By: Harry Rowland, Year 12 Pupil


On November 3rd six students and two teachers made the journey to Holland to take part in The Model United Nations conference at The International School Of The Hague. Harry Rowland – one of the delegates – writes about the experience:

It was with great excitement, trepidation and some pride that I joined a group of fellow Framlingham students who had volunteered and were chosen to represent the College at the 27th Annual Model United Nations conference at the International School of the Hague.  The Model United Nations (MUN) is aimed at students between the ages of 14 – 19 years and attempts to provide an academic simulation of the United Nations with the support of an army of 300 staff members. The goal of MUNISH 2017 was to give the 900 delegate participants the opportunity to discuss current events and topics related to international relations and methods of diplomacy within the UN agenda. I think that the event was a huge success for all of the College contingent because we were all involved in serious debates and had to learn how to engage the processes and protocols that replicated exactly those of the UN.

Our group was fortunate in that we were selected as Delegates for the sovereign nation of Mexico with some really fascinating roles and responsibilities:

  • Niall Pearson-Shaul was selected to the Environment Commission
  • Rhys Pearson-Shaul was selected as Ambassador and a participant of the General 1st Committee
  • Lucy Darrington was selected to the General Assembly 3rd Committee
  • Conal Judge participated in the Group of Twenty
  • Juan Losada was on the Special Commission 1 (Peace and Justice in the Middle East)
  • I was tasked with participating on the Disarmament Commission (DC)

What did we learn?

After much brain storming on our speeches, research and administrative procedures, I think that all of the College contingent genuinely learnt how diplomacy and positive action can have the opportunity to make a difference in our world. Rather than just reading about difficult socio-economic and political events on the internet, we actually gained a first hand perspective of just how difficult it is to gain a consensus of opinion to make progress on any issue. The overall feeling I think that we took away with us is that our generation really does have a very important role to play in shaping how our world will be in the future.

What did MUNISH 2017 mean to us ?

I think that we are all extremely proud to have been given the opportunity to represent our College at this exceptional and prestigious international student event. We all made new friends with our wonderful Dutch hosts and the students that we met during the “business days and lunches” and socialised with on the Saturday evening. MUNISH was a very different academic challenge to our College life as we gained a real sense of our purpose and involvement in an international community.

Overall it was a truly international event and an opportunity to meet new people, make friends, learn about different countries and develop and improve perspective on so many different global issues. A number of us have already accepted social invitations to go back to see our new friends at the Hague International School next Summer and we have also put our names down to represent the College again for MUNISH 2018.

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