The students, who were divided into 49 countries, aimed at balancing the interests of their countries and the interests of the world, and debated the topic of this year’s agenda “Peacebuilding in Iraq” over two days.

The conference proceeded like an actual United Nations conference.
They gave speeches in which students officially express their opinions on the stage, held “moderated caucus” in which students propose discussions to participating countries, and “unmoderated caucus” where students negotiate while walking around freely.

On the first day, the students handed in a “Working Paper”, in which the policies of each group were summarized.
On the second day, the students submitted an “agreement proposal” for which sponsors from more than 24 countries were obtained.
With these goals in mind, the students held lively discussions and in the end Professor Daisaku Higashi of Sophia University commented from the viewpoint of an expert on peacebuilding and international relations.

Students had researched the pre-allocated country they were responsible for and worked out a policy plan for the agenda. On the first day of the meeting, each student checked in and gathered at the venue.

While waiting for the start they confirmed the conference notes and the policy proposals of each country. The students who were preparing for negotiations among the nations were carefully following their respective ambassadors.

“It is important to negotiate creatively and value not only the results but also the process to build consensus. Keep in mind that you have humanity and appreciate each other. I hope you will work hard.”

These were the words of Mr. Hasebe, principal of Tamagawa Gakuen High School, as the conference started.

The students appealed to make a speech and ask questions by raising the name card of their country.

As soon as the unmoderated caucus began after the policy recommendations of each country, the students’ voices could be heard calling out things like “People in African countries, let’s gather!” “Countries that agree with American policies gather!”

“It is important for Iraq to make resolutions through negotiation at UN meetings, not by military force,”
“Regarding multinational forces, I thought that it is better not to concentrate on getting assistance from one country, but from the UN, it would make the process more legitimate. ”
“I thought that it would be better to strengthen law enforcement before disarmament and security maintenance is implemented.”

The students were divided into several groups, and they discussed their policies. In each of the five unmoderated caucuses, the debate grew more and more heated.

While negotiating and working to persuade one another, countries with similar arguments and countries with geographical and economic links gathered together. Several blocks gradually formed.

The 6:00 pm deadline arrived. The students had finished organizing their policies and submitted their working papers and the first day ended.
Even after the end, more than half of the students stayed to talk about the following day.

On the second day, the students gathered in the venue early in the morning. As the students confirmed the details of the working papers of each group shared on the official website, they began to work out strategies.

At 9 am, the conference resumed with the declaration of the chairperson.
In the first moderated caucus, the students asked a lot of questions related to each working paper.

Students who deepened their understanding during the Q & A and found common points and differences in the policies of each country. They stared to make adjustments during the unmoderated caucus in order to bridge the differences.

“I will persuade the Saudi Arabian delegation!” “We have differences about policy relating to the Iraqi army, but what should we do?”
There were students who constantly visited other groups and negotiated with each other and the atmosphere in the venue heated up. More in-depth discussions took place here and there, the focus of the students increased as the day went on.

Over the course of negotiations, the students finally talked as a group.
Although the students worked hard to obtain a final agreement, the deadline passed without the issue being settled. Discussion was extended by 70 minutes, and the students continued the discussion on their lunch break.

However, they were not able to complete the agreement meeting the conditions. Only the incomplete working paper which was supported by most of the countries was submitted and the conference ended.
Some students showed relief as the tense atmosphere passed. Others left with regret that they could not submit an agreement proposal. Everyone felt a lot of different things.

To conclude the conference, Sophia University professor Daisaku Higashi gave some comments, and the students went over their experiences at the conference at this time.

Mr. Higashi explained the historical background on this item on the agenda “Peacebuilding in Iraq”. He informed the students about the quality of their efforts and the working paper submitted.

“You discussed the role of the Baath Party, which is amazing. This is the most important issue in Iraq, and your discussion was to the point.”
“When I looked at the actual site, I thought it was very difficult for many countries to gather together and make an agreement in one document. I guess everyone realized that difficulty.”

Through the broad insight he offered, based on experience and analysis from the multifaceted point of view of an international political scientist, the students were able to grasp the contents of the discussion a concrete way and raised their awareness of the issue.

“In order to keep peace, what is the most important factor? Law, economy, politics…”
“What kind of guidelines should we use to build discussions that we can use to balance national interests and international interests?”

In the Q & A session, the students asked questions based on issues they could not resolve during the conference.

Finally, an awards ceremony was held to honor students who excelled. Awards were given for the “Best ambassador”, 2 Excellence Awards and 1 Speech Award. All the participants applauded the winning students.

While feeling the sense of accomplishment and relief, the students praised each other’s hard work and improved understanding.

“I think that it is important not only to push myself but also to make constructive discussions by compromising with others”.
“There were people with expert knowledge, people who made great rebuttals and people who spoke English really well. I felt a sense of surprise and respect, and so I want to study more after this experience.”

In order to achieve one goal with all the members involved, every student continued to try without giving up, and aimed for consensus until the last second.

They were not able to complete this in time, but their experiences left a mark on them for the future. They were increasingly motivated to continue working on global issues as they got older.

A mock session was held to help the students understand the way the conference would work.

The training session was held for students in the morning and for teachers in the afternoon.

With the cooperation of “the institute of MUN for junior and senior high schools in Japan” which aims to promote Model United Nations conferences, the training session included commentary and personal experiences so that everyone could understand it.

In the morning, 15 students from Tamagawa Gakuen and 5 students from Shibuya Junior High Schools” participated.
The meeting was started after Mr. Kei Nakagawa explained the process for simulated United Nations conferences.

First of all, the students chose a country to take charge of from a list of African countries and acted as a representatives of that country.
Then the students aimed to create five plans that would benefit all countries.

In the mock conference, the students who were designated as ambassadors for each country held a “Moderated Caucus” where each students gave their opinions to the assembly worked on public negotiations. There was also an “Unmoderated Caucus” where students could select negotiations for free discussion.

“Every country needs to acquire technology from developed countries and respond to hygiene problems.” “Nigeria has problems without sewage treatment. It is also a problem in Africa as a whole, so let’s find solutions to help each other.”

The students explored how countries could solve problems by working together.

Statements like “Is that plan really okay?” “You said it is an equal plan, but I think it depends on each country” could be heard around the room.

While the students had a discussion considering the issues from a critical point of view, there was occasional laughter which warmed the atmosphere.

Ultimately, resolutions which mutually benefited each country came out. As a result of the voting, all the proposals were adopted, and the meeting ended.
The students applauded each other’s negotiation skills and willingness to work on each problem.

The students who were from different schools discussed certain topics from the point of view of a representative of a certain country.
From this experience, the students gained a lot of experience and raised their awareness of certain issues. This prepared them for the Model United Nations Conference.

In the afternoon, the next training session was held for 14 teachers from 8 schools. Mr. Nakagawa of the ” the institute of MUN for junior and senior high schools in Japan ” explained the way the conference worked and the teachers discussed the issues as 14 ambassadors of 14 countries.

The teachers listened to the explanation of the rules of the simulated UN conference, and took careful notes to avoid missing any important details.

While confirming each step, the teachers experienced the same type of conference, which included a “Moderated Caucus” and an “Unmoderated Caucus”, expressing their support with flags, filling in resolution proposals.
Even beginner teachers soon understood the format and debated the issues from their nations’ standpoint.

The teachers tried to resolve any issues at this time. They listened to the advise of their advisors and asked questions when they didn’t fully understand.

“I realized it today that the students are doing difficult activities.” “I thought that it was necessary to have an opportunity to reflect on the process of the Model United Nations.”

After the training, teachers communicated their thoughts to each other, and there was a feeling of free exchange.

Each student and teacher gained meaningful insight into the MUN process. They promised work toward making the “SGH Tamagawa Gakuen Model United Nations Conference” a success and the day ended.

A training session was held in the morning of the first day and a meeting session was held in the afternoon of the first day and the next day.
At the training session, two lecturers were invited, and students received lectures on the topic of “food security” and they deepened their understanding of the issue.
Students grasped information that offered a realistic underpinning for future discussions from the stories of two people who are working on world food issues.

The first speaker was Mbuli Charles Boliko, President of the FAO Japan Office.
He strongly spoke about worldwide problems threatening food safety and introduced the activities of the FAO which is a United Nations agency. He spoke on the influence of population increases and changes in dietary habits of emerging countries, food loss and waste problems in developed countries, and other things.

“I would like to ask everyone for just one thing. Please be aware of eliminating food loss and waste. Please call on your friends and classmates and practice what you learned here today.”
The students listened to the words of Mr. Mbuli very seriously.

The next lecture was by Mr. Fumihiro　Kabuta, a professor at the Graduate School of Policy Studies, who specialized mainly in agricultural economics.
“What I want to tell you today is not ‘a correct answer’ or ‘an answer’ but a viewpoint on how to think about the problem.”
He introduced the “food security issue” being discussed in the world from various perspectives.

He explained the differences in views on food supply and demand, food importing countries’ food supply and demand issues, reasons why food reserves are not implemented as policies, and different perspectives on bioenergy, etc. “There is no one right answer and choices will change depending on the position and circumstances. I want you to acquire the ability to look at the problems from many perspectives.”

“Do you have any questions?” he asked.
In the question-and-answer session after the lecture, the hands of the students all come up together.

“What can individuals do to eliminate food loss and disposal problems?” “Why is obesity increasing in all countries, despite the increasing number of hungry people?”
The lecturer ‘s answers were enthusiastic, and it the session continued for 10 minutes over the scheduled time. The training session ended with a big round of applause.

From the afternoon, the session with students acting as diplomats for each country started.

The Model United Nations Conference was divided into venue A and venue B.
The agenda was “Countermeasures to Global Cooling – Food Security”. They worked on a recent theme that has not been fully discussed by international organizations yet. The discussion and negotiations were based on two points; “issues for increased production of food and promotion of small scale agriculture” and “emergency situations and a framework for food crisis”. They aimed to adopt a unanimous position based on the position of each country.

In venue A, the members were not accustomed to the Model United Nations style and they proceed with commentary in Japanese.
After the introduction of members who were involved in the conference and the opening declaration by the chairperson, the ambassador from each country responded to the question of “Is there a country who wants to speak?” After this the conference started.

Various rules and terms are used in the conference and it proceeds in the same way as actual UN conferences, Examples are “motivation point” which students can request a proposal or motion following the “speech!”, a “motion” expresses its own policy and opinion, “moderated caucus” in which students propose discussions to participating countries, “unmodeled caucus” where students negotiate while walking around freely, and passing around memos for individual negotiations.

“Countries involved in the policy of the United States, please gather here!”
“If any country is interested in the policy of Russia, gather here!”
“Countries who agree on Israel’s proposal, come over here!”
As soon as the “unmoderated caucus” began, opinions were raised and arguments and interests of each country were expressed and opinions were summarized. In a group where many countries gathered, the country that led the remarks became the focus on the discussion.

“I think it would be better to make more effective use of coal.” “Countries with many exports should gather and take the role of stabilizing prices of grains and managing the market.”
There was also a group who talked with a smaller number of people. They worked to develop opinions and policies according to their own interests.
The “unmoderated caucus” was held twice a day and was extended for 10 minutes as discussion continued.

The meeting on the first day ended at this point, but the ambassadors of each country started talking again in order to create working paper (WP) which has to be submitted by 7:30 in the next day morning.

The second day started with the students gathering at the venue and resuming the session with the chairman’s declaration and after the roll call confirming attendance in the morning.
Working papers (WP) that described the policies so far were distributed and the debate was expanded further in each country and each group.

At venue B where students who have previously experienced Model United Nations gathered, there was an active exchange of opinions. Students tried to find common purpose while fighting conflicting opinions with their own country’s positions and claims. The enthusiasm in the venue increased steadily.

Both venue A and B, extended the time for discussion and submitted a bill with amendments at the last minute. At last, as a result of a unanimous vote, they led to the adoption of a resolution.

At the closing ceremony, the MVP from each venue was announced and they were congratulated by all the participants. In addition there were slides that showed the previous two days that the executive committee made. This let the students look back on each of their initiatives.

To serve as an ambassadors at this conference, the students prepared a lot. They did things such as writing an agenda, researching about the country they are responsible for and studying about the situations in the world. They did not only expand their perspectives but also their comprehensive knowledge and experience. They gained skills in thinking about purpose, communication and cooperation.

【Lecturer Profile】

Mbuli Charles Boliko

He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and acquired bachelor in psychology and masters in industrial psychology at Kisangani University.
After, he taught for three years at Kinshasa’s commercial university. He came to Japan in 1990. He received his doctorate in international development from Nagoya University Graduate School of International Development. Since 1997 he worked at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). From 1998 he worked at NY Liaison Office, and from 2003 he was secretary general at the Rome headquarters. He was chief for employment and assignment of personnel department from 2009. Since 2013 he worked as the first foreign director of FAO Japan Liaison Office.
As a visiting professor at the Catholic University of the Democratic Republic of Congo, he provides lectures on personnel management and administration and development.

Fumihiro Kabuta

He is a professor of the Graduate School of Policy Studies University. Graduated from The University of Tokyo, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture. He joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and worked as a secretary at the ministry of agriculture and summary chief of the International Economics Affairs Division. In 1996, he studied in the UK and acquired masters of Agricultural Economics from Reading University, and masters of Resource and Environmental Economics from UCL University of London.
He served in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as Overseas Technical Cooperation Officer in the International Division for Cooperation Planning, Planning Officer in the Minister’s Secretariat Planning Office, assistant to the General Food Bureau Food Planning Division, and Chief Researcher at Policy Research Institute. He was also First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Italy, He served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Tokyo, University of Tsukuba, and has been in his current position since 2015.

This institute aims to introduce and disseminate the MUN to junior and senior high school education sites, including the implementation of a nationwide educational MUN conference with 467 students from 67 different schools in August. As the necessity of global education gains attention in Japan, the value of the MUN conference and its educational effects are being widely recognized.

With this background, the MUN conference for teachers was held with the aim of spreading knowledge to teachers who have no experience in this type of instruction or the MUN itself.

The teachers gathered in a classroom and moved to the seat which had been assigned to their country. The teachers greeted each other with a smile while waiting for the MUN to start

At first, a greeting and an activity report was delivered from a teacher who is the chairman of the institute of MUN for junior and senior high schools in Japan.
Then, the teachers introduced themselves in turn.

Each teacher offered some information about their own situation. Comments like:
“Although I started MUN with the students’ requests, I have no experience. This is why I am here to study.”
“I read the materials while I was on my way to here by the bullet train.”
After each participant spoke a feeling of empathy spread through the group.

The flow of an MUN conference was conveyed along with explanations of the conference theme and other information from the conference director. “Please feel free to make a lot of mistakes in your role as students today.” Following these words from the director, the conference started.

First of all, they checked the attendance and which applicants wanted to make the first speech. Then they decided how to proceed with the meeting. The conference was mainly done with whole negotiation (Moderate Caucus), which is a method of exchanging opinions with everyone seated and Un-moderate Caucus, in which they communicate with each other freely.

Teachers become ambassadors for each country and used discussion to build consensus and learn other countries’ opinions and policies and also making a 30-second speech based on the position and current situation in their respective countries.

The conference was proceeded with the chairperson moderating important points focusing on style, rules and specific words used in the conference. Teachers deepened their understanding steadily by practicing the unique MUN conference style, often with puzzled looks, using techniques such as calls to explain their opinions, expressions with placards raised, and question and answer methods.

One teacher said:
“Since I am acting as a student today, it may be off topic, but I would like to ask a question about national interests.”
From such questions from students’ point of view, we were able to feel the passion of the teachers towards the learning styles of the students participating in the MUN Conference.

The participants gradually became more enthusiastic. Teachers and ambassadors of the countries started moving around and negotiating in the Un-moderate Caucus.
In order to prepare a proposal, they were divided into groups with two main points of discussion, and they proposed realistic resolutions while debating.

They proposed a bill describing opinions compiled by each group. Explanation from the country that wanted a speech on the resolution and voting by the participating countries, they adopted one resolution and ended the meeting. This lasted about 4 hours in total.

At the end, they received comments from the conference director which happens at the actual MUN Conference. Every teacher nodded at his words; “I am telling you this because we cannot just leave the conference after this. I can tell you what we could do and what we could not do based on the reality.”

Taking the advantage of the understanding gained in this experience, they felt the fascination by the MUN Conference and had confidence in their future instruction and a sense of fulfillment that they could support their students in their development.

This year’s agenda was “refugees in conflict situations, IDPs problem”. We invited three teachers on the day before the meeting and held a “refugee problem workshop”, which had 50 participants from six schools attend with the goal of deepening their understanding of the refugee problem.

The first speaker was Saburo Takizawa, professor of the Graduate School at Toyo Eiwa University. He clearly explained a lot of information with exchanged questions and gave some interesting anecdotes so that students could understand the fact that currently 3% of the world population is made up of refugees. Also he spoke about the nation system, how conflicts and the gap between rich and poor can conspire to create makes refugees, as well as the methods to support refugees, and so on.

The Next lecture was given by Naoko Obi, deputy representative of the UNHCR Office in Japan. Presenting case studies, she explained some possible challenges and solutions to the refugee problem. “Since there are not many countries who accept refugees, and this problem is worsening, I am always thinking about how we can solve this problem. I want you high school students to think together to create solutions“.

The last speaker was Hiroshi Kimizuka of the Ministry of Justice Immigration Bureau, referee division. For 25 years of his carrier he worked in immigration management. He talked about Japan’s refugee relief efforts.
“Japan is often said to be “secluded from refugees” in the world, but we cannot compare in the same because the environment and reality of life are different in different countries. It is important to support refugees how Japan can “.

A question-and-answer session was held after the lecture for more than one hour, and he answered the students’ questions.

Finally, about 140 students from 16 SGH schools gathered and the “SGH Tamagawa Academy 1 day Model United Nations Conference” began.

After the opening ceremony was held at 9 o’clock in the morning, the “Model United Nations Conference” started in two separate venues; A and B. Students prepared to act as an ambassador for each country while holding repeated discussions and negotiations to find answers which could lead to furthering international interests while protecting their own.

The “Negotiation Paper”, on which the positions and proposals of each country is written, was posted in the venue for reference to the approach.

After lunch, each ambassador began to work further on completing the draft referred as “DR”. Each explain the country’s refugee problems through speeches, calling for countries to agree, or using the negotiation time known as the “Unmoderated. Caucus”. They repeated individual negotiations, discussions, and made compromises.

In both venues, there was an increase in scenes of numbers of people gathering around one of the ambassadors to listen to his opinions. Gradually solid national policy was made and the conference moved toward the final stage.

Finally, with Germany and the United States in the A venue, and Myanmar, the United States, and Hungary in the B venue, the DR’s were submitted. There followed, descriptions, final negotiations, and then the vote on the resolution was held.
The United States’ DR in venue A, and all three countries’ in venue B were adopted and the conference was closed.

At last, all students gathered for the Closing Ceremony. There were slideshows which reflected the day, introduction of the DRs, and feedback from the chairman, the awards ceremony was held with a drum roll with students drumming on the desks. That showed a sense of unity beyond the differences between regions and schools.

As the host school, many students worked a lot on preparation, from making materials to operating the conference. Everyone’s feelings of trust and support worked to ensure the plans made were brought to fruition.
Students who participated felt a great response from the communication about what “country” can mean rather than merely individuals working in the global field.

Lecturer profile

Saburo Takizawa
He entered the Ministry of Justice after completing a doctoral degree at Tokyo Metropolitan University. After completing his graduate degree at Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, he was accepted by the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva in 1981. After working in UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) as Treasurer at the Vienna headquarters, he moved to the Geneva headquarters Finance Bureau of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) working from 2002 to 2006. From 2007 to August 2008 he was a delegate at the UNHCR. After working as visiting professor in United Nations University, he is in this position currently. He is also an American Certified Public Accountant.

Naoko Obi
She completed the master’s program in Political Science at the University of Windsor, Canada, and Administrative Studies at International Christian University. She also received a doctoral degree in Public Administration at International Christian University Graduate School. Since 1987, she worked for the UNHCR. Currently, she is a senior international protection officer and a senior policy evaluation and analysis officer in regional offices such as Kenya, the Philippines and Thailand, and also at the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kimizuka Hiroshi
After graduated from Meiji University, Department of Political Science and Economics, he joined the Legal Affairs Bureau. He is responsible for HR organization, policy making, immigration examination, and alien registration at the Immigration Bureau. In the past, he was in the Legal Affairs Bureau’s Immigration office, in charge of the Registration Division and Affairs Division’s Immigration Information Management Office. In 2000 to 2003 he also served as First Secretary (Political Affairs) of the Embassy of Japan in Thailand

It was the first time for Tamagawa Academy to hold such a large-scale MUN. Therefore, from last September, students made careful preparations: asking schools about participation, building the agenda, collecting and distributing information, writing materials, and checking rules. Then, on the day they took the initiative in conducting the conference and other operations.

Each participating school was assigned to be one of 31 countries’ ambassadors and to express its own opinion. Then, they negotiated with each other, prepared and submitted drafts, and brought the issues to a vote. The theme of the conference was “nuclear disarmament.”

The well-prepared receptionists waited for the arrival of the schools, which come from the Kanto or Kansai regions and as far afield as Fukuoka prefecture.

The participants entered the hall and immediately started to prepare themselves for the conference. The host team steadily advanced the final preparations toward the opening, and there was an air of anticipation as it approached.

The ambassadors read posters on which the countries’ policies were stated, and tried to imagine how the most effective ways to negotiate.

At 9:30, the opening ceremony started. The host members were introduced and they announced the rules. Then, the participants were divided into two groups, and each group started the conference in different halls.

The conferences progressed smoothly.  The chairperson delivered the opening address; the countries made speeches in turn and then the discussions and negotiations took place.

Half of participants had little or no experience with a MUN conference; therefore, the supervisors directed the conference while explaining how it should progress. They gave considered the best way for the participants to obtain a clear understanding of the expectations for the conference. As a result of their efforts, the participants were able to actively exchange their opinions and the students felt more and more motivated.

During the conference, the countries’ speeches and public statements were delivered in English, and individual discussions and negotiations known as “unmoderated caucuses”, were held in Japanese.

Even during the lunch break, many participants continued to negotiate all over the hall. The attendant teachers exchanged information while having lunch together.

At the time, the first issue of “The MUN Paper,” which reported the actions of the MUN from the morning, was published; the second one, which reported the action taken during the afternoon and the overview, was published at the closing ceremony.

In the afternoon a cooperative structure developed between countries that were in the same position while they gave speeches and held discussions. Then, they started to prepare their own draft resolutions (DR) hoping for the conclusive adoption which was the final stage of the conference.

At the end of the conference, after the countries that submitted their drafts made a speech, all the countries cast their votes and adopted a resolution. Then, both groups assembled in the same hall again, and gave the details of their conferences to each other.

At the closing ceremony, prize winners were selected from each group, and they celebrated their achievements with one another. After a day of debate the students developed friendships and were a feeling of unity. After the ceremony they enjoyed talking to each other about their experiences.

From beginning to end, all the participants were very active in the conference, and were spontaneously moving to ask for others’ opinions. Also, they could understand the purpose of the conference, and, above all, enjoyed finding out what to do in their own. The teachers were impressed by the students’ attitudes.

The participants remarked one after another, “Everyone was dedicated and actively took part in the conference. It made it more enjoyable than we had expected.” “I’m going to keep trying to improve myself for the next time.” The host students also had a good chance to learn a lot through the MUN. They gained self-confidence looking forward to future MUNs, and their experiences became important assets to advance the MUNs of Tamagawa Academy.

Since this April, 21 grade 10, 11and 12 students have been taking this course. Since the middle of September the 10th and 11th graders have been leading the activities.

In the model United Nations each student selects a country, and acting as the representative of it they speak, negotiate and promote discussion. In the classroom, desks, having a country’s nameplate on them, are arranged in a semicircle. The chairperson sits in the center, and the secretary sits to her or his right.

The teacher supports the chairperson and secretary who are newly appointed. The chairperson conducts the conference only in English. The copies of the conference minutes that the secretary takes are given out as a reference in the next class.

The students can use both Japanese and English, and they decide on their own what and how they will present after hearing other students’ opinions. “Until now I only know about my own country. So I’d like to know more about other countries too. Let’s teach each other about our countries?” The countries that agree with this suggestion signal approval by raising their nameplate. They decided that each country will present the resolution they want to adopt in the next class. Also, they discussed the language in which they will make the presentation, and decided that the handouts should be written in both Japanese and English, and the presentations should be delivered in Japanese.

At this point, they have completed two topics and are now discussing “nuclear disarmament.” Up until the previous topic, the students were assigned to work in pairs. From this topic they will work on their own. They will need time to research about the situations and problems in their own countries and about the relations with other countries.

As a reference, they watched a documentary video following the history of the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, which is an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice. They recognized the need for higher levels of communication from the video like what a country should or should not say and how negotiation must work.

To think about a topic from different positions and points of view leads to various discoveries. In the next topic about negotiation between countries, the students have to walk around the classroom interacting and negotiating with the other students.
A larger conference will be held next February in which students who live in other prefectures such as Nara and Hiroshima will take part too. The students at Tamagawa Academy are expected to grow through their exchanges with other school students.

Model United Nations is an activity that started at Harvard University in 1923 and was introduced in Japan by Sadako Ogata, an international political scientist. At Tamagawa Academy Model United Nations is a general course, which meets after school on Thursdays, and it is different from the IB course, titled Section MUN, that meets during lunchtime on Wednesdays and is conducted only in English. Through the Model United Nations students study how to express their own ideas and persuade others in a practical way.

Normally, students are assigned roles as a country’s ambassador and argue on its behalf in discussions that addresses global issues. However, this time, after they were divided into three groups, each group had a discussion. Then, they presented resolutions and conducted question and answer periods.

The theme was “Control and Dealing with Endangered Species.” First, each group had a discussion with the ability to use supporting research data. Then, they presented proposals from their own points of view, such as promotion of breeding technology under animal preservation in zoos, and control of non-native species imported as pets. Finally, after the most persuasive one was adopted, the Model United Nations session ended.

Chie Tomita, who selected the Model United Nations’ theme, prepared materials and managed the conference, shared her reflection, “Model United Nations tells me a lot of things. I’m really glad that everyone had a fun time.” “I was not good at taking leadership, but I managed the conference as the chairperson, and this gave me self-confidence and a great sense of accomplishment.”

Yoshiko Motosugi, the vice-chairperson, also shared her thoughts, “Always after I took a part in Model United Nations, I set my mind on studying English more and improving my research skill. Model United Nations is the most important thing that raises my motivation.”

Thus, the Model United Nations at Tamagawa Academy gives students the place where they can obtain a broad point of view, sense of purpose, and enrich their communication skills.