Japan MUN Trip a Great Success!

This past Spring Break, 25 excited LFA MUN students attended JMMUN in Tokyo experiencing the unique and exciting culture of Japan and enjoying so many varied activities in many places of interest on both Hokkaido and Shikoku. Both the cultural sights and the cuisine made this trip exceptional (not to mention the excellent MUN conference)! Commencing in Osaka the students were awed by the many unique sights and sounds of Dotonbori near the river, especially the “wall to wall” people out on a Sunday afternoon experiencing the one mile stretch of restaurants and take-out food options!

The group then travelled to visit the historic museum and memorials of Hiroshima and lovely Miyajima with its giant Tori gate and its accompanying UNESCO heritage designation. Leaving Honshu by bullet train (a great experience for viewing the countryside), we travelled to Shikoku Island where we loved the famous reflective Chichibugahama Beach and the traditional Japanese trees and flowers of Ritsurin Gardens.

The group then viewed and walked around the grounds of three shrines in beautiful Kyoto-the Golden Pavilion, the Silver Pavilion and Fushimi Inari Taisha with its “thousands” of Tori gates before taking a stroll on the famous “The Philosopher’s Walk” by the river. In Ito, we experienced a traditional ryokan and banquet before heading to Tokyo via the picturesque harbor city of Yokohama and the awesome peak and surrounding lakes of Mt. Fuji.

 

Japan MUN was a great success with six students winning awards. Each girl who won an award on committee was engaged from the very first committee session working their way to presenting resolution papers with others to address their committee’s key issues. The two students who won the Best Position Paper Awards revealed excellent and thorough  research and writing skills to showcase their knowledge and understanding of the issues on their committees. Special congratulations go to -

Juri Matsuda – won the Best Delegate Award on the UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) representing China

Ava Nasrabadi won the Best Delegate Award on CSTD (Committee for Science and Technology for Development) as Canada

Allison Chak won Honorable Mention (2^nd Place after Best at this conference) on UNICEF as Afghanistan

Addison Sapiecha won Honorable Mention on the ILO (International Labor Organization) as Egypt

Viki Herrera won the Best Position Paper Award on UNDP (UN Development Program) as France

Hayley Chong who won the Best Position Paper Award on the ILO as Iceland.

These awards were certainly very impressive and every student attending made significant progress in her Model UN skills and gained much new knowledge at this conference. Each day of the trip was very educational and the group could not have been more co-operative and positive about every new spot and cultural experience (not to mention the food)! Way to go Model UN Angels!

 Mrs. Julie Mills (Model UN Co-Ordinator).