The Director General, Julia V. of the SIS mini MUN told the Quirky Quibbler that everything was going smoothly and running as planned, with very few hurdles, which have been overcome. As it turned out, they had to move one of the chairs as they had too many. Everything worked out well and things continued to run smoothly in the main building. Mini MUN was designed for the sixth and seventh graders and for many of them it’s their first MUN conference ever. Even so, Julia recalled that the standard of dress in the main building was high – snazzy even.

Katarina K. and Ruby G. from 8th grade are running workshops. Other activities included making posters and videos and taking MUN-themed quizzes. The younger students showed great engagement during the workshops and could not have been more excited to attend. The mini MUN gives the younger students an opportunity to learn about the way MUN works, how it’s organised and the language used so they can be prepared for when they get to join in the ‘real’ MUN as they go up through the school.

After the first session some of the students reported with enthusiasm on the morning’s activities. One student commented how they felt when the room went quiet during their speech, “It made me feel powerful.” Others were interested in the discussions on gender and wondered why more men got jobs than women. They came to the conclusion that in Sweden gender equality is quite good. They also thought the pop quiz was fun and that it taught them many new things about global issues. Chairs were described as helpful and good at explaining everything. The debates were enjoyed by many and one student commented that, “Everybody was very kind to each other, although we disagreed.”

We hope to see many of these young students as delegates at future MUN conferences.