Elk jaar, in het eerste weekend van november, organiseert de International School of The Hague een Mun-conferentie. Lees het verslag van de afgelopen Munish-conferentie door Sofiya Bedenko (4a).

"I’ve always heard stories about MUNISH (Model United Nations ISH) from my friends’ siblings and my own brother. The only comments I heard were positive. Since my first year at Sorghvliet all I wanted was to go to such a conference myself, but I was too young. It is for students between the ages of 14 and 19. So this year it was finally time! 

First, let me explain a little bit about how it works. The idea behind it is students pretending to be the United Nations (UN) and debating as such. Your school gets assigned a couple of countries (this year we got Japan, Spain and Peru), alongside some committees. Every committee deals with different issues and debates them throughout the three days. You start researching your country and your issues a couple of months in advance. This is important, because no matter what your own personal opinions may be, you must represent what your countries wants, even if it is doesn’t go alongside your moral standards. For that reason you must be very well informed. During the debate itself there are certain rules in place. For example the dress code, or the way you address others during the debate.

On the first day you get your badge and you start lobbying. Lobbying is when your committee gets together and you split up into different groups and stawriting resolutions that you will all be debating. This definitely isn’t the most exciting part of the conference. It gets interesting when you start debating. That is of course, if you have something to say. On Saturday and Sunday you debate what you have written on Friday, three resolutions a day. If you’re worried about the food there, don’t be. You get free lunch on Saturday and Sunday which tastes great. On Saturday there is also a party at Madurodam.  

Overall, I really enjoyed it. You meet so many new people and everyone is so different. There are people flying in from America, Marokko, Japan and other exotic places. But there are also people that live ten minutes away and the contrast is somewhat interesting to see. It is a great place to practise your social skills, along with your English skills. 

I would really recommend going to people who like talking about politics, or if you just like debating. It’s only three days, and something you’ll never forget. It is an incredibly unique experience and definitely worth it."

Sofiya Bedenko 4A