The Peoria Academy Model United Nations Club.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

This year, on April 25th, Peoria Academy hosted a Model United Nations (MUN) Conference for various middle school students in and around Illinois. This conference was separated into four different committees, to discuss solutions for worldwide issues. MUN is a wonderful experience for all middle school students.

What is MUN? What are our goals and how does it affect our daily lives?

As we have briefly mentioned, MUN is an educational club where students come together as one and discuss issues occurring all around the world. Students discuss issues that are dependent upon the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are goals that are targeted to take effect and put into action to improve our world. There are deadlines that have been set for these goals, and some have already brought improvement to a few countries. The goals that the conference is focusing on are: Sustainable Cities & Communities, Responsible Consumption & Production, Peace Justice & Strong Institutions, and Decent Work & Economic Growth. You can find more information about these topics on the sdgs.un.org website. During MUN we have to think of solutions to real-life problems, which is quite difficult especially when your country lacks power or resources. This creates an environment for us to all work together to create a difference in our communities.

The four committees at the conference will be the UN goal Sustainable Cities & Communities, Responsible Consumption & Production, Peace Justice & Strong Institutions, and Decent Work & Economic Growth. Peoria Academy hosts this conference annually, providing a variety of committees each year, all from the 17 UN goals. These committees were chosen by our MUN club because they found these topics most important and relevant in current day life.

What exactly is the UN? The United Nations is an organization with representatives from different countries that help citizens of the world. This worldwide organization has helped numerous countries and regions in the world. The UN has drafted resolutions from ending wars to saving human rights across the globe. One of the largest resolutions ever passed by the UN was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This was drafted in 1948 to help people of all backgrounds be considered free. This resolution states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. The UN has been a very crucial part of your life whether you realize it or not.

Joining MUN improves our speaking, reasoning, and writing skills. Model United Nations encourages students to interact and communicate with others, it can improve your public speaking and negotiating abilities. It is recommended that students begin MUN at a young age, as it will prepare them for the future on writing, engaging with strangers, researching, etc.

Therefore, we encourage your students to join a club of MUN, as it can teach them valuable lessons. MUN has provided many great improvements to our nations, and without our global United Nations, our world would not be how it is today. Hopefully, MUN will teach children all around the world the skills they will need to be our future leaders.

— By Ayeza Hamid, Emelia Stevenson, Ammini Guzzardo