Model United Nations
Haileybury Model United Nations annual conference 2012 is taking place THIS weekend (23-25 March) - listen in to Andreas Payne and Ben Phillips being interviewed on local radio, or log on to the HMUN website now to find out what is happening. Alternatively, you could follow the action on Twitter (@HaileyburyMUN).
The Model United Nations (MUN) programme at Haileybury offers pupils of all ages a chance to participate in debate on current world issues. Haileybury hosts its own conference in March each year to which nearly 500 pupils arrive from countries all over Europe and from America.
The purpose and nature of Model United Nations conferences such as the one held annually at Haileybury (HMUN) are to replicate the real United Nations. Delegates are assigned to a country and a committee, and are required to play the roles of diplomats. They first have to research the issues (detailed on the Agenda) from the perspective of both the UN and the country they represent, and then have to prepare a stance on these issues which accurately and realistically reflects their country's views.
At the HMUN11 Conference, delegates have to lobby for support with the delegates of other countries and then debate the issues according to their country's standpoint. Debates are conducted according to rules of parliamentary procedure, and are controlled by pupil officers.
Delegates have to operate on a range of levels. They have to research, they have to develop the social skills of the effective lobbyist, and they have to present their ideas in a demanding debating forum. The MUN programme gives pupil delegates confidence and develops abilities which they had never dreamt they possessed. They also enjoy the opportunity to meet other young people from across the globe.
The MUN was called "the jewel in the crown of Haileybury" in a recent HMC Inspector's report. We attend conferences in Dublin, Athens, London and The Hague, the latter being the premier event of its type in the world. It is an area at which we excel and we can justifiably claim to be one of Europe's leading MUN schools.
For more information on the MUN scheme at Haileybury or for details of our 2012 conference, please contact our MUN Director, Mr Michael Perrins or visit our website.
