Twenty-five SAC students, including myself, travelled to Boston to compete in the 66th annual Harvard Model United Nations Conference.
Harvard Model UN is one of the most prestigious, rigorous, and immersive Model United Nations simulations in the world, and St. Andrew’s is well-established in the conference. This year, SAC represented the United Kingdom and Spain. Conference committees focused on global topics ranging from human rights to international security, and even autonomous warfare.
More than 3,300 delegates from the world’s top schools attended the conference. Additionally, 230 Harvard University undergraduates moderated and headed committee sessions.
As we arrived on January 23, the SAC delegation was eager to build on our previous years’ successes and new delegates were excited to start the conference.
Model UN teaches delegates how to effectively share ideas, collaborate, negotiate, and engage diplomatically in public speaking. They must research their assigned country extensively and adopt its beliefs and agenda in order to advocate on its behalf. Students are encouraged to actively participate and lead in their committee sessions, and many delegates worked relentlessly throughout the weekend, having meals with members of their committee after sessions and staying up late at night to come up with solutions to the world’s most pressing issues.
During the trip, the St. Andrews’ delegation was treated to an informative tour of Harvard’s Cambridge campus led by Mr. Jeff LaForge, as well as of the city of Boston, stopping at historic sites such as the Holocaust memorial and the site of the Boston Massacre. Additionally, the delegation met up with Old Boy Jack Davies ’18, currently attending Berklee College of Music in Boston.
As we departed from Boston on January 27, it was clear that the conference was indeed a continuation of St. Andrew’s Model UN success. In the coming months, SAC is also scheduled to participate in Cornell Model UN Conference, as well as Appleby College and Upper Canada College Model UN conferences. Students who are interested in the Model United Nations program at St. Andrew’s College can sign up for it as a part of the school’s Arts/Co-curriculars Plus program.
Congratulations to the following boys who earned awards:
Special thanks go out to Mr. LaForge and Mr. Len Gurr, the faculty heads of Model UN, as well as to Assistant Headmaster, Mr. Courtenay Shrimpton, and faculty member, Mr. Michael Carroll, for travelling with the team during the conference.
Story by Matthew Deo ’20
