Alleyn’s National MUN Conference

Alleyn’s National MUN conference took place on Saturday last week and involved over 40 Alleyn’s pupils and 110 students from other schools from in and around London. Delegates were treated to a masterclass in diplomacy from the distinguished diplomat Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles who spoke on ‘Israel and the Arabs: the agony and the ecstasy’” describing his first-hand accounts of working as British Ambassador to Israel, as well as recounting the history of the troubled region. It was such a privilege to hear him speak, and we were all blown away with his perceptive take on the issues, and his skill and tact in dealing with a such a sensitive topic. 

Delegates debating a variety of issues ranging from post-war military proliferation in Iraq, healthcare in conflict zones and exploitative labour. They also had the opportunity to discuss and debate the Vietnam war in our Historical Committee. We were impressed with the standard of debate in all the committees and were excited to announce on Monday the winner of the House MUN competition: Roper’s, with Brown’s once again narrowly missing out on pole position. As Esmé Willits-King, the Secretary-General, noted, “Throughout the entire conference, and all the topics, we were all continuously reminded of the power of MUN to allow us to engage with current events in a meaningful and direct way.” 

After an intense morning and early afternoon of debates, pupils had the opportunity to take part in a slightly bonkers General Assembly in which a global emergency had emerged: that the internet had been turned off by an evil billionaire. If ever there was evidence that Model UN is a pupil-led competition, then this “emergency” was surely it! While supervising staff remained calm and composed (having existed prior to the internet!), there was pandemonium and panic amongst the delegates. 

Delegates ran around the room exchanging ideas, gaining signatories, and convincing each other of their respective plans. Ultimately, we debated many solutions but settled on a uniquely convincing one. Hungary took global power, and under their leadership the UN built a water slide across Europe, neutralised the evil billionaire, and promoted renewable energy sources to create a new internet! 

We hope all delegates enjoyed the event, and it is with a tinge of sadness that after this event we say goodbye to our current crop of pupil leaders Esmé Willits-King, Skye Richarz and Laurence Flower, who have brought so much to the club over the last 12 months. After October half-term we will welcome new pupil leaders whose next big challenge will be our international event taking place in February this year.  

Esmé Willits-King (Secretary-General) 

Dr Matthew J Greetham (Director of MUN)