Making Model United Nations more accessible

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This story was written by Chatpat Tanavongchinda and Thanakorn Sajjavarodom, the founder and Secretary-General of BarrierMUN respectively.  

It seems odd that those who are given the opportunity to discuss society’s most pressing issues are often the least affected by them.

Entering any Model United Nations conference - an activity where students simulate the work of the UN and other international organisations - in Thailand and ask the students where they go to school, you will get a few repeated responses: “RIS, NIST, Patana, ISB…”

The pattern is clear. Only international school kids (or “dek inter”) - students of privilege — are able to participate.

This fact drove us to start BarrierMUN or “Barriers” for short, which is an organisation aimed at widening access to MUN by tearing down socio-economic barriers.

The goal of Barrier’s impact is not just understanding global issues. We hope to allow fellow Thai students a chance to develop research skills through case studies, communication skills through intense debate, English language skills through speeches and social skills through teamwork. These are all skills of vital importance in the 21st century, which can (and should) be gained through MUN.

We identified three main barriers preventing access to MUN: language, economics and awareness. The language of all conferences was English and filled with complex words and phrases. The price of conferences was often upwards of 1500 baht — inexpensive for most international school kids, but not most of the nation. The awareness is also low — the concept of an MUN was firmly in the “dek inter” bubble.

Our team, composed of students from 10+ public and private schools throughout Thailand, has worked hard to create ESL-friendly resources, lower conference fees and support the growth of clubs in local schools.

We are working to make changes for non-native English speakers, effectively creating an English as a Second Language (ESL) MUN format. Such changes include more understandable documents, online support sessions and a slower pace so that participants have time to plan a foreign language response. This strategy is informed from our own staffs’ struggles with learning new languages and adapting to MUN’s complexities.

Using our ESL approach, we have delivered free virtual training sessions, mock conference sessions and training resources to nearly 400 students from more than 15 schools across Thailand. We have also discussed potential partnerships with several schools beyond the international school community to offer these services to an even greater number of students for the first time in-person.

Ultimately, the goal of Barrier is not merely MUN. It’s about closing the gap and bursting the “dek inter” bubble, and hopefully playing some role in addressing the present inequality. And if we can do that by introducing an activity we love, then we’ll consider it a happy bonus.

If you are interested in our work, you can find out more by searching @barriermun on Instagram or visit this website.