Participants in the Model United Nations Club attended their first conference on Monday 4 December at St George’s School in Edinburgh.
Heriot’s brought two delegations to compete, representing Brazil and Belarus. Pupils gathered bright and early on a frosty Saturday morning, dressed to impress, and ready to research and negotiate to solve pressing world issues. After two rousing keynote speeches highlighting the importance of the UN and the Declaration on Human Rights, delegates split into their committees to discuss specific problems: Economic and Social (ECOSOC), Human Rights Council (HRC), Special Political and Decolonisation (SPECPOL), World Health Organization (WHO), Disarmament and International security (DISEC).
Just before lunch, a world crisis was announced, involving the mysterious death of a US ambassador to the Philippines, and the possibility of foul play by China.
After lunch, delegations from each country worked together to pass a resolution on how to resolve the rising tensions in the south China sea. While none of the Heriot’s delegates won prizes for the session, an enjoyable day learning about diplomacy and negotiation was had by all.
