Baylor Model United Nations Team traveled to Japan over Thanksgiving break to compete in an international conference. Before the conference began, the team learned about Japanese culture and history, visiting Hiroshima and Kyoto. The NMUN-Japan conference was hosted by Kobe City University of Foreign Studies in Kobe, Japan. Two of the seven delegates, Chris and Isabella, are majoring in international studies. They graciously answered a few questions about their experience with the international conference and the Model UN program.

What was the most surprising thing you learned from the trip to Japan?

Isabella: The most surprising thing that I learned in Japan was the magnitude of the suffering caused by the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Although I have learned about this topic many times, the extent of the effects caused by the explosion cannot even begin to be described inside a classroom. We were given the opportunity to visit the Hiroshima memorial. It was incredibly moving to hear stories of survivors and persistence, and it was heartbreaking to understand what people were forced to endure. This memorial reminded me of the absolute importance we must place on bringing peace to our world because the best thing we, as future leaders, can do, is make sure there is never another Hiroshima.

Chris: The most surprising thing that I learned from Baylor’s MUN Japan trip was the dedication of students around the world to Model United Nations and international cooperation. It was easy for me to see in conferences like those in Washington DC that American students were willing to participate in these conferences, especially with the American focus on extracurricular clubs such as Mock Trial, National Honor Society, and so on. However, it was after seeing that the list of schools at the conference was a majority non-US schools, that I realized just how big this organization was to other schools outside of the US.

How did you prepare for the Model UN Conference? How was this one different from other conferences you’ve attended?

Isabella: For this conference, we made sure we researched our Member State’s (Kenya’s) position and history regarding the topics we were discussing. The availability to go to an international conference is a rare opportunity, so we each made sure to coordinate strategies with our partners, to be well-researched, and to show up confident and prepared to represent Baylor and the team well. This conference brought students from all over the world to collaborate and find solutions to global issues, and as a team, we made sure to put our best foot forward to be able to contribute to these solutions in the best way possible.

Chris: The most extensive part of preparation for the MUN conferences is research. We begin research, preferably before the semester starts, but definitely after the first day of class and continue that research until the day we leave for the conference. Our research focuses on finding the most fitting sources for the topic that we are assigned, before moving into writing a position paper. This position paper is submitted to the conference officials, as well as posted for all of the other delegations to see, so it needs to be really professional work. This conference was different from other conferences in that it had much more of a topic area associated with current events and the country that the conference was held in. I had the honor of representing Baylor in the committee on the Review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was of particular importance considering the current war in Ukraine and the threats of nuclear violence, as well as the presence of the conference less than 200 miles from Hiroshima and the site of the first use of a nuclear weapon in war. Most NMUN conferences in the US have larger committees that tend to be the focus of the conference, but they’re overall much broader.

Why did you join Model UN? How have you grown through this program? 

Isabella: I joined Model UN because I had done congressional debate during high school and was highly interested in politics. As I began working with the Model UN team, I came to love the importance they place on collaboration and inclusion when trying to solve global issues, which I had not seen much of previously. I believe that through this program, I have grown not only as a speaker and a delegate but also as a person. The individuals that make up the Model UN team are from a wide array of majors and value the importance of human rights, inclusivity, diversity, and collaboration. I believe that this club is one of the places on campus where you can come together with people you wouldn’t ever meet regularly; it allows you to form connections with others and truly come together to aim at making a difference in the world. Through my journey in Model UN, I have come to understand where I want to go in life and what direction I want to pursue in my career, and I owe that all to the team, our faculty advisor, and the program itself.

Chris: I joined Model UN after I switched from my original major in Astrophysics to International Studies and was looking for a way to immerse myself in the world of international politics, in a more hands-on way that you could in class. My classes in international relations are incredibly interesting, but it was all the more useful when I could take the concepts shown in them and apply them to how countries interacted on the world stage, or within regional groups. While I originally looking for an application of studies, what I stumbled upon was so much more. I found a group of friends from all walks of life and areas of study that pushed me to be the best person that I could be, as well as a group of mentors that showed me the depths of intricacy in preparing for a career in international relations. It is because of Model UN that I truly found a path forward outside of university and a setting to improve the skills required to succeed in that path forward. The combination of these has helped me become a more outgoing and confident person, while also showing me how to become more knowledgeable in my field on top of doing my best to be considerate of others.

Isabella Zarate (’25) is an International Studies and Environmental Studies double major from Katy, TX. She hopes to work in environmental policy in the United Nations in the future.

Chris Seifert (’24) is an International Studies major, with a minor in French and Italian, from Reno, Nevada. I’m currently studying American foreign policy and language, hoping to then earn a master’s degree in international relations before moving on to serving in the American Foreign Service.

The team is grateful for support received from (in alphabetical order): the Baylor Business Fellows Excellence Fund, the Center for Global Engagement, the College of Arts and Sciences, the department of Economics, the Department of Political Science, the Hankamer School of Business, the McBride Center for International Business, and the Program in International Studies.

Dr. Rebecca Flavin, Advisor
Baylor Model United Nations

Baylor Students Shine at NMUN-Japan

On November 18-28 seven members of Baylor’s Model United Nations Team traveled to Kobe, Japan to participate in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) Japan conference. Baylor’s team represented Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania in four committees that simulated the work of the United Nations General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, Security Council, and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Committee. The topics the students researched in advance and discussed at conference included:

• Promoting Mental Health and Improving Access to Care (GA);
• Adapting Energy Systems for Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation (GA);
• Addressing Food Security in a Globalized World (ECOSOC);
• Promoting Sustainable Economic Participation of Youth (ECOSOC);
• Practical Measures to Implement Article VI (NPT);
• Strengthening Measures for Nuclear Security (NPT);
• The Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SC); and
• Strengthening Women’s Role in Peacebuilding (SC).

At the conclusion of the conference, Baylor’s team was named an overall Outstanding Delegation, the highest team award given at Model UN conferences. In addition, every member of Baylor’s team received individual recognition with some delegates receiving multiple awards. The team received Outstanding Position Paper Awards in three out of the four committees in which it participated, recognizing research completed in advance of conference and received Outstanding Delegation Awards in three out of the four committees in which it participated in recognition of work done in committee at conference. In other words, the team won nearly every award it could possibly win at the conference! The full list of award winners is provided below, but more important than the awards the team brought home to Baylor was the exceptional educational experience afforded by the conference, which was just the second international conference held outside the U.S. Baylor students have attended.

More than 300 students from more than 40 universities from around the world participated in NMUN-Japan 2022, which was co-hosted by the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies (KCUFS). KCUFS students led the conference attendees on cultural visits to Kobe, Hiroshima, and Kyoto before the conference sessions officially began on Wednesday, November 23. The visit to Hiroshima was especially important, given the conference’s focus on topics related to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as well as nuclear disarmament. In Hiroshima, the delegates visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome, Children’s Peace Monuments, and the Peace Memorial Museum, which is dedicated to documenting the horrors of nuclear weapons and advocating for nuclear non-proliferation. The cultural experience also included a moving testimony from Ms. Ogura Keiko, a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, who shared her first-hand account of the events of the day and the aftermath. Student guides from KCUFS taught the NMUN delegates how to make origami paper cranes, which are a symbol of peace that has a special meaning for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park where there are displays of thousands of paper cranes made by students from around the world. The nearly 1,000 paper cranes made by Baylor students and others attending the conference will be added to the peace display.

The conference plenary sessions were especially enriching for our students and included a panel discussion on Sustainable Peace moderated by Mr. Tetsuo Kondo, who is the Director of the Representation Office in Tokyo of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and provided perspectives from individuals who work for the UN, NGOs, as well as businesses and others in the private sector. The Opening Ceremony featured welcome remarks delivered remotely by Setsuko Thurlow, the 2017 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Thurlow is a survivor of the August 1945 atomic bomb in Hiroshima, and in her remarks to the NMUN-Japan students she reiterated the heightened importance of nuclear non-proliferation in the context of the current war in Ukraine. The conference’s closing session remarks from Izumi Nakamistu, the UN Under-Secretary General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, charged the students to take the lessons they learned at the conference and apply them in their professions as the next generation of leaders working to promote peace and sustainability. Baylor’s team left the conference energized and excited to make their mark on the world around them.

Baylor’s Model UN team would not have had this amazing opportunity without the generous financial support it received from departments across the university. The team is grateful for support received from:

• the Baylor Business Fellows Excellence Fund,
• the Center for Global Engagement,
• the College of Arts and Sciences,
• the department of Economics,
• the Department of Political Science,
• the Hankamer School of Business,
• the McBride Center for International Business, and
• the Program in International Studies.

This conference marks just the mid-point in an exciting year for our team. In February eight students will participate in the Texas Model United Nations Conference (TexMUN) in Austin, Texas, representing the United States, Poland, and Kenya. In April, sixteen students will represent Poland at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York; team auditions for the New York conference will take place in late February.

Outstanding Delegation Team Photos

 

Individual Award Winners

Outstanding Position Paper Award Winners

GA: Isabella Zarate (Assistant Head Delegate, Sophomore, International Studies & Environmental Studies) and Izzy De La Hoz Estrada (Junior, Math)

ECOSOC: Omar Islam (Junior, Economics & Political Science) and Emily Warwick (Senior, Political Science & Economics)

NPT: Chris Seifert (Junior, International Studies)

Outstanding Delegates in Committee

GA: Isabella Zarate (Assistant Head Delegate, Sophomore, International Studies & Environmental Studies) and Izzy De La Hoz Estrada (Junior, Math)

NPT: Ethan Moore (Senior, Political Science) and Chris Seifert (Junior, International Studies)

SC: Drue Powers (Co-Head Delegate, Junior, Baylor Business Fellows) and Krish Kothari (Co-Head Delegate, Junior, Political Science)