During the weekend of the 8th - 10th December, seven pupils from our school took part in the 12th Costeas-Geitonas Model United Nations (MUN) which this year had as its main theme ‘The Rise of Populism’. Our pupils acted as delegates of Turkey and the Republic of Korea in the Human Rights Committee, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, the Environmental Committee, the Disarmament Committee, the Economic and Social Council and the Special Conference on the Rise of Populism.
They discussed and debated topics as diverse as addressing the risks of cyber-terrorism, enhancing humanitarian assistance in times of conflict, ensuring access to healthcare for migrant populations, analysing the rise of populism as a threat to human rights or finding measures to counter hate speech.
MUN participation is very popular in our school and although this year only seven pupils took part, they were the most dedicated pupils to MUN ever attending, with one of them taking part on crutches and very bravely climbing up the many steps of Costeas-Geitonas school! As always our pupils made a noticeable presence in their Committees, with one of them being voted the best delegate of the Special Conference. The dedication of all our participants is remarkable since, as they describe it, they enjoy meeting other young people and learning a lot about world affairs through serious discussions on contemporary problems; and this became even more apparent in the way they have already started to prepare themselves for their next conference. Well done to all!
