A United World
Dates: December 2 – 4, 2022
By: Go, Roman Gerald
The Manila Xiamen International School has successfully held another fruitful Model United Nations of Xiamen (MUNOX) conference in the year 2022. The history of MUNOX dates back to more than a decade ago, starting from a mere handful of MXIS students having debates to where it is now in the recent years; the annual grandiose MUN conference of Xiamen where students from MXIS and all across China come together and discuss relevant global matters.
MUNOX 2022 was the 13th annual conference that was hosted from December 2 to 4 at the venue, Swiss Grand Xiamen Hotel. Due to unforeseen circumstances and COVID-19 health protocols, MUNOX 2022 became the first ever hybrid conference in MUNOX history. This school year’s MUNOX conference comprised of the three Secretaries-Generals; namely Attila Yoon, Kevin Yeo, and Alex Wong, 12 Under-Secretaries-Generals, 18 Dais members and more than 200 delegates divided into 7 committees coming from 8 different schools from different regions around China.
Being an annual student-led event hosted by MXIS, the students who were part of the MUNOX 2022 staff team collectively and cooperatively worked hard filled with determination in the past months leading up to the conference to ensure its success. Much pressure was present during the course, the rigorous planning all the way from major situations of foreign affairs and social relations, financial planning and delegation assignment to conceptualizing graphic designs and the setting up of candies and water bottles in each committee room. Despite challenges and pressures that the staff faced along the way, the hard work and determination of students who collaborated for the success of the conference attested to it becoming a memorable experience and journey worth treading.
The students had come together on the three-day offline-online conference to share insightful debates and information researched on specific global issues and topics. The 7 committees that composed the body of MUNOX 2022 conference discussed relevant and present political global issues like the Political Interior and Security Risk in Afghanistan, Libyan Human Rights Crisis, and Political Crisis of the Houthi Insurgency in Yemen in relations to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
In this 21st century era, with children and young adults gaining access to vital information through computer technology, MUNOX serves as a platform for students to put these information to good use to educate themselves and others on current global issues, to come up with detailed and practical solutions and to become global citizens. Along the way, these students also develop their research, communication, debate, writing and social skills.
Despite unanticipated circumstances and challenges faced during the MUNOX 2022 event, such as the virtual conference taking place on its second day, MUNOX 2022 had proven itself to be another successful and memorable conference not only for students and staff of MXIS, but also for the eight different international schools that participated. The takeaway is that MUNOX 2022 was not simply an academic and educational event, but a time and place where globally-minded individuals came together to have insightful conversations and eloquent debates on issues around the globe. The annual Model United Nations of Xiamen hosted by the Manila Xiamen International School is an annual gathering of students where they can grow and shape themselves into becoming the world’s future voices of international cooperation and peace.
MXIS Social Media Crew 