More than 300 students from across England and Wales gathered in Birmingham from March 16th to March 18th to take part in a UN-style debate about important world-wide issues ranging from nuclear disarmament to global warming.
The Model United Nations Conference, only the second of its kind for UK sixth form colleges, took place at Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, which piloted the programme here in Birmingham last year.
As well as establishing their own MUN team, Joseph Chamberlain College have promoted the MUN programme in 24 other Sixth Form colleges around the country and all have participated in the conference again this year. Joseph Chamberlain College was delighted and proud to host the event in their state of the art college in the heart of the city.
Students, aged between 16-19 years old came together to represent one of 45 countries to discuss, debate, and potentially even find solutions to some of the most serious issues facing the world today.
Special guests were journalist and British UNICEF Ambassador, Martin Bell OBE, Gisela Stuart MP for Edgbaston, Malcolm Harbour MEP, David Eigo, Chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Forum, and a number of visiting Principals and educators from around the country.
The Conference took place over two and a half days, with the first round of debates taking place on Saturday 17th March from 9.30a.m. to 6.30pm and the second on Sunday 17th March from 9am to 4:00 p.m. for the Model United Nations General Assembly at the College.
Tom Williams, MUN coordinator at Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, said before the event: “This conference will give young people from across the country the chance to discuss and debate some of the biggest problems we face as a global community.
“It will be a real challenge for the students, who will need to research and put across their arguments with passion and credibility, but ultimately it will be very rewarding for them and we hope to find real solutions to real problems.”
Elly Tobin, Principal at Joseph Chamberlain College, added: “Students become enthusiastically inspired to know about the world by researching, analysing and debating the effects of global politics on the nations they are chosen to represent. They rise to the challenge and learn that all problems and issues have more than one solution and that, though peaceful negotiation is not easy, it can lead to resolutions that are acceptable to all.”
