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| Images courtesy CPC. |
Students from CPC who attended a
Model UN Conference in Toruń, Poland, recently, came away with enhanced worldviews through
interacting with some 250 of their peers from different countries,
writes Brian Byrne. Among these were students from Ukraine and Palestine, living through the real-life challenges reflected in issues debated at the ToMUN event.
The three-day meeting, on the theme of Understanding the Roots of Polarisation to Achieve Harmony, included various relevant committee sessions, culminating in a General Assembly Plenary Session.
The CPC delegation comprised Ruth Moloney, who took the role of a UNICEF delegate representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, James Meehan (Human Rights Council) representing Bulgaria, Eleanor Steed (HRC) representing the United Kingdom, Jan Keating (WHO) representing Kenya, Ella Doyle (WHO) representing Germany, and Michalina Nikelewska (UN Women) representing Ethiopia. They were accompanied by CPC teachers Niamh Thorpe and Fiona Murphy. Their attendance at the conference was facilitated by CPC's involvement with the Erasmus+ mobility programme, inaugurated last year.
It was Eleanor Steed's second experience at a MUN, so she was familiar with the structure of the Poland event. But she says she was impressed that hundreds of other students were participating in the English-speaking process in what was not their first language. "I was really proud of them, and when they apologised for their quality of English, I told them that I wouldn't be able to do this through a second language at all." She says the weekend also gave her a sense of the seriousness of the issues under discussion. "Even though we were, if you like, playing teenage diplomats, we were talking about things like people being forced out of their homes. The boy beside me was Palestinian, and that had happened to him, so it made you realise that this wasn't just a game."
Ruth Moloney admits she was nervous before going to Toruń, her first time at such an event. "But everyone was so understanding, and it was the first time doing it for many others. The committee chairs were very nice and helped us if anyone didn't understand anything. So it was a lot of fun." She also says the experience improved her self-confidence. "Beforehand, I was very nervous about public speaking, but now, I think I'm much more confident." Currently in TY, Ruth's career interests are around teaching or journalism, and she feels these experiences will help her when she makes later choices. "I like talking about politics, current global affairs and stuff. We're going to Luxembourg in January for another Model UN. That will also give me much more information I can carry into the future."
The opportunity to talk to students from different countries was part of what Ella Doyle describes as a 'really cool' experience. "Everyone mixed together, and I made friends with people from Luxembourg, Spain, America, from all over the place. It was new for most people, and it was cool to hear about their school life, their home life, and the different languages and cultures."
Staying with a Polish family was one of the unique aspects for James Meehan, and he says it gave him an insight into the customs, routines, and everyday life of people in Poland. "Aside from this, I made fantastic friends from across Europe and beyond, and learned about the cultural, educational and societal differences between life in Ireland and other countries." The MUN itself, he says, introduced him to the world of international affairs and politics. "Although the conference only lasted three days, the experience allowed me to understand better my strengths and weaknesses in public speaking, debating, collaborative work and cooperation skills. It really stimulated a love for this type of work."
Michalina Nikelewska, whose family background is Polish, was impressed with how everyone at the event helped each other. "I thought it was going to be really stressful, but everyone there was understanding, and most people were doing it for the first time." In her designated role of speaking about women in poverty in Ethiopia, she says it was hard to find out in advance what the official policies were there. "Every website says something different about it, so it was hard to pick one that was true. But I learned enough for the conference." Her highlight takeaway from ToMUN was meeting people from different backgrounds. “We all made friends in our committee and had our own little groups of people.”
A third-year student, Jan Keating, was the youngest in the CPC delegation. His best memories are of meeting people from different cultural backgrounds and sharing common interests. "I found people I could talk with about my hobbies, and they were also very friendly to others.” As a representative of Kenya in the ToMUN, he said the country is quite developed, and there was enough material to research. His new companions also impressed him as having future political potential. "I definitely think a lot of those there were very sensible ... if they were in parliament, I'm sure they could do sensible things."
Teacher Niamh Thorpe, who runs the recently established MUN Club in CPC, says the trip to Poland was an excellent opportunity for the Irish students to meet peers from around the world. "Especially having the Ukrainian and the Palestinian students there opened their eyes. Speaking to them and their teachers brought home that these are real situations we were dealing with." The MUN Club is an after-class activity on Mondays, and Ms Thorpe says that, having attended two MUN trips this year, the college is more aware of what is required and the terminology used. "Many European schools have been doing this for years, and hopefully we'll get to their level."
Students attending the MUNs will be navigating, and in some cases running, a very challenging world in the future. The MUN initiative is a valuable introduction to that.
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| Debriefing back in CPC: Ms Thorpe, Ruth, Eleanor, Ella, Michalina and Jan (James was unavoidably absent). |
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