On Saturday morning, as the school began bustling with the arrival of everyone through the Huangyang gate, both delegates and admins were ready to showcase what they had been preparing for months, or days if they were procrastinators. While there was a mixture of excitement and worry on their faces, anticipation was in the air, and all were set to participate. With the three gentle but powerful bangs of the gavel, CISSMUN XII had officially started.
CISSMUN, short for Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations, is a simulation of United Nation conference held by Concordia where each participant engages in the debates as a delegate of their designated country. Concordia would hold one of the largest MUN conferences prior to COVID with the highest reaching 1,300 students. The conference, which used to be held every year prior to the COVID pandemic, not only helped students from different schools to collaborate to enhance their critical problem solving and debating skills but also be inspired the importance of worlds that can lead to various results and the significance they can bring to the community to help others.
Although the event was cancelled for many years due to the COVID pandemic, admins and delegates were dedicated to the conference by spending countless hours after school preparing for their roles. As a reward for this hard work, these efforts could finally shine during the conference on the weekend of March 18th to 19th.
The conference happened with divisions of different committees, including the General Assembly, Environmental Commission, Economic and Social Council, Human Rights Council, and Security Council. Although it started with awkward introductions to each other in the morning, as the debates started heating up with fun events like crisis being added mid-debates, everyone was more relaxed and enjoyed the event at the end of the day. Each delegate had the opportunity to represent the stance of a country to both challenge themselves and become better global citizens during the discussions. After the conference, the chairs remarked that they were not only impressed by the pre-well-prepared speeches but also were surprised by their expertise in dealing with unexpected situations throughout the conference.
Even though there were definitely some parts of the conference where they did not go as they intended to, it was a memorable and valuable experience for all participants, whether as delegates who directly engaged in those discussions of different global topics or as admins through managing various parts of the conference, especially almost after the recovery from the COVID situation. Students whom all participated commented that the event, along with teaching them new skills in debating and solving problems, helped them bond with other students, not limited to the students from the same school but including the ones from other schools as well. The CISSMUN group was delighted to provide this precious experience to everyone once more and has already begun preparations to make next year’s CISSMUN XIII, which lots of students eagerly await, even better than the last.
By Yubin Grade 10