Christ’s Hospital international Peace and Security Conference

One hundred students from ten different schools attended the event, which simulated the United Nations Security Council’s handling of an international crisis.

Conference delegates had to agree on an international response to a major natural disaster on a fictitious small island state in the Indian Ocean. The situation was complicated by a number of security and humanitarian challenges faced by the country, including on-going ethnic conflict and systematic human right abuse by the government. The scenario was loosely based on the situation in Myanmar following Cyclone Nagris in 2008.

Participants were updated on changes to the international situation by television news-style clips, which were filmed and produced by Christ’s Hospital students. Conference sessions were also organised and directed by pupils from the School.

The event forms part of the Christ’s Hospital’s Model United Nations (MUN) programme, which aims to build an understanding of current global challenges amongst the next generation of world leaders and thinkers. It also develops skills that young people require to live and work in a globalised world.

Dr Alistair Goddard, who organised the conference, commented: “Christ’s Hospital students look forward every year to the larger of the School’s two international affairs conferences. For students in the GE (Year 10), it offers the opportunity to debate pressing international security challenges with talented young people from others schools, while Deps and Grecians (Sixth Form) students enjoy taking the lead on organising a major event”.

Copy and pictures submitted by Christ’s Hospital