Nine students represented MAGS at the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) and three came back with an award.
Last Friday and Saturday, the Year 12 and 13 students represented three United Nations delegations for the MUNA, hosted by Auckland Rotary at Auckland Girls Grammar School.
Over the two days Juliette Allen, Simon Percival and Phoebe Sullivan represented Albania; Saman Bardi, India Bulman and Alyssa Houma represented Colombia; and Britney Cheng, Fatima Imran and Rachel Simpson represented Iraq.
Rachel, Fatima and Britney’s speech that convincingly and eloquently defended Iraq’s position on the protection of women’s rights so impressed the judges they received an award for the Team with the Best Knowledge and Provocative Use of the UN Charter.
Social Sciences teacher Jaleisa Adams said it was a very successful event with more than 80 schools participating from the Auckland and Northland regions. The students were provided with remits on which they were required to address the Assembly. These included:
- The UN to examine the integrity of elections in member nations
- The UN to actively enforce the protection of women’s rights in member nations
- The UN to actively enforce existing programmes to reduce existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons
Ms Adams said, “An integral component of MUNA is to set aside your own personal beliefs and opinions and take on that which best represents their country. This is no easy feat, particularly when we have empowered young men and women who value their position to have a voice in our modern society. The students represented our school proudly, addressing an audience of over 300 people. As well as having to speak on their selected remits, the students had to field questions from other delegations in order to promote or defend their position.”
She added: “Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience that challenged our students to view and understand differing perspectives of the nations and people that surround us. We already can’t wait to go back next year.”
