Congratulations to the ICHK students who acted as delegates at the Shanghai Model United Nations.

A team of nine students competed in a weekend of intense debate and discussion at Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations XV (CISSMUN XV).

As one of the premier MUN conferences in China and East Asia, it provided an incredible platform for them to confront some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Our student delegates acted as UN representatives of a given country. They fearlessly engaged in formal debates, delivered compelling speeches, and adeptly conveyed their country's positions on the topics under discussion.

The team embarked on the conference with the firm conviction that the experience was an invaluable step into authentic learning, driven by passion and a hands on belief that life is no spectator sport.

This year’s theme, 'Chorus of Change,' challenged delegates to embrace and pay more attention to the collective discursive efforts that change is built on. A vital goal of MUN has always been to foster consensus by the end of proceedings. Our students represented a diverse range of nations across various forums that reflected the balance of real life work on global issues with a youth-driven agenda selected by peers.

ICHK’s committee assignments consisted of the General Assembly 1, Human Rights Council, Economic and Social Council, UNICEF, and the High Commissioner for Refugees. MUN conferences are the culmination of inclusive intellectual pursuits: drafting resolutions, negotiating clauses between competing actors, and building coalitions to address issues that had been chosen by the student Chairs who volunteered their experience to share with their peers. Rest time and evening activities were all the more necessary with such busy agendas and brain-firing work.

Shanghai was a remarkable backdrop for their explorations. Breaks at the end of each day of proceedings were precious moments sought out to savour the trip and prepare them for the journeys ahead. Amid the public speaking and speech preparations for formal floor debates and point of information questioning, our delegates crossed the threshold and built unexpected connections with peers from schools across the globe. These moments were made all the more special precisely because this conference was the first ever conference for some of our delegates, who confidently embraced the atmosphere and were driven to give their voices out on contemporary issues from diverse global perspectives.

A huge thank you to the teachers who supported the team through the past term of research and preparation.