Written by Sophie ’17

On Tuesday, 28 February, ASL and Quintin Kynaston hosted the 2nd annual West London Model United Nations conference. More than 190 students from 14 London schools joined us for a day of debating and resolution writing, surrounding the very important topic of "New Technologies.”

West London MUN is part of ASL’s community partnership program and drew together students from across West London, and from a variety of  backgrounds, for a day of learning and debate. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to meet and interact with other young people whom they might have never met otherwise, and to build relationships among schools in the area. We also welcomed many schools who had never attended a Model UN conference before, so there was a variety of different perspectives and levels of experience which made for diverse and interesting debate. 

As secretary general, I was supported by deputies Spencer ’17 and Ben ’17 in organizing the conference. We decided to focus the theme on the topic of new technologies, specifically artificial intelligence and drone warfare. To organize such an event was a mammoth undertaking. We created background guides and resouce materials, built a conference website (www.wlmun.org), trained and recruited student chairpeople, rapporteurs and directors for each committee, and undertook many logistical details. In order to ensure that all the students attending the conference were prepared, we also hosted and delivered two training afternoons where they learned about the topics they would be discussing, and the workings of MUN. 

We were honored to welcome Baroness Joanna Shields, the Minister for Internet Safety and Security in the House of Lords, as our guest speaker at the opening ceremony. Baroness Shields delivered an incredibly educational speech on some of the impacts we can expect to see from technology, and the importance of taking action now. 

During the conference, we had six different committees debating the future of machines around the world through a variety of different lenses, including economic and financial, human rights, and disarmament, among others. All of our committees ended the day by passing sophisticated resolutions that posed possible solutions to these pressing issues. Divisha Patel, a teacher from Westminster Academy, told us, "My students really enjoyed the opportunity and felt that they learnt a lot about global issues, specifically new technologies. We are so proud of all the delegates who took part, and are so glad that this proved an exciting educational opportunity for them.” 

To all our chairs, rapporteurs, directors and admins, thank you so much for all of your hard work and support during the run up to the conference. A special thanks to Mr. Brandon Block, ASL’s Service Learning Director, for his support during this project! 

To all delegates who participated, we hope that you enjoyed this year's conference, and were able to learn about problems facing the international community. We hope to see you next year!