BIS Hanoi hosts its first ever in-person Model United Nations Conference

The theme of the conference was “Futurewards”, a conference dedicated to empowering students to envision and create pathways to a fairer, more culturally diverse, and sustainable world while challenging the status quo. There were 6 committees, debating such diverse topics as the Russian Revolution of 1917, climate change, education for refugees, food shortages, colonialism, and a Fantasy Crisis Council on Genshin Impact.

The conference was attended by students from across Hanoi and South-East Asia. School delegations included BIS Ho Chi Minh City, Concordia School Hanoi, Regents International School Pattaya, Thailand, BVIS Hanoi, and of course BIS Hanoi. It was attended by 90 students ready to debate world issues and develop their diplomacy skills.

We also had 20 student helpers from BIS Hanoi, including five Year 13s who led the organisation process. They are Secretary-Generals Tue Nhi and Ngoc Linh, and Under Secretary-Generals Bich Phuong, Thanh Phuong, and My Lien. The process started back in October when we sent out the first invitation, and these girls have been working insanely hard for the last few months to put this together.

Secretaries-General Tue Nhi and Ngoc Linh said, "Seeing committee discussions about topics that we were so interested in and passionate about made this entire experience so much more worth it in the end. BISMUN was also an opportunity for us to be able to connect with the MUN community in BIS Hanoi throughout the planning process and get to know new MUN-ers, which we are so grateful for."

Our students worked incredibly hard to prepare for the conference at the Model United Nations CCA, learning how to formulate effective arguments to present their ideas during the conference and including the interests of various countries to have a fruitful discussion and a satisfying outcome to all the committees.  

Throughout the conference, there were some unexpected moments for all our delegates, but these intensive and demanding moments allowed them to practice adapting and changing gears of thinking. This is especially true for those in our Crisis councils – the Joint Russian Assembly and the Fantasy Crisis Council – who could create a course of action to influence the outcome of events, creating an exciting and ever-changing environment. All our councils tackled challenging topics, and it gave our participating delegates an amazing opportunity to be able to see the impact of teamwork and communication in action to get other people on their side. 

One attendee said, "It was educational; I learned a lot, and it helped me overcome my fear of public speaking."

Another commented that "It was fun and valuable, the conference was well-organised, and it was nice to meet other delegates with different working attitudes when approaching problems".

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped out! See you again next year! 

Ms. Nia Cooper

Secondary Enrichment Leader