”Delegate, you have been recognized.” And so the convention began. This year, the IASAS Model United Nations (MUN) team was filled with excitement as they walked into the UNCCC building at Bangkok for the 26th Annual IASAS Conference from November 18 to 22.

Before the actual convention, delegates had already started to prepare their resolutions by collaborating with other delegates. “Prior to the convention, I had gotten in touch with other delegates through a Facebook forum which was really helpful because there were a lot of time constraints in place while we had to merge resolutions,” said Isabella Wei (12). As a returning delegate, Isabella “felt that we were always running short of time and could not always debate thoroughly.”

Nevertheless, the experience of sitting in the actual conference center made all the glitches worthwhile for some. “Just being there was a humbling yet powerful experience…with the podium and microphones you actually felt like a representative of the country you were delegating for,” said Nick Ackert (9). Furthermore, delegates felt that being in such an environment “made the debate all the more professional and modeled the United Nations more accurately,” said Teresa Chen (11).

Moreover, Sarah Chua (12) and Ian Chang (12) chaired during committee debates. With the responsibility of conducting the debates and make sure that professional etiquette was maintained, “I felt that the mixture between keeping the discussion serious as well as fun was important because delegates got more involved,” said Ian. However at times situations did get out of control and became tedious. When delegates started raising too many points of parliamentary inquiry that interrupted debate, the chairs would have to be firm in order to maintain flow of debate, Sarah explained.

Although both chairs enjoyed taking on the leadership role, “I would sometimes miss being a delegate as there is much more action when you’re up there making speeches and engaging in the actual debate,” said Ian.

Within committees, it was the role of the delegates that played an important role throughout the entire convention. “Even though it was the chairs who ran the debates, it was the delegate’s personalities and contributions that made the committee so enjoyable,” said Sarah.

After two days of debate within respective committees, all delegates filed into the General Assembly where resolutions that were passed within committees were debated. Because of the delayed start, delegates found themselves rushed while debating. “I was very disappointed at the lack of time management and the overall process felt very rushed and informal and many delegates were not able to give speeches that they had prepared,” said Kevin Ko (12).

This year, at General Assembly, the crisis situation was regarding the contamination of rice by a parasite, and as a result, countries were hoarding their rice stocks. Usually crisis situations play a great role at MUN, however this year “the crisis did not fulfill many expectations as we ran short of time to prepare resolutions and as a result, the resolution created by Security Council was debated,” said Andrew Wu (12).

Nevertheless, the conclusion of IASAS MUN this year evoked sadness amongst senior delegates. “I miss my awesome committee, friends from other IASAS schools and mostly I think that this reminds seniors that high school is coming to an end,” said Sarah.

However, it was the closing ceremony that left lasting impressions amongst the team. Delegates who participated in the convention got the chance to listen to Mr. Gary Lewis share his experiences about being a part of the UN team for the last 22 years. “I like the way that he developed a philosophy around his work, and on an emotional level, his speech was very moving as well,” said Justin Liang (12).

All in all, delegates came back with their own set of bittersweet memories as well as insight into the current global issues. “MUN is a great student activity, and through debates and collaborating on resolutions, all delegates are able to gain a lot of insight as well as a great experience during these three days,” said MUN team coach, Mr. Joe Earley.

Next year, the IASAS MUN convention will be held at Singapore American School (SAS). “It’s going to be interesting to see what SAS has in store for us for next year as they’re going to have to top a lot of standards,” said Nick.