The annual Model United Nations conference held by the IBDP MUN group at Stockholm International School. The theme of this year’s SISMUN is disease. Sharing responsibilities for Prevention and Treatment. General Assembly Third Committee, Economic and Social Council, Security Council and the International Court of Justice are focusing on combating antimicrobial resistance, facilitating/encouraging responsible medical developments, implementation of a quick and effective response to a disease outbreak, aerial herbicide spraying, respectively.

The Quirky Quibbler spoke to Ms. Schmidt, the MUN coordinator.

QQ: What’s going to be different this time around?
Schmidt: SISMUN will be familiar in its core, but there will be some slight changes, such as basing it on 3 committees, and a general assembly third committee. Having guest students this year, which allows us to become a more established school in the MUN scene, and having students organise the conference are all going to be new this year.

Was there a specific goal to SISMUN this time around?
The goal is to get the students to run SISMUN, so over time MUN conferences get embedded into our educational programme, and students begin preparing topics, committees by themselves.

What exactly is the theme of SISMUN 2016.
The theme is disease prevention and sharing responsibilities. Very topical, with the Zika virus spreading through Brazil. Even if it’s not yet a global concern, it soon might be. Guest speakers, continuing a tradition of having a guest speaker from a related profession will further help us understand this.

Are you hoping this theme will affect our school in the long run?
Yes, the theme hopefully will inspire the students to take the theme further, whether in their class or CAS, or maybe raise awareness. Participate in an NGO, a long term commitment.

What are you most excited about?
Having guests this year, and having workshops that are run by Students. The website. Basically, slowly and continuously developing MUN at our school in such a way that it becomes a deep found tradition.

The Quirky Quibbler has also spoken to some student organisers.

QQ: What would you say you like most about MUN?
Isabella O: I would say that I really like MUN as it is a way to practice leadership and collaborative, and prepare for the future. Even if you go into a career not relating to politics, we are surrounded by diplomacy and global topics, and it’s important to have such knowledge. Also, being aware of global issues as students is crucial.

Do you have any suggestions for the delegates?
Join the workshop next Thursday, check the website. Prepare for your country, represent your assigned country’s views rather than your own. Start preparing a resolution, for easier and better participation in the actual conference.

What are you most excited about?
I’m most excited about the debates during the committees, since coming up with solutions to complex problems collaboratively is a great experience.

Kresimir responded to the newspaper as well.

Kresimir K: I’m pretty excited about the new guests as they visit SIS, and I hope they like the conference and they become long term guests, coming next year as well, kickstarting a new tradition. I really like that this MUN is organized by students, and also the fact that this is bringing different communities together. Around 25 different students are coming to this SISMUN. The debating and writing resolutions can be a very fun and enriching experience if you have pre-existing knowledge about the topic and your country. So I would say it’s pretty important to do some research beforehand. Overall I’m pretty excited, and I welcome our new guests!

As you can see, SISMUN 2016 is going to be a mix of new with the traditional style. But nothing outlandish or anything that would make our lives unbelievably hard. I hope these questions and answers help you have a great time, and help you prepare and feel more confident about this conference. SISMUN is part of tradition in this school, and as delegates or whatever positions we are selected for, we should try to uphold this tradition by doing a good job.

You can find out more on the official website: