could be just as exciting as an in-person one, and the entire NAIMUN community is so grateful for their kind, dedicated, and powerful leadership.
McGill University, Secondary Schools United Nations Symposium
Like many other Model UN secretariats in 2020, when the pandemic hit, we had no way of knowing what the future of our conference looked like. But when we had our first Zoom meeting, to discuss ‘what next?’, it became clear that we were all still committed to offering a Model UN event. Many of us had been high school delegates, and we knew intimately how important and formative these experiences could be for students. So, bolstered by the encouragement and advice of our Director of Public Relations Madeleine Northfield, who had participated in online MUN before and was confident of its potential, our team began to plan our first virtual conference: Secondary School UN Symposium (SSUNS) Online.
Over the next few months, our team worked tirelessly to transition the traditional aspects of Model UN onto a virtual platform. There was endless experimentation with Zoom, Slack, and Google Drive as we tried to identify the best format to offer our delegates the best possible debating experience. Month by month and challenge after challenge, our tenacious Secretary-General Alex Horbal kept spirits high by reminding us how far we’d come. But perhaps most importantly, the conference was able to come together successfully because everyone on our team shared a commitment and an enthusiasm for the project before us. It took leadership and initiative on all of our behalves to host SSUNS, and through our collective efforts, we were able to offer nearly 1000 students a place to practice their own leadership skills.
The College of William & Mary
Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, the College of William & Mary’s Model UN program has been going strong. Under the leadership of 2020-21 Head Delegate Steven Vacnin, William & Mary fielded nine competitive teams, and received three delegation awards. Aside from our competitive success, Steven led William & Mary to establish meaningful connections around the circuit to continue to engage in Model UN. William & Mary worked with various universities from around the country and world to host free virtual Model UN simulations during an era where MUN is less accessible. In the fall, W&M and Clark University jointly held a MUN simulation for their delegates. Over winter break, W&M worked with American University, Boston University, Clark University, FIU, and Universidad Metropolitana to host SnowMUN, a MUN training simulation that included three committees.
Later, in the spring, W&M hosted one final simulation jointly with UVA and Virginia Tech. Becoming a Head Delegate during a pandemic is no easy task, but Steven took this responsibility with stride. Instead of giving up because in-person travel was impossible, Steven did all that he could to engage delegates, both from W&M and other colleges. Steven understands that the spirit of MUN is about diplomacy, inclusion, and accessibility, which is exactly how he led W&M Travel MUN. These various simulations that Steven organized with other colleges exemplify the true spirit of Model UN, and the way Steven led W&M Travel MUN with kindness and compassion further strengthens this. Steven adapted to the difficult circumstances he was presented and provided one of the most meaningful and impactful years of MUN to W&M
Model UN at UCLA
In 2020, Los Angeles Model United Nations XV was cancelled just weeks before its start date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the months passed and a new set of leaders joined UCLA’s LAMUN Secretariat there were a lot of hard decisions that had to be made – does LAMUN XVI move online? Do we host LAMUN XVI at all? Luckily, LAMUN XVI had Campbell Martin leading the conference as Secretary-General, and for Campbell, cancelling LAMUN was never an option. As a senior at UCLA this year Campbell dedicated countless hours to hosting the first-ever virtual iteration of LAMUN in the Spring of 2021 and doing it with a smile on his face. He seamlessly boosted Secretariat and staffers’ morale and checked on every detail of the conference. Under Campbell’s leadership LAMUN XVI hosted a competitive array of schools and fulfilled delegates expectations. As a beloved member of the Model UN at UCLA community, a competitive Travel Team member, and a dear friend, we want to thank Campbell for his dedication to making LAMUN XVI a success.
***
Thank you to those who submitted stories to share what their fellow student leaders are doing to Bring Out the Best in Model UN.
