Through its co-curricular activities, KAUST’s Harbor Secondary School offers the Model United Nations (MUN) as a way for the next generation of world leaders to gain experience addressing global issues starting at an early age. The MUN enables students to find solutions for real-world problems in the same way the representatives of the 192 United Nations member states do.

According to the National Model United Nations organization, the aim of MUN is to help students become “better global citizens through quality educational experiences that emphasize collaboration and cooperative resolution of conflict.” The MUN is therefore a natural fit for the Harbor Secondary School, since the mission of KAUST Schools is to develop “respectful, responsible, resourceful learners who treasure the world and its people.”

In mid-February, sixteen MUN delegates from KAUST Schools traveled to Riyadh to compete against students from other international schools at the Saudi Arabian Intra-Kingdom Activities Conference (SAIKAC) Model United Nations Conference in Riyadh. At a Model UN conference, students act as global citizens by representing themselves as delegates of the UN member states. During the conference, Harbor Secondary school students represented countries including Brazil, China, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Qatar. Strategies such as debate and negotiation are key as the student delegates determine how best to solve the issues presented to their committees.

In their committees, KAUST’s students faced issues such as ‘Darfur’s Continuing Conflict”, “Water Scarcity”, and “Workers’ Rights in Host Countries’.

The MUN team sponsors and students stayed with host families at the American International School of Riyadh. Reciprocal housing is a requirement for all students who participate in SAIKAC organizations, and also provides another opportunity for inter-cultural dialogue to develop.

At the conclusion of the MUN Conference, about one-quarter of the students participating earned medals for their exemplary work in their committees. These students were nominated for awards by their fellow students. Several Harbor Secondary school students brought medals home to KAUST.

According to one medal-earning Harbor School student, “The diversity at KAUST Harbor secondary School facilitated in us open-mindedness to and awareness of the world around us. This gave us greater insight into global issues, and allowed us to become active participants and leaders at the MUN Conference.”