From March 14th to 17th, ten USAP Community School students attended ZiMUN, a three-day Model United Nations conference held at Harare International School. These students were the first delegates to represent USAP at a Model UN Conference in the school’s history. At the conference, students represented various nations and tackled some of the world’s most pressing issues: climate change, human rights violations in the mining industry, censorship, and brain drain. The three days were filled with research, writing, and, of course, debating. There were over 200 students in attendance, from schools all over Zimbabwe. Despite this being their first conference, USAP students held their own against students with years of MUN experience.
USAP students represented Botswana, Denmark, Germany, and Namibia in the African Union, Human Rights Council, World Health Organization, and the Commission on Science and Technology for Development. At our weekly Model UN meetings at school, students had opportunities to sharpen their debate skills and get more comfortable with public speaking. In preparation for the conference, students researched and wrote position papers and operative clauses. In their position papers, students outlined their nations’ history with an opinion on the problem at hand. They used their research skills to propose detailed fact-based written solutions to multiple challenges the international community faces. The conference was an excellent glimpse into the world of public policy and international relations.
The MUN conference proved to be a serious, but surprisingly fun, environment to improve public speaking and leadership skills. Although preparing for and attending ZiMUN was hard work, students found it rewarding and eagerly await attending another conference next term.. MUN allows students to collaborate with and befriend other young people from diverse backgrounds to solve real-world problems.
We give a huge thank you to Harare International School for being excellent hosts and Mr. Lesedi (USAPCS 2023 Alum and 2024 TA), who has been an amazing mentor for the USAP Model United Nations Club!
