Students Address Global Issues at Brown's Model UN Conference

The conference hosts over 900 students from around the world annually, and this year’s conference theme was "Footprints on Foreign Shores."

 

“We have witnessed a record number of migrants die trying to escape war or poverty. Our theme attempts to spotlight their stories but also cast their journey in a different light,” stated the BUSUN blog.

 

At BUSUN, students participate in one of approximately 41 committees, some of which are crisis committees, to discuss topics related to the conference theme.

 

“Going to this conference really opened my eyes to the opportunity that our world has to work together to solve issues,” said Katie Isler '17 who attended the conference for the first time this year. Katie represented Turkey and participated on the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC). As a part of this committee, she worked with a group to discuss the use of private military companies, cyber warfare and espionage, and the regulation of autonomous weapon systems.

 

In preparation for the conference, students were supplied three topics to research; writing a position paper further helped them prepare their mindset for their real-world discussions. The papers had to be written from the perspective of the country that they were representing.

 

“It was really interesting taking on an issue from the perspective of a different country,” said Zihan Chen '18, who also attended the conference.

 

Students have returned to Millbrook with an enhanced global curiosity and a better understanding of the political decision-making process. All of our Millbrook attendees shared that they are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the transformative experience, and we thank Brown University for organizing another successful Model UN event!