By Manal Zaynah Husain (Lower Sixth)

On Friday 16th June, Bedford Girls' School successfully hosted its inaugural Model United Nations (MUN) Debate, welcoming participants from Kimbolton School, Bedford School and Bedford Modern School. 

The event featured four committees: UNHCR, UNESCO, Crisis, and UNODC. Despite many delegates being first-timers, their debating skills proved to be exceptional. While initially nervous, all of them were outstanding in their committees by the end. This was evident from the lively discussions during breaks and the enthusiastic cheers echoing from different rooms. The students truly relished the experience, new friendships were made, even by countries that were very unexpected. 

I had the privilege of chairing the UNODC committee, where we focused on drafting resolutions to address illicit firearms trafficking. Our committee successfully passed all three resolutions, a testament to the exceptional compatibility and passion demonstrated by my delegates. 

At the end of the conference the Chairs from each committee gave awards to the delegates who impressed them the most, in a range of categories. I, along with the other Chairs found this a very difficult task as the level of engagement and participation from the delegates was fantastic. The winners from Bedford Girls’ School were:

UNESCO

Avleen Jandu (Delegate of Mexico): Best Delegate

Aadya Betadpur (Delegate of Venezuela): Best Position Paper

Danae Karavagellis (Delegate of Albania): Best Diplomat

UNODC

Sonia Erwig (Delegate of Venezuela): Best Delegate

Grace Briers (Delegate of Rwanda): Honourable Mention

UNHCR

Sanvi Singh (Delegate of Albania): Best Position Paper

Sophie Wesson (Delegate of Turkey): Honourable Mention

Crisis Committee

Haneha Kaur (Delegate of DPRK): Honourable Mention

Mitatli Misra (Delegate of South Korea): Honourable Mention

None of this would have been possible without the exceptional organisational skills of our General Secretary, Ella Allen (BGS, Lower Sixth). Ella successfully orchestrated collaboration with other schools, ensuring all deadlines were met and ensuring the smooth execution of the event. 

For a glimpse into the exciting day, please visit the photo gallery of the event here.