Bath International Schools Model United Nations 3-5th March 2006

Twenty-eight Methody pupils comprising five delegations recently went to Kingswood School in Bath to participate in the sixteenth annual Bath International Schools Model United Nations conference, competing with schools from around the globe.

Model United Nations is a highly structured form of debate, following the protocol of the United Nations. Participants undertake the roles of member states on various committees debating relevant topics and world issues following their countries' stance and policies. There are various MUN conferences worldwide, including conferences in Yale University, Paris and Stockport, and Methodist College has been hosting its own since 1997. Each conference takes its own format, with both the BISMUN and MCBMUN being structured over three days.

The first evening consists of informal lobbying in which delegates gather other delegations' support on prewritten resolutions on their committees' chosen topics. This forms alliances between the countries' delegations which are preferential within the debates that follow, as delegates can rely on other countries to support their statements on how to address the committees' issues.

Click for photo of MCB delegates

The second day begins with an opening ceremony, in which all delegates are addressed by a guest speaker, who at Bath was the Shadow Attorney General, Hon. Dominic Greave MP, along with addresses from the conference's Secretary General and the school's Principal. After the ceremony delegates are dismissed to separate committees. The main committees are Security Council, Economy, Human Rights, Environment and Health. Alongside these, other committees present at Bath MUN were Disarmament, Middle East and Political Committees. In each committee resolutions are selected by the committees' chairs and are debated throughout the day, each debate being concluded with a vote, causing the resolution to pass or fail.

The third day consists of a short committee session followed by a meeting of all delegates in a General Assembly for further debates, including an emergency debate to test delegates' ability to react rationally and quickly to developing situations. At the closing ceremony, prizes are awarded to Commended, High Commended and Best Delegates in each committee, as well as a Best Overall Delegation award. Methody has a distinguished history of achieving highly in MUN conferences, and at this particular conference amongst numerous MCB commendations, Richard Armstrong, Lauren Cheshire and Simon Wright picked up best delegate awards in their committees.

Bath 2006 was yet another highly successful conference for Methody, not just in the amount of recognition received but in the personal fulfilment each of the twenty-eight MCB participants felt as individuals. The general feeling among us delegates from MCB was that we had all grown in personal confidence and topical knowledge.
When asked what MUN meant for them, answers from our delegates ranged from "a great social experience and learning curve" to "a chance to learn more about myself".

In effect, MUN is pure kinaesthetic learning. It combines debate, political knowledge, confidence, public speaking, social and diplomatic skills. It is a chance to meet new people, voice personal views and opinions, and extend personal knowledge of politics and world affairs, making MUN not a model of the United Nations but a model for it.

Methodist College Awards for BISMUN 2006

Human Rights Committee
Commended - Jonathan Eakin, UK

Health Committee
Commended - Faye Tierney, Ecuador
Highly Commended - Chris Connolly, UK, Michael Boyle, Mali and Neil Jennings, Israel
Best Junior Delegate - Michael Boyle, Mali

Disarmament Committee
Commended - Brendan McFall, Mali and Mark Curry, Israel
Best Delegate - Simon Wright, UK

Environment Committee
Commended - Phil Baillie, Romania and Claire Henderson, Mali
Highly Commended - Maya Zawislak, Ecuador

Political Committee
Commended - Sarah Hansen, UK
Best Delegate - Richard Armstrong, UK

Security Council
Best Delegate - Lauren Cheshire

Best Delegation Awards
Commended - Israel and Mali
Highly Commended - UK