Club Showcase: Model UN
Liam Lavoie
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This is an interview with Michael Snarr, teacher supervisor of the Model United Nations here at LDH.
Me: What is the model UN?
Mr.Snarr: Basically, it’s a simulation of the United Nations. You go to weekly conferences and represent a country, do research on that country and its point of views. Then you go to the conference, and you have a general assembly, there's a security council like the UN has, and you discuss different topics. Right now, a popular topic would be the war in Ukraine. A popular one last year was Covid, and we also do historical conferences, so you could be dealing with something from WW1 or WW2. Sometimes we even do fictional scenarios. One time we did a whole meeting on Harry Potter. But the structure of it is like the UN. It’s formal, conversation, debate. It’s very structured, but it’s a lot of fun and interesting for kids who are interested in world politics.
Me: Is it a large time commitment?
Mr. Snarr: We meet once a week. In the past, we met at lunchtime when we had longer lunches. This year we’re meeting on Mondays after school, and it’s as much of a commitment as you want it to be. Some students come every week and are quite committed, while others come once in a while. The big things are different conferences. The big conference in Ottawa is CATMUN, which is the model UN put on by the University of Ottawa for UOttawa, so it’s run by UOttawa students, and it happens every year. The last two years were virtual, but it’s normally in person. Some other schools run model UN conferences just to practice for CATMUN, but it’s a worldwide thing. When I worked overseas, our students would go to Beijing, Jordan, and Egypt.
Me: So they traveled all over the world?
Mr. Snarr: Well, if your model UN club is that big, it’s that popular, and you have the funding, so, yes, you can. But for our club in Ottawa, we focus on the Ottawa conferences only.
Me: How long does each session last?
Mr. Snarr: I usually cap them at around an hour. The official conferences themselves, like the UOttawa conference, have one evening of opening ceremonies, a guest speaker, and then they usually have two days of conferences.
Me: Does it require any time outside school?
Mr. Snarr: Well, you need to be willing to research your country’s position, where they stand against the other countries, so it requires some research and prep before you attend.
I also interviewed a member of the club, who shall remain anonymous.
Me: What do you think about Model UN?
Student: I find it interesting for people who like to debate, but also people who like politics in general, and are interested in current events and want to debate about that. It’s interesting to see what people believe, and to know that there are people like you who you can talk to about those subjects.
Me: So, it also introduces kids into the world of politics, right?
Student: Yes. Not just that, but you learn about various things, as you research topics, right? As an example, for this conference, I had to research a lot about Russia’s economy, which sounds boring, but you learn a lot of interesting stuff.
Me: Okay. Thank you for your time.
That’s my interview about the LDH Model UN Club. If you are interested in learning more about the club, contact Mr. Snarr.
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