Article by Alex Lauricio and Arabella Balderama

Political Issues. Military Disputes. Nationwide Sanctions. These were but a few of the main points tackled in the several roundtable discussions held in the recently concluded Ateneo-Lasalle Model United Nations (ATLAS MUN) held last May 12-13. Inviting delegates from all around the country, this would mark the first time that ATLAS will be held onsite, after months of planning. At last, ATLAS!

With the theme, “Charting New Horizons, Uniting Across Borders,” ATLAS is a collaboration between the Model United Nations (MUN) organizations of their schools, Animo-Model United Nations Manila (AniMUN) and Ateneo Senior High School Model United Nations (ASHS MUN). This is the second ATLAS MUN conference and the first time it is held onsite on Atenean grounds.

Meanwhile, for its online participants, ATLAS was streamed live using Zoom, allowing contestants from different regions of the country to join their discussions. The onsite program consisted of several plenary sessions, committee sessions, and an awarding ceremony for the event.

A Glimpse into MUN

MUN offers student-delegates a chance to solve pressing issues through diplomacy and cooperation. Simulating scenarios found in the roundtable discussions within the United Nations (UN), these conferences give the students the skills and experience necessary to expand their horizons and see different perspectives based on cultural beliefs, economic situations, and political conflict.

Delegates represented countries that were under the UN. During their respective committee sessions, students took turns speaking at the podium, bringing awareness to specific issues their respective committees were trying to address. 

These committee sessions were handled by the chair members of the committee – lovingly called, “dais.” These people open the floor for the delegates to bring up issues that they’ll discuss. This will be followed by a voting procedure, and a 50% + 1 vote is required before they decide on what issue to tackle.

Apart from the issue itself, there are also two specific kinds of sessions within each committee. A moderated session is when the dais oversee the discussions of the delegates, and often manifests when the students take turns giving their speeches on the podium. Unmoderated sessions meanwhile, are lengthy segments where each delegate is free to discuss matters with other delegates. For this, the dais do not know what the discussions are, and the flow of information is limited to the delegate and who they choose to talk to.

The Roundtable

The loud strike of the gavel started and ended a diverse set of conversations – tackling critical issues around the world, ATLAS MUN was divided into four committees – UNDP, USC, HCC, and UNESCO.

Designed for intermediate delegates, the UNDP is the premiere committee of the UN aimed at developing good governance and democracy, focusing on topics such as policymaking to combat corruption and the promotion of inclusive decision-making to ensure that the minority is accounted for.

The UNSC, on the other hand, is a step up, focused on tackling issues of military relevance and power dynamics. Their discussion revolved around de-escalating the tensions in the Korean Peninsula and controlling the growth of the military-industrial complex, which is the relationship between a nation’s arms producer and arms industry with the military.

Meanwhile, the Historical Crisis Committee (HCC) gives participants the opportunity to step back in time and tackle important historical issues as if they were there. This ATLAS MUN, the discussion revolved around the Boxer Rebellion – an uprising in China in the late 18th century spearheaded by monks who fought with their fists, gaining the moniker of “boxer.”

Last but not least, UNESCO tackles issues prevalent in culture, and the natural sciences. Giving developing countries the spotlight this year, they tackled the topics of promoting science and research in less developed countries, and cultural appropriation and racism.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Security Council (UNSC) acted as the two committees that led the discussion of the onsite participants, with members of the UNSC situating themselves in 12-Sullivan, while the UNDP stayed in the Black Box Theater. Online participants, on the other hand, joined either the Historical Crisis Committee (HCC) or the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Going Beyond Borders

Roundtable discussions like these facilitate the growth of participants’ diplomatic skills and foster an environment of collaboration, cooperation, and camaraderie – also known as the 3Cs of ATLAS. These exercises arm the students with relevant diplomatic skills and experience within the field, as well as allow them to live true to ATLAS’ theme, “Charting New Horizons.”

Students are able to gain new and niche cultural and political insight into the world around them, which further motivates them towards social change. This, combined with a supportive community of like-minded delegates, solidifies MUN as one of the premiere avenues to exercise diplomacy, camaraderie. By raising awareness of these issues, these students are given the chance to bring up conversations that extend past the podium.