The MUNA Nationals

Claire Windeyer, of Mudgee High School

HSIE Teacher, Year Adviser, ESL Teacher

At the MUNA District 9760 Dinner in Muswellbrook, NSW on Friday 24 May 2013, Claire shared her thoughts and experiences in taking a team from Mudgee to the National MUNA in Canberra in 2011.

"This is the 12^th district MUNA I have brought teams to from Mudgee High School. In 2011 one of my teams was selected to represent district 9670 at the National MUNA in Canberra.

The team chose to represent the State of Israel at both the district and the national MUNA.

National MUNA provided the students with an outstanding opportunity to further develop their international diplomacy skills, building on the experience they had here at district MUNA.

Upon arrival on the Friday night all the teams met each other at the accommodation site, which was a Sport and Rec facility with large scale accommodation. After dinner we met with two representatives from the United States Embassy. They spoke about their jobs, international law and relations and the very delicate process of international diplomacy. Students were able to ask questions and open discussions were had between the students and the embassy representatives.

On the Saturday and Sunday we went to Old Parliament House where the MUNA was to be held. The teams set themselves up in the old House of Representatives, sitting in the places where our Australian politicians sat from 1927 to 1988. Sitting on those big old green bench seats and speaking across the room to everyone, stepping into the footsteps of politicians of the past was such an interesting experience to witness. To think that it was in that room that the Australian laws were passed for 60 years!

The resolutions that were up for discussion were of a similar nature to what you will be discussing tomorrow. Resolutions on Human Rights, Global Security and the Environment.

On the Saturday night we attended a large conference dinner at Australian National University. This dinner was attended by all the participants at national MUNA, the two US embassy representatives that we had met the night before, as well as a number of other embassy representatives from other countries. We did not get the opportunity to meet anyone from the Israeli embassy, however that certainly would have been a significant highlight!

Going to national MUNA was certainly a buzz for the students and for Mudgee High School. However, there can only be one team chosen for that position from the district MUNA each year. So you need to make the most out of this opportunity here at the district level, enjoy every moment, learn from everyone around you.

I think the biggest thing I have learnt from watching students participate in MUNA over the past 12 years is that international diplomacy requires a few key virtues, if you want it to work:

• Patience – take the time to let others speak and put forward their point of view, don’t be a hurry to tell everyone what you think before you know your audience.
• Respect – take care to demonstrate respect towards other people, opinions, ideas and cultures. You do this by listening and consulting, not by arguing. You may not agree with someone else’s opinion, but you certainly should not be rude or insulting about your disagreement.
• Genuine care – if you have a genuine care for an issue it will show when you speak about it. This alone can be quite persuasive. International diplomacy is not about jamming your opinion at everyone else, it is about gently and gradually persuading others to see things from your side. In the process you may actually discover that there is a totally different side which none of you had believed was possible.
• Consultation – this is a way of speaking which allows you to stay open to thought, growth and positive influence. You may like to change your mind about your standpoint on an issue. Be open to this. If we all stayed firmly on our standpoint in our own little corner, change and growth would never happen.

 So be prepared to change your mind, be prepared to think, be prepared to learn."