From Thursday, Jan. 18, to Sunday, Jan. 21, Kingswood Oxford’s competitive Model United Nations club attended Yale University’s 50th anniversary conference. The university brought together a record number of delegates, over 2,000 individuals from 45 countries.
While only marking the conference’s second year back in person since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of participants continued to increase, up 500 delegates from YMUN 2023. Kingswood Oxford brought 34 well-equipped delegates who researched causes ranging from the effects of climate change to the sustainable development of space technology and everything in between.
One event that made the 50th anniversary of YMUN extra special was the opportunity to hear from the keynote speaker, the eighth Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon. He has worked tirelessly in his career in the UN to mobilize global leaders on issues including climate change, pandemics, and energy resources. Without a doubt, the energy he brought and wisdom he shared was inspiring. It truly felt like he knew that he was speaking to the future global leaders of the world.
To become a member of KO Model UN, each student wrote a detailed essay solving an issue presented by the advisor of KO’s delegation at YMUN and history teacher Stacey Savin. Therefore, the members serve as a group of future global leaders who can have professional debates about the world’s most pressing issues.
Each committee, which ranged in size from 15 to 100 members, was given two topics under the umbrella of their committee. Beyond the understanding of their research, the delegates were tasked with discovering their given country’s views and policies regarding their topics.
Different delegates from KO represented Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Nepal, Brunei, Seychelles, Iceland, and Finland. The essential goal was to formulate a written resolution with other UN member countries that addresses the given global issue and ideally “solve” it.
Throughout the weekend, delegates attended more than 15 hours of productive committee time both in the Omni Hotel in New Haven and on Yale’s campus. This was an exciting opportunity to experience life in the seats of the Yalies and witness the quintessential New England winter weather.
Outside of the committee, many meals were shared with new friends and old. Students experienced new cultures and languages, coming out of the weekend knowing more about the lives of kids around the world. Senior Co-chair Diya Mistri reflected on her experiences at YMUN 2024. “The most inspiring thing about the trip was meeting new people and hearing perspectives from students all over the world,” she said.
Senior Co-chair Anna Tippner noted that events like the Delegate Dance Saturday night were far improved from last year. “The dance was much more fun, and they definitely took our suggestions to make it more entertaining,” she said.
The students who run YMUN were receptive to recommendations to improve the program for years to come. “They had made corrections to problems and were streamlining the logistics of the event overall,” Ms. Savin said.
The conference proved successful for KO, as seniors Minnila Muthukumar and Saanve Bathula won awards for Best Delegate and Outstanding Delegate for their committees, respectively. Both students served as Co-chairs this year in the Model UN club at KO.
The Kingswood Oxford delegation of YMUN was once again welcomed to campus with open arms and commends Yale for 50 years of excellence.
