Lycée - High School

MUN (Model United Nations) Conferences

The Anglophone Section has been sending delegations to MUN conferences for many years.
They are:

• ASMMUN – Milan MUN conference for Terminale students
• SAIMUN – St. Andrew’s International MUN conference in Dublin for Seconde students
• THIMUN – The Hague International MUN conference for Première students
• FIMUN – Fontainebleau International MUN conference for all Lycée students (compulsory for 2e and 1e students).

The underlying idea is that of role-playing simulations of the work of the United Nations, aimed at encouraging young people to take an active part in the events of the world in order to promote international tolerance, understanding and cooperation.

Schools throughout the world are invited to participate and represent one or more UN member states. Initially each school submits a list of countries in which they are particularly interested and then a draw is made to determine the final attribution of countries. Over the years our Lycée students have represented many nations.

In terms of preparation, various stages are gone through:

• All students undertake thorough research of the country attributed to the delegation. Everyone must become well-acquainted with current events and all pupils are involved in both debates and the presentation of written papers.
• Each individual delegate selects a UN Committee or Commission in which he/she is particularly interested (e.g. Economic Issues, the environment, plight of refugees, etc.) and through research and presentations becomes the delegation “expert” in the field.
• An ambassador is selected whose main function is to make a one-minute presentation of the country and its political agenda to the entire Conference (sometimes an audience of over 3 500!).
• Students debate issues in class and learn to write UN resolutions in the appropriate manner.
• The delegation participates in mock preparatory debates with other participating schools, e.g. Lycée International St. Germain, American School of Paris, etc.
• A group of delegates prepare a list of questions and visit the country’s Embassy in Paris.

Most of this preparation talks place in the MUN club, an extracurricular club which is, in a large part, run by senior students. Pupils from the Germanophone Section and European Sections are also welcome to participate.

These conferences which are, of course, conducted in English and the preparation for them constitute one of the most exciting and stimulating educational opportunities available. They are formative, highly-enjoyable events which frequently instil in our delegates a lifelong interest in world affairs. This sort of experience can reinforce university applications and a number of our former pupils have, thanks to their MUN experience, embarked on university courses and subsequently professional career paths in Foreign Affairs, International Relations or related subjects. The French administration of the lycée fully appreciates the importance of this experience for our students.