Model United Nations (MUN) is the academic version of the United Nations held at SIS and was officially reinstated in 2013. Led by returning MUN coordinator Ms. Schmidt, the SIS MUN program encourages students to research, discuss, and debate global topics in an organized conference. The topics for this year’s debate are water and sanitation in megacities, and sustainable energy development in Europe. 

This is the first year SISMUN is being held in the new building, Norra Latin, however, the format of the conferences can still be expected to be similar. There will be video-recorded guest speakers, and the conferences will be led by the chairs. 

“I am mostly interested in the content of the debates rather than the formatting. Of course, it’s also interesting to see that the students can run it, they run it very well, but for me, it is really important that the students become aware of the possibilities that the world can achieve,” said Ms. Schmidt.  

Ms. Schmidt emphasizes the importance of the topics aligning with the UN’s goals and what they are currently doing but encourages students to explore these goals and come up with innovative solutions. 

While still important to adhere to the format of the conference, the purpose of MUN is to encourage public speaking, and for students to learn about world issues. This is why Ms. Schmidt thinks it is important students focus on solutions and strategies to the problems rather than the specifics – they do not necessarily have to tie in so much to the real world but should still align with the UN’s goals, the purpose of the debate, and the topics.  

“Think a little bit outside of the box. You may get a position some time in your life when you are trying to solve issues and have to not be too restricted- to be able to push and change,” said Ms. Schmidt.