Our annual HabsMUN (Model United Nations) conference was held online last weekend. We were joined by students from 18 schools from across the UK and overseas. The following is a report written by Lucas, one of our Year 12’s on the organising committee.
The weekend of the 13 March, I was fortunate enough to attend and even help chair HabsMUN 2021. It was the first online rendition in the entire history of the conference and thus no one knew what to expect, however, I am confident that it managed to exceed every expectation regardless. Reaching over 250+ delegates and over 50+ submitted resolutions was a staggering, surreal and ultimately really satisfying experience.
On the first day, delegates introduced themselves to each other and began to lobby their resolutions. Discussing critical topics ranging from the issue of Myanmar to vaccine equality and climate migrants, attendees maintained clear professionalism as they productively contributed to debates so passionate and powerful that one might expect to see in the real United Nations itself. Following some fierce debate from both the proposition and opposition, with many amendments and points of information thrown in, each committee laboured hard to produce the final resolutions they would pass and move into the General Assembly (GA). Having asked some of the other chairs, each committee seemed to have its fair share of eloquent debates and wild moments with some standouts being impromptu rap battle speeches and a speech being delivered entirely in the position of a handstand.
On the Sunday, during the GA, the delegates were active, engaged and always prepared to thrust their placard proudly into the clouds (or should I say into the Cloud) which ensured a steady stream of well-articulated, analytical and impressive points throughout the day. Debating each resolution within a 25-minute slot, delegates had to think critically and fast on their feet and they managed this astoundingly, producing some of the best and most interesting speeches I’ve ever heard. Overall, the General Assembly was high-quality and it was encouraging to see just how many delegates and respective delegations wished to stay and focus on resolutions from other committees.
To conclude the day, we received a captivating and ultimately wholesome speech from the Secretary-General, Sean (U6H2) thanking all the delegates, the supporting staff and the wider organising team. With that came the awards, and participants seized a range of victories from ‘Outstanding Delegate’, ‘Distinguished Delegate’ and ‘Highly Commended Delegate’ to their delegation alternatives. Some special mentions must be given to St Vincent and the Grenadines, who took home not only the Outstanding Delegation award but additionally three Distinguished Delegate Awards, among others!
Ultimately, working alongside a great team of PGAs, including George (L6J1), Julien (L6H1) and Aryan (L6J1) was a really enjoyable experience and further appreciation has to be given to Jatin (L6S2) for his help with management and planning. Moreover, the hard work of Nicholas (U6H2) in the IT department was appreciated and even more so than normal due to the special conditions of the conference – It truly could not have happened without him! Finally, a massive thank you must be given to Sean for all the hard work he put into planning and organising the conference; he put in quite literally hundreds of hours and it paid off, and I’m confident I speak for the entire organising team when I say he was an inspirational leader.
- Written by Lucas (L6H1)
