MIT Model United Nations Conference

MITMUNC is a new, unique, and innovative high school Model United Nations conference, focusing on committees that have a scientific or technological foundation.

The high school students attending do not have to be science experts -- rather, the goal is to have the MITMUNC chairs use their expertise to make the scientific issues accessible to the students, so that the students can debate the policy issues with a better understanding of the facts behind them.

The delegates from ‘Iolani were included in a range of committees: Disarmament and International Security, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.N. Development Program, World Food Program, World Trade Organization and World Health Organization.

Lauren Goto ’14, Kenneth Lee ‘14, Morgan Ome ‘15, Lauren Uhr ‘13 and Elvina Zhang ‘13 all co-sponsored resolutions that passed their committees.

At the awards ceremony, Ken-Ben Chao ‘13 received verbal commendation. Kenneth Lee ’14 won the most coveted award in his committee, Best Delegate. (Out of nearly 700 delegates, only a handful receive this award.)

The students also found time to experience a great deal outside of the conference.

The following is how Mr. John Bickel described the rest of the trip:

"After a red-eye flight, we arrived at Logan Airport a little before noon on Thursday (Feb. 9).  We soon set out on foot up Main Street toward Harvard Square.  We ate at Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage where our lunches included “Ted Kennedy” and “John Kerry” burgers.  After meandering around campus a bit, we found the Natural History Museum with a famous set of glass flowers created a century ago as nearly perfect replicas of the plants for the purpose of teaching Botany. After a little more walking around the Harvard area, we took the subway back to our hotel in the MIT area.  Too jet-lagged to do much else, we soon retired for the night.

"Friday morning featured a great city tour.  We started out with an hour and half at the John F. Kennedy Museum.  From there we went to Charlestown.  We then drove around Breed’s Hill where the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. Back on the Boston side, we toured Old North Church where the lanterns were hung for Dawes and Revere before they made their famous ride to warn that “The Regulars are coming!”  (All were British back then; so they really didn’t say the British were coming.) From there we drove around to look at Paul Revere House, the Old State House and adjoining site of the Boston Massacre, Beacon Hill, the Capitol building for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and finally a stop at Fenway Park.

"The conference began Friday afternoon.  We had a workshop on parliamentary procedure and an opening session.  The keynote speaker gave statistics and anecdotes to makes points about the sad shape of much of the poor part of the world.

"We represented Saudi Arabia in the simulated conference.  The first committee session found our students in vigorous debate with other countries over issues like where to store waste from nuclear power plants, how to feed the hungry, and how much to press countries into providing equal education opportunities for girls and boys.  We ended the night with a workshop on tips for being a better delegate led by the Secretary General of the Conference, Cory Hernandez.  Students have met other delegates from England, China, India, Korea, California and the East Coast, of course.

"All Saturday and Sunday morning were engulfed in the debate of the Model U.N. committees.

"After the conference ended early Sunday afternoon, we hopped on the train to the Museum of Fine Arts where we saw art that ranged from Egyptian mummy coffins to Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, to Renoir, to van Gogh.  We debriefed the conference and went to bed to leave bright and early Monday morning."