ShawMUN 2018

Developing leadership and building consensus, Shawnigan students have successfully concluded the most ambitious Model UN event in the program's history.

ShawMUN South 2018 landed at the Victoria Convention Centre, April 6-7, marking the first time Shawnigan's annual MUN conference has been held off campus.

This year's event featured upwards of 350 delegates from across the country, nearly 100 of them representing Shawnigan Lake School. Future leaders contributed to eight different committees, with topics ranging from crisis in the South China Sea to artificial intelligence in the workforce to an imaginary world envisioned in the television show Stranger Things. Focusing on Canada's response to the global refugee crisis, this year's House of Commons delegation even had the privilege of debating on the floor of the B.C. Legislature.

"We made a really courageous decision to move to downtown Victoria, and it really paid off," says this year's Secretary General, Halle C. "The contracting of services and all the moving parts created lots of logistical challenges, but we've had a ton of positive feedback." Halle stresses how valuable Model UN events are for students learning about the world and cooperating with other people who may have different viewpoints. She adds, "For me, I really learned how well people can work together when trying to produce a common goal."

For more, visit the ShawMUN South 2018 website.

 

While dozens of Shawnigan students accrued valuable leadership experience during the ShawMUN event, one student has been contributing on an international scale.

In February, Grade 11 student Uma T. was selected from 1500 applicants to attend the annual United Nations Youth Assembly in New York City.

Organized around the central theme of Innovation and Collaboration for a Sustainable World, Uma's role included speaking at sessions, meeting panelists from international organizations such as the World Bank, and even interviewing American diplomats representing the Trump administration.

Uma has attended a handful of conferences over the past several years, but refers to the UN visit as "one of the greatest moments of my high school career."