Model UN: 15th to 17th January 2010 Nicosia 

Every year, the International School of Paphos takes part in the Mediterranean Model United Nations Conference in Nicosia. This time, ten students from Years 11, 12 and 13 took on the role of ambassadors representing Russia, Ukraine and Finland. They had researched globally important issues such as long range missiles, drug trafficking, piracy, the problems in Afghanistan/Pakistan, nuclear power, the “brain drain”, adoption of children from Less Economically Developed Countries or the protection of historic and archaeological artefacts. At the conference, they presented their draft resolutions to delegates from 16 other schools, honing their interpersonal and public speaking skills. Their teachers, Mrs. Gordes and Mr. Spies-Gordes, were very impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the young diplomats. One of the delegates summed up her experience like this: “It was a challenge, but I gained a lot of confidence and became more independent, which is a good preparation for the future.”

Here is an account of the Model UN experience by one of the delegates: Demetra Tofarides, Year 11

Participating in the Mediterranean Model United Nations was, I believe, a gratifying experience for all the students which participated. The weekend we spent in Nicosia at the conference was excellent, but the whole process of MEDI.M.U.N. began months earlier.
In October we began our preparation. We chose our topics and briefly analysed them. Later on, in November, we attended the MEDI.M.U.N. workshop. We were informed in detail about how MEDI.M.U.N. operates and were able to meet our chairpersons and other delegates. The hard work began after the workshop. We all put in a tremendous amount of effort in order to write up the best resolution possible.
Finally, in January, we attended the MEDI.M.U.N. conference. We spent three days there, during which we went through the process of lobbying, merging and debating. On the very first day, upon our arrival, we were greeted by our chairs and immediately began the process of lobbying. We exchanged resolutions, each searching for the pre-eminent delegates to merge with. Soon after, we began merging.
The following day, the debating procedure commenced. Each group presented their resolutions to the house and many debates, for and against, took place. Also, we were presented with a speech by the head of the Children’s Rights committee.
On the last day, all the delegates came together in the Plenary Session, to listen to and vote for the three resolutions which would then go through to the real United Nations. Following this, the Special Event and Security Council presented to us the work they had accomplishd the past two days. We concluded the conference with a speech by the Cyprus Minister of Health, Mr. Christos Patsalides .
This experience, from October all the way through to January, offered us a great deal. We learned to stay committed, when faced with difficulties and work requiring a great amount of effort. We also gathered courage and studied the art of public speaking. Mainly, we learned to work with others and, together, overcome obstacles thrown our way. Of course, all this would not have been possible without Mrs. Pieroua who helped us prepare for the conference and was behind us the whole way, and Mr. Spies-Gordes and Mrs. Gordes who assisted us at the conference and made sure we were all up and ready by 7am!