国際交流部よりExchange activity

This week, five of our students braved the summer heat and an impending typhoon to attend the First National High School Model United Nations in Tokyo. Model United Nations are held all over the world, and they simulate the decision-making process used in the real United Nations to find solutions to those problems that are universal to all people in the world. Sometimes it focuses on issues such as global poverty or climate change. This year’s topic focused on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. It was our first time to go. What a wonderful experience it was for all of us!

Students are assigned countries, and this time around our students represented Jordan, Singapore, and Argentina. Then, they must take the perspective of this country to form a position on the issue, and then form alliances with other countries, and then work together to write draft resolutions that will then be debated and hopefully accepted.

Everyone learns a lot. First, the students learn about how parliamentary processes and Rules of Order (the most famous being Roberts Rules of Order) are used to reach consensus. These rules are highly intricate, and mastery of them is an indispensible skill for anyone hoping to create change on the world stage.

Secondly, students learn how important it is to understand the perspectives of other countries, and that they are not alone in world. Everyone is working towards solutions to global problems, and nobody wants to lose out, or get stepped on, or pushed to the side.

Thirdly, the Model UN is a great way for students to meet other people all around Japan who are globally minded. Even if for a brief time, it is great for students to be submersed in a culture of people who are interested in important global issues.

I really admire our students for going all the way to Tokyo for this important even, especially during their summer vacation. I know they gained a lot from it, and they made our school proud. I look forward to expanding our school’s presence in the area of global education through events like these.