This year’s long awaited BAMUN conference kicked off on November 21st with three different schools from all over Switzerland and Germany. Participating schools included International School Basel, International School Luzern, Black Forest Academy and International School Rheinland. After its initial cancellation amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, both students and teachers were excited for the opportunity to discuss the most pressing contemporary issues facing our world. 

Many delegates, press and admin piled into school at 8.30 in the morning eager to return to BAMUN after its postponement. Spirits were certainly high after the buffet breakfast and the introduction assembly began. Theo, a grade 12 student who assumed the role of secretary-general this year, gave a motivational speech about having hope – particularly fitting the troubles and challenges faced by our society in recent times. This was shortly followed by a video from a special guest speaker, Glauco Seoane, a former delegate of Peru for the Security Council in the United Nations who graciously shared his experiences with our eager students.

This year’s BAMUN conference consisted of only 6 councils: Security, ECH (Environment, Climate, Health), Economic and Finance, Human Rights, Development and Disarmament. The number of councils decreasing has allowed for more delegates in each council and, therefore, more fruitful and passionate debates. The debates in the different councils delved into many different topics, all of which are connected to real world issues that are happening such as the Belt Road Initiative, Cryptocurrency and developments with the Taliban.

To read more about the different debates you can check out The Daily Shift, the student newspaper made on the days of the conference. Student journalists from the press team worked hard to report on the conference. You can find this year’s edition on the MUN website (mun.isbx.club) under “The Daily Shift” tag. Photos and videos from the event will be released in coming weeks on the MUN instagram account @isbaselmun and on the website.