Woodstock hosts MUN Conference

Global issues such as India/China/Tibet relations, Himalayan earthquakes, and global warming in Australia were some of the topics of note as Woodstock School hosted its fifth annual Model United Nations (MUN) Conference. The WS-MUN was held from Friday 9th - Sunday 11th of April, and featured more than 300 students from Woodstock and six other schools from India and abroad.

Students representing different countries around the world as well as burning global issues attended formal debates at various locations around the school campus. The guest speaker for the conference was Mr. Tenzin Thakla, the spokesperson/secretary for His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The conference also considered an Emergency Situation which was 'The Great Himalayan Earthquake' The UNEP passed a very well-rounded resolution which was debated and passed once again in the General Assembly.

The schools that participated were:

• American Embassy School, New Delhi
• Mercedes Benz Int'l School, Pune
• Delhi Public School (DPS) - R.K. Puram, New Delhi
• Delhi Public School (DPS) - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
• Selaqui World School, Dehradun (As Observers)
• Welham Boys School, Dehradun
• Woodstock School

The Secretary General of this conference was Han Sol Lee (Grade 12). Deputy Secretary Generals were Maynica Sachdev and Shirly Samuel (Grade 11).

The conference consisted of 6 committees:

• Human Rights Commission
• ECOSOC
• UN Environmental Program
• Security Council
• ECOFIN (Grade 8)
• SOCHUM (Grade 7)
• PRESS Corp.

The staff MUN Coordinator was Dr. Tamara Cavanna with the help of Mrs. Sue Swanson (ex-MUN Coordinator)

Maynica Sachdev, the deputy secretary general of the conference, reports:

"What I gathered was a valuble experience from the conference was the question of China and Tibet. The guest speaker, Mr. Thakla cleared out the many misconceptions of this issue. Woodstock is a school with students coming from various backgrounds and interests and this issue was discussed by several of the students."

"The question Of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh also came up after the 'Emergency Situation' of the 'Great Himalayan Earthquake.' This involved an intense debate among the Delegates of Uganda, China and the Embassador of India."