Have you ever imagined being the person who shapes international politics, thus the course of history? Some CityU students obviously have tried that out by joining the “Model United Nations” (MUN)! At MUN, students from different universities represent the positions and values of designated countries, negotiating and drafting resolutions after exhilarating debates. This year, 2 CityU delegations were sent to Singapore and Germany for large-scale MUN conferences.

Gaining valuable skills for career and lifelong learning

Gurpreet Kaur (Marketing, Year 3), who played the role of Germany’s representative in Yale – NUS Asia Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2016 in Singapore, reflected on her experience of being a “diplomat”, “We put ourselves in the shoes of the authority and take reference from real events, charters, and news to justify our nation’s position. Thinking on this macro level makes us global citizens!” Equipped with excellent analytical and writing skills, Gurpreet secured the award of “The Best Position Paper” at the conference.

Another student from CityU, Ali Al-Abbasi (Engineering, Year 3) dealt with the European refugee crisis in Muenster University Internatioal Model United Nations Conference (MUIMUN) 2016 in Germany. He has become more confident about his ability to collaborate with people from various parts of the world. According to Ali, “Cross-cultural communication was employed as the way of lobbying and networking during the conference, which helped me push for my resolution.”

Perfect platform for cultural exchange

Marthinus Strydom (Business Administration, Year2), who participated in multiple MUN conferences in the previous year, believed that he has learnt a lot from the debates, “The MUN experience really enriched my cultural sensitivity. Individuals in my committees were from various countries including Morocco, Netherlands, Albania, Armenia, Turkey and even Mauritius! I learnt that it is key to understand their ideas before trying to impose mine when dealing with people from different backgrounds.”

Representing Greece and Turkey respectively, Marthinus and Ali were awarded the honour of “Outstanding Delegate” because of their exceptional performance in MUIMUN.

MUN is undoubtedly an intellectual and cultural exchange platform with ever-growing popularity around the world. Looking to develop your global perspectives? Don’t miss out this excellent opportunity!

Participants of MUN work together to find solutions to the world’s most pressing problems such as war, climate change and cyber-security.

Delegates from CityU

CityU students played the role of diplomats of various countries.