Devon Model United Nations
Wednesday, 04 May 2011
On 6th April, sixth formers and secondary students became United Nations diplomats for the Day at Devon County Hall. This is probably the first time that students have met for such an event in the council chambers.
Taking on the role of diplomats from UN member states the students took part in a role-play of a Security Council debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict. This provided the students with an insight into the complexities of international negotiations and a chance to experience the difficulties of balancing national interests with the needs of the international community.
Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive with one student describing the whole experience simply as "amazing". Another commented, "I enjoyed debating our views and attempting to change the minds of other countries." Students also identified what they had learnt from the day, with one student commenting, "Speaking in public was challenging... [MUN] teaches you to work with others and look at a situation from every viewpoint & angle". See the full set of responses from participants in the evaluation summary.
Teachers were also impressed by the event. A teacher from Ivybridge Community College said: "Thank you for running the MUN, which enthused our students immensely. They all want to attend the next one!"
Andrew Bell, coordinator of Model United Nations South West said:
"The students gained so much from taking part in such an event inside a real life political venue and we are very grateful to Devon County Council for letting us use the Council chambers. The quality of the debate that students bring to these events would make the councillors who normally sit in the chamber very proud of the region's young people. Model United Nations offers valuable experiences of teamwork and group cooperation, conflict resolution, negotiation and consensus-building - skills important in many areas of life. Also, by taking an in-depth look at the Israel-Palestine conflict students gained a clearer understanding of the history of a region and the complexities of such deep-rooted global conflicts".
