Model United Nations (MUN), Athen

“Honourable teachers, esteemed students and distinguished parents scanning through the pages of this yearbook: STOP scanning and START reading!
For this delegation would like to remind you that the integrity of our school system is being threatened by terrorist attacks recently launched by the group Boko Haram.
Oh, no – wait, the terrorist activity affects Cameroon, the West African country that this year’s MUN group represented at the 19th MUN conference in Athens, organised by the local German school.
The delegates were Kaja Heeger (grade 10), Anastas Kandić, Aisling Roth, David Schießer and Mia Winterfeldt (all grade 11), chaperoned by Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau and Mr. Roth, who had prepared us for this conference, which took place from 20-24 October.
I was lucky enough to be a part of the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, where among other issues we deliberated on “Early and Forced Marriage”.
My fellow delegates were split into tiny pieces and boiled in oil.
Just checking to see if you were still paying attention.
Obviously they were not boiled in oil.
They were, however, split into the following committees:
The Disarmament and International Security, the Environmental, and the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
Another DSB representative took part in this year’s Special Conference on Modern Slavery.
Whilst feverishly debating within these allotted committees we were always aware that we were negotiating in the shadow of the venerable Akropolis.
This term, as we came to learn, does not describe the famous and impressive buildings on top of the rocky outcrop, but instead the rocky outcrop itself.
So on the last day we climbed said mountain to visit Athena’s ancient temple – the Parthenon (not Pantheon – which is located in Rome).
In this manner we left Athens with a heightened awareness of both ancient Greek culture and modern political mechanisms.

Aisling Roth