2018 THIMUN Singapore
From November 19 to November 23, four students from the Model United Nations (MUN) club attended THIMUN Singapore this November. All of the students were representing the country of Libya, which provided a unique challenge as students had to argue for positions they did not personally support. McKenzie Chen, Ethan Murphy, and Vicky Hsu attended the conference for the first time. Ariel Chen, one of the MUN club co-presidents, attended for the second time. As the most experienced delegate attending, Ariel served as the ambassador and helped the other delegates research their issues and country’s viewpoint, write and revise their resolutions, and encouraged them to actively participate in their committees.
The THIMUN Singapore conference is a five-day simulation of the United Nations. It is one of three conferences sponsored by the THIMUN Foundation. The THIMUN Foundation’s mission is to promote and foster collaborative, solution-oriented discussion to important issues. Attendants of THIMUN conferences seek, through discussion, negotiation, and debate, solutions to the various problems of the world, such as questions of human rights, protection of the environment, economic development, disarmament, and the problems of youth and of refugees, as well as the more critical issues of war and peace. Delegates, in seeking solutions to these problems, can learn to break away from narrow, national self-interest and develop true international cooperation.
While most of the MUN conferences HAS students attend take place in Taiwan, THIMUN Singapore gives students the opportunity to meet and work with students on an international level. Over 1,000 students from schools in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, and Thailand attend the conference this year. Vicky referred to herself as the “international delegate” because she made friends from countries stretching from the Netherlands and Poland to Vietnam! McKenzie laughed because the closest friend he made was from IBSH in Hsinchu. Ethan became an international Instagram star on the THIMUN meme account. Ariel reconnected with delegates she met at previous conferences, working with them to pass many resolutions in her committee.
In committee, all of the students had exciting stories to share. McKenzie made over 20 motions to the previous question, calling for votes on amendments and resolutions more than anyone else in his committee. Ariel’s committee, which discussed complex topics surrounding women’s right and child marriage, also debated a “fun” amendment the referenced the song “Baby Shark.” Vicky had to defend Libya’s harsh position on drug trafficking and organized crime, which included supporting capital punishment. Ethan’s committee focused on controversial economic issues and feminist solutions to gender equality in the workplace, but also use breaks to rap and sing karaoke. All of the students worked hard both before and during the conference. They had fun in committee and around Singapore and represented HAS with pride.
