Writes Rohan N. (Divs)
The moment we walked through the doors of Wetherby School for the 2025 WSS Model United Nations Conference, my first ever, it was immediately clear that this would be an extraordinary experience. The introduction to the conference started the event off with a bang, with an inspiring speech from a Qatari Diplomat representing the nation’s London embassy.
We began the first evening in our selected United Nations committees, mine being the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL). Introductions and conversations between all delegates representing schools around the city soon ensued, and, after some amusing ice-breakers that allowed us to get to know each other, the first inquiry commenced. We focused on the role of foreign military aid in occupied territories and its consequences for nations being aided. The delegates launched through opening speeches, and even though this was my first MUN conference, I was granted the limelight as my resolution was chosen to be the one debated for the entirety of the first evening. Points of order, speeches for and against and amendments soon followed, leading to a lively debate to the point where lack of time became a source of frustration – a problem I imagine diplomats encounter frequently!
The second day of the conference continued with the same energy, as we discussed the second topic of right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people, an ethnic group within Western Sahara. All of the aims of the original resolution were actually discarded and replaced by a grand proposition of the removal of country borders to create one large country run by a select few countries, which ended up being approved by nearly all delegates.
After the in-committee debates, a General Assembly meeting occurred, which was a “scavenger hunt” where different nations received different clues and collaboration was required to find the country responsible for a crashed plane carrying an Australian nuclear warhead.
Finally, after a final rousing guest speech, this time from a British diplomat, awards and commendations where announced. I was awarded Best First Timer within my committee and Ranvir S. (Fifths) received the Best Delegate award for the Security Council, the most advanced committee.
Congratulations to all MTSMUN delegates, new and experienced, for a fantastic weekend of diplomacy. WSS MUN Conference 2025 was a memorable experience and my first of many conferences.
Model United Nations takes place in Co51 on Wednesday Week A, and the Lecture Theatre in Wednesday Week B.
