Many delegates from the SIS MUN club attended Global Education City Model United Nations (GECMUN), which took place from Feb. 26-27 for about five hours per day. Despite the initial hopeful signs of a first in-person international conference since the pandemic, GECMUN turned virtual due to many COVID-19 variants jeopardizing the return to normalcy. 

“I was disappointed because this is the last MUN conference in high school and, potentially, the last one ever,” Michelle Heo (12), a senior MUN member, said. “Virtual conferences have their advantages. It is more comfortable to stay home, and it also means we do not have to wear full formal attire. As I got used to the virtual setting, the experience ended up being enjoyable.” 

GECMUN was extremely unique in that it applied a  twist to procedures that SIS delegates were used to from prior experience at different conferences. As opposed to being assigned to UN committees, delegates were divided into different crisis committees, and some delegates represented figures or organizations rather than nations.

For many delegates, it was their first time being able to debate with UNA-USA procedures, which served as an opportunity for them to try new things and branch out their skillset as a delegate. As many inexperienced delegates took part in the conference, this unusual system served as a learning opportunity. 

SIS took home the Best Delegation award along with multiple individual Honourable Mention, Outstanding Delegate, and Best Delegate awards. All SIS advisors and delegates were pleased with the active participation and passion witnessed during the debate. 

“I was a member of the crisis committee, so the format and procedures were completely different from what I had experienced in SEOMUN,” Wonju Lee (12), a senior MUN member, said. “As GECMUN is relatively new compared to SEOMUN, I felt that SEOMUN was more organized because the chairs were more experienced.” 

Lee added, “Overall, the conference was an uplift to the MUN community during Covid, and I saw lots of newer delegates from SIS improve due to the meaningful preparation sessions we had leading up to the conference.”