PGSMUN '09 Review

The United Nations, originally the official name for the Allies which liberated Europe from Nazi rule, the brainchild of FDR, and ultimately a resounding success, so far achieving its primary aim of preventing another World War. Presently 192 member States debate the questions of the day, Global Warming, Terrorism, Economic Credit Crunch, the shift in Balance of Power, Flu pandemics. On 3rd and 4th July, it was Portsmouth Grammar’s turn to simulate the work of the UN as we held our first ever PGS MUN Conference.

The conference had a buzz from the start. 70 pupils from local schools attended an opening ceremony, ready to go to their committees (Security Council, Political, Economic and Social, Human Rights) to debates on topics as hard hitting as Human Trafficking, Capital Punishment, North Korean Nuclear ambitions, Enhanced Interrogation, and of course, the Global recession. The Brazilian delegation made up of four Year 12s, Andrew Payne, Richard Cha, Gordon Cree and Erik Vilaca, taking the lead and presenting a resolution to each of their committees. A nervous start for most delegates, many of whom had not attended the weekly MUN events at the school or trips to other conferences, but they all soon found their stride under the watchful eye of our strong chairs and co-chairs.

A fine spread followed as delegates lobbied hard to gain allies ready for the resolutions to be presented the following day. As alliances had been signed and new friendships made, delegates, staff and parents made their way to the DRT for a fantastic talk from the Director of International Relations at SOAS, Dr Dan Plesch. ‘The Origins and Future of the UN’ being the topic for discussion, inspiring well over 30 minutes of high quality questions for Dr Plesch, with questions posed to the speaker getting as far fetched as ‘What should happen to Antarctica?’ and ‘ If one country should be leader of the world, which should it be?’ Many thanks to Dr Plesch for his time and efforts in what was a thought provoking address.

Morning comes and delegates arrived early to begin the series of committee based debates they had lobbied so hard to get on the agenda the previous evening. Drama unfolded as the Chairs managed to blend the fun role play and various declarations of war with some of the highest quality debating I have seen at MUN conferences country wide.

Then it came, the emergency debate. Delegates returned together to hear some shocking news which they were charged with dealing with. As the press release from PGSMUN Policy Administrator, Ian Pethick, suggests, a truly global and far reaching problem. A working lunch as delegations from the 20 countries being represented formulated their plan of action. Fantastic debates followed, scattered with amusing proposals and showboating from the delegations, culminating in the delegation from France walking out of the debate. A satisfactory resolution for all was passed after close to 2 hours of discussion and you shall be pleased to know the flu has been contained and the cucumbers are available for use.

As is customary, the event closed with an awards ceremony. Each committee giving awards for Most Amusing delegate, Most Active Delegate, Highly Commended Delegates, and Best Delegate, with Michael Roderick (Chad), Max Jewell (Chad), Robert Smith (India) and Crispin Smith (Saudi Arabia) winning the Best Delegate award for each of their committees. The chairs also awarded the ‘Best Junior Delegation’, going to the outstanding team from Springfield School, representing The Russian Federation. Best overall Delegation was deservedly awarded to the team representing Chad (Michael Roderick, Max Jewell, Chris Hall, Kieran Keel, all in Year 10).

A fantastic first conference for PGS. Huge thanks need to go to the Committee Chairs (Andrew Furness, Fergus Hoskyns, Phoebe Eldrid, Hayley Smith, Matthew Gibbard, Georgie Melville, Joe Mullis, and Callum Treacy). Very special thanks should go to Ian Pethick who was exceptional in his chairing of the emergency debate and the excitement he created in debate as a result. As Matthew Gibbard, the PGSMUN Secretary General asked delegates on the Saturday morning ‘Do you want to be like the UN, or have the UN be like you?’, and delegates from all schools certainly answered the question in emphatic fashion, being real leaders in debate, diplomacy, compromise, and internationalism.