Follow Up? Denied Due to Time Constraints.

On the 28th of February, 2018, a group of 16 students left for Hanoi, for the 10th annual session of the UNIS Model United Nations or UNISMUN X. This group included 2 freshmen, 7 sophomores, and 7 juniors. From the original 18 students planned to be attending, 2 sophomores, unfortunately, couldn’t make it due to visa issues.

The focus of this year’s conference was Our World: Taking Care of Our Home, and the issues debated ranged from achieving the Paris Agreement goals to combating gender inequality. The UNISMUN X conference boasts over 300 delegates from 17 schools around Vietnam as well as AISG.

As this was the first conference for many participants, the most important aspect was gaining the courage to raise your placard to speak in front of 50 or more people in some committees, as well as having the courage to speak in front of all 300 in the plenary session.

Daniel P, a sophomore, commented on how he “personally had [a] hard time opening [his] mouth and presenting [his] opinions due to [his] lack of experience.” Of course, at the beginning of the conference, it can be very difficult to participate. Nevertheless, UNISMUN has been recognized as one of the better conferences to go to as a newbie because in Sophia L’s opinion, “it was [her] opportunity to start opening up and learning to speak in front of [her] peers,” and that it was an especially “good way to get out of [her] comfort zone, in a safe environment where people understand if you make mistakes.” Furthermore, MUN Officer, Lisa M added that “the UNISMUN experience was beneficial for our new delegates to gain experience for more competitive conferences like SEOMUN.”

Mr. Parker and Ms. Herrin, the teacher coordinators of MUN also made some comments about the trip. Ms. Herrin gave her thanks to the group by saying: “thank you for the incredible trip and the chance to [watch] you all in action. You guys are incredible and it was an honor to get to travel with you.”

Mr. Parker also had some thoughts to share about UNISMUN X. He says that “overall, [he] was impressed with the organization at UNISMUN, the rooms were well organized and the admin staff did a good job.” Additionally, he acknowledged that “it is a smaller conference than SEOMUN, approximately 17 schools, and 350 delegates, with a range of ages and experience represented. This mix of age and experience makes UNISMUN a good first conference for people interested in MUN, but there are also opportunities for more experienced delegates to take on leadership roles in their committees.” In this way, UNISMUN is a good place for both ‘newbies’ and experienced delegates.

Also, since this is Mr. Parker’s last MUN conference, he got a bit sentimental saying that it was a “bittersweet conference for [him as he] was reminded of how much [he] will miss working with such a great group of students.” He told the group that “the best thanks would be to see [them] stay involved with MUN at AISG to continue to build and develop an already great program!”

Another great aspect of MUN conferences is the chance to bond more with other members of the AISG community, as well as make new friends with kids from other schools, with Daniel saying that “[he believes] that MUN is a great opportunity for all international students to bond with one another,” and Sophia stating that “[she] made a lot of new friends abroad, as well as gained new friendships with people in our school.”

Over the 3 days of the conference, and 5 days of the trip in total, all the students had the opportunity to bond with each other, teachers, as well as students from other schools.

On the first day, the group arrived in Hanoi; after going through a lengthy visa process at the airport, they finally arrived at the hotel. Students split up to eat lunch before going sight-seeing together. The group visited the Hoa Lo Prison to get immersed in some of the culture and history of Vietnam. Of course, having Mr. Parker on the trip was of great advantage: he told us interesting information and stories from the time that only a history teacher could! After this, the group once again split up to eat dinner and buy things from the local convenience store.

The next day was the first day of the conference at UNIS Hanoi. The day began with delegates from all schools going to their individual committees. Delegates from AISG were mostly representatives of Philippines, Singapore, France, and Japan, with Stanley W chairing Security Council. After a morning of opening speeches and lobbying, many students approached the Approval Committee as main submitters in order to get their resolution to go to debate within committees.

Over the next 1 and 1/2 days, all resolutions submitted were debated with some passing and some not. All of the “newbies” got the opportunity to make their first speech, POI or amendment at their first conference, while the veterans got another opportunity to hone their debating skills and add experience to their MUN history.

On the final day, some committees engaged in “fun” debates on topics like “if the world should become a unified state” with some interesting speeches being made. Finally, the committees completed superlatives within committees like “best hair,” “World War 3 starter pack,” and “best admin.”

After lunch, all delegates met in the Sports Center for the Plenary Session in which the best resolutions from each committee was debated. Following that, the closing ceremony took place with speeches from the Co-secretaries General, the President of the General Assembly and all of the chairs. Then, there was the final banquet and the MUN conference was over.

Here’s the link to the official UNISMUN X video and other pictures from the conference – you will need VPN to access it.

Again, as this is Mr. Parker’s last conference, on behalf of the group, I would like to express our thanks for your consistent help and support during the entire UNISMUN process, but also for all the work you have put into all the conferences. We will miss you. Also, Ms. Herrin, it was a great experience to get to know you on this trip, and I believe we are all excited to have you next year!