For their third conference of the year, 15 Model United Nations Club members traveled to the 57th North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) Conference at Georgetown University from Feb. 13 to 15. Convention participants acted as delegates from various countries, debating topics that ranged from protection of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to climate change, in General Assembly and Specialty Committee meetings. The following weekend, 11 club members attended GauchoMUN X, a regional conference at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Club President Kate Konvitz ’20, who received an Outstanding Delegate award at NAIMUN, said the club decided to attend the Georgetown convention because of its reputation as one of the highest-level and most well-operated events.

“We chose this conference because it’s one of the world’s most challenging and because there were some really good committee options,” Konvitz said. “I also attended this particular convention sophomore year and loved it.”

Participants praised by organizers

Several other participants received awards at the conclusion of NAIMUN: Daniel Ju ’22, Dylan Field ’21 and Chronicle Assistant A&E Editor Celine Park ’21 were presented with Verbal Commendation awards, and Emma Walther ’21 received the World Bank Innovators’ Award.

Walther said she joined the delegation to the Georgetown convention because of her positive experience at last year’s UCLA Model UN Conference and because she hoped to gain a deeper understanding of international relations in a familiar setting.

“I decided to go because I thought it would be an incredible opportunity, and I absolutely love Washington D.C.,” Walther said. “I learned so much, talking to people from around the world and discussing major issues of today’s societies. It was also fun being able to bond with other members of the Model UN team.”

Lessons from Model UN

Ju said he also attended the UC Santa Barbara conference so that he could sample a new debating style at a less competitive convention and because he simply enjoys the trips.

“[GauchoMUN] was an opportunity for me to try a different style of MUN in a more relaxed environment. Model UN conferences are something I really look forward to, so it was just another conference for me to go have fun in,” Ju said. “Whether or not it’s a Model UN conference, it’s always eye-opening to talk to different people because there might be a different perspective or solution you’ve never thought of.”