CHS Hosts 23rd Annual Model UN Event
Human rights in the Sudanese Civil War, global child poverty and the refugee crisis in Afghanistan were all on the agenda at CHS’s 23rd annual Model UN event.
Over 180 CHS students joined almost 500 others from schools around the UK at the weekend-long MUNCH (Model United Nations at Cheadle Hulme School) conference.
One of the largest and longest established Model UN events in the country, it is largely organised through the hard work of CHS pupils.
Participating schools travelled from as far as Portsmouth and London and also included a strong local contingent, including Altrincham Grammar Schools for Boys and Girls, Cheadle Hulme High and Manchester Islamic Grammar.
With students from 26 schools representing 63 countries, 30 debates were held over the weekend.
CHS students passionately voiced the views of Malta, Canada and Dominican Republic and took part in sessions of both the Human Rights Council and Security Council.
Each year, over 400,000 people from primary and secondary schools, sixth form colleges and universities participate in a Model United Nations event. By role-playing meetings like the General Assembly, participants get hands-on experience of how the UN works. They research, debate and attempt to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems just like the real thing.
CHS has been running its popular MUNCH conference since 2001, to help young people gain a deeper understanding of real-world conflicts and global issues. Keynote speakers have included Old Waconians Lord Dubs and Nick Robinson
The event aligns with CHS’s mission to foster connections, embrace differences, and inspire lifelong contributions to our world.
Over the summer, CHS achieved the conditional Investors in Diversity for Schools standard. This achievement follows a review earlier this year by the National Centre for Diversity. They looked at all of our practices in relation to fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement (FREDIE).
Though MUNCH is an annual event, CHS keeps the global spirit of the UN alive all year round with weekly lunchtime debates, three yearly mini-MUNCH sessions for Junior School pupils and a summer day conference in June. CHS students also travel to around a dozen other Model UN conferences each year.
Lee Richardson, CHS Head, said: “Model United Nations is a hugely popular activity at Cheadle Hulme School, with hundreds of pupils aged 10-18 actively involved.
“The MUN framework encourages young people to engage with global issues in a very positive way, gaining deep understanding of issues such as immigration, poverty, conflict and human rights, whilst also grappling with the complexity of finding realistic and sustainable solutions to those problems.
“The best part of it is that the participants gain understanding of a range of perspectives on every issue. They have to look at each problem through the lens of people living in other countries, potentially with very different life experiences and views of how the world works. This is where the real educational value lies and to do this well, the pupils need to be well informed, but also flexible and open to new ideas.
“MUN is a huge part of the pupils’ experience here at Cheadle Hulme School; it develops a deep understanding of the challenging issues that we face as a global community and empowers the next generation of young people to make a positive difference. I’m in no doubt that some of our current pupils will build on their MUN experience and go on to careers in which they can really make that difference in a very practical way.”
Maggie Evans & Judi Shand, MUN Coordinators, said: “MUNCH truly embodies the Waconian values. The conferences demand immense effort and resilience, with all of us working tirelessly over the weekend to bring it all together.
“Compassion plays a key role, as delegates must be respectful and considerate in committee discussions, whilst staying true to their assigned countries’ positions. Integrity is crucial, as Waconians are expected to research thoroughly and represent their countries with accuracy and honesty.”
