MUNISQ and DIMUN

In the last month, our High School and Middle School students attended Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, establishing themselves as budding leaders in our community and on track to becoming global leaders. They accepted challenges in debates, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork.

MUNISQ

From February 27-March 1, at the 16th MUNISQ conference hosted by our partner school in Qingdao, 29 of our High School students participated as deputy presidents, delegates, and on the media presentation team. Our MUN director, Mr. James Delzer, emphasizes that MUN has become “a central activity to many students who are passionate about the MUN program” at our school. As the event is student-led, all participants are pressed to step up and take full responsibility for their roles. “It’s a different kind of challenge. It’s a mental challenge. It’s a political challenge, and they find that the debate and the research, and the knowledge that they build throughout the process to be beneficial.”

This year’s theme was “Solutions for the Intractable,” which addressed a widespread number of challenges. There were six committees, each which concentrated on four diverse issues. “They looked at economics, poverty, hyperinflation, vulnerable populations,” explains Mr. Delzer. Many other issues were addressed, and students persistently met these difficult problems head-on with creative solutions.

As students represent countries, based off their countries’ capabilities, they would offer or request resources and would respond to solutions according to the probability of their countries’ answer. “Sometimes, some countries won’t agree to something even though it sounds like a great idea because their country wouldn’t agree to it,” says Mr. Delzer. This pushes participants to dig even more for creative solutions.

Though the three-day conference in Qingdao only recently wrapped up, our students are already preparing for the 2025-2026 TIANMUN conference, working on applications for spots as executives.

DIMUN

Thirteen of our Middle School students joined the 15th DIMUN conference at Dulwich College Beijing from March 7-9, with two Grade 9 students joining as committee leaders. “They seek older students for leadership because they have more maturity and more experience,” says Mr. Delzer. Grade 9 student Jaehyun C. acted as President of the Disarmament Commission, and Grade 9 student Joshua S. acted as Deputy President of the Security Council. “It was also good to see our ninth graders leading. They were seen as leaders within the DIMUN community. They were communicating well with students from other schools, and they really seemed to connect well with the people in the committees.”

Also supporting our Middle School students was our senior, JooYeon K., who worked behind the scenes with students in the months building up to the conference, equipping them with greater knowledge and competency for MUN. “She worked with the students on a weekly basis. She gave them homework. She gave them guidance on how to improve their performance. She gave them feedback on their speeches and on their writing, and she was central to the students’ development in learning how to participate in MUN,” says Mr. Delzer.

Many of our participating Middle School students joined the program for the first time and grew tremendously in their abilities. They were tasked with preparing research, expanding their knowledge of the world, and writing and performing speeches. This year’s theme was “The Anthropocene,” which gave students the responsibility of answering questions regarding how humans could have a more positive impact on the environment and ecosystem at a variety of levels.

After several days of debate and corresponding with delegates representing other countries, our students left the conference with a sense of success. “They were proud of their accomplishments. They were proud of their efforts, and they enjoyed the trip. They enjoyed the debate. They enjoyed the camaraderie of the people. They also enjoyed the challenge.” Mr. Delzer says students noted the debate and speaking abilities of others at the conference and felt challenged to strive for even greater growth.

Congratulations to our Middle School student, Adalyn S., who earned an honorable mention in General Assembly 3 as a delegate of Sudan! Great work, Adalyn! Well done to all our students! We are thrilled to see leaders being shaped in our community, learning to care for their neighbors, and seizing challenges. Thank you to our MUN directors, Mr. Delzer and Mrs. Tanya Zhang, our student advisors, and our chaperones.