Viva España at MUNA 2020
Last term, 韩国AV hosted the 2020 Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) forum. Students competed in teams against each other, with Spain (congrats Mya and Neve) placing first.
Due to COVID-19, we couldn鈥檛 host other schools for this year鈥檚 MUNA forum, so it was a battle between 韩国AV students. Girls formed teams of two to three people, representing their assigned country on issues such as climate change, refugees, terrorism, women鈥檚 rights, hate speech and cultural tourism.
The students devoted several weeks to researching their assigned country, with the option of delivering their opening speech in their country鈥檚 native language. They were also encouraged to wear their country鈥檚 national dress to the forum, with the official judging process encompassing presentation skills, as well as each team鈥檚 ability to debate issues convincingly, and demonstrate a high level of research, knowledge and insight.
Teams had to ensure they adopted positions that were consistent with the known views and behaviours of their assigned country. This meant they had to carefully evaluate and view their own cultural perspectives and practices in order to successfully analyse the beliefs and attitudes of their assigned country.
The students also had to develop effective negotiating and influencing skills. Each country was part of a voting bloc with other countries in their geographical region. It was imperative therefore, that each team built strong allegiances with their fellow bloc members in order to secure support for their viewpoints and persuade bloc members to vote together.
Judges Isabelle and Mia said, "It was such a fascinating evening where we got to hear debates between many delegates representing a large range of countries. The resolutions the teams debated were extremely relevant to our current world and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the debates on COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Paris Climate Agreement, and women's education unfold. We were both very impressed with the quality of all teams' presentations and found it particularly hard to determine a winner, however a special mention must be given to Spain who came away with a win! Overall, it was a great night and we hope to see many people there again next year."
The judges were particularly impressed at the level of intercultural awareness and understanding on display.
Congratulations to everyone who took part. Team Chad (Kate and Kyla) were acknowledged for their clarity of ideas. Team Denmark (Amelia and Lucy) were commended for their presentation skills. Team India (Maddy and Helena) took out the prize for best dressed. And Team Greece (Isla, Bronte and Felicia) were recognised for their teamwork.
Third place went to Team USA (Kalara and Gretel) and Team France (Caroline and Tashi) were runners up. But of course, there can only be one winner and MUNA 2020 was won by Team Spain (Mya and Neve). Dr Scott congratulated the students at the Principal鈥檚 Assembly on Tuesday, which was livestreamed to the rest of the School.
Increasingly, students are exposed to news media that presents an over-simplified or biased perspective on world events such as pandemics, immigration, police brutality or conflict. MUNA was an opportunity for students to learn how to better negotiate the politics of information in today's world, equipping them to be effective local and global citizens.
Students from all around the world participate in MUNA forums. As COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines, along with efforts to protect human rights and tackle the effects of poverty and climate change, it is critical that our young people understand the role that the United Nations plays in the world.
Once again, a huge congratulations to our Languages Teachers, Mr Mikkelsen and Ms Furlong Alexanderson for their enthusiasm, hard work and support of the students!