The Model United Nations Club (MUN) is open for inscriptions to any middle or high school students or teachers interested in participating in Model UN events in other schools.

The purpose of the MUN club is an educational simulation that allows students to go to different schools to debate. Students learn diplomacy, international relations, debate, public speaking and gives you advantages that can help you get into colleges and can give you social hours. Before the pandemic, there were reunions every week, but now the reunions and events .

“There are huge benefits. It’s good on your resume, but also builds confidence, world knowledge, and then you have to defend a country or speak for a country. So it just really helps you both in English or in Spanish with articulating yourself,” Emily Buttersworth, MUN Advisor, said.

MUN is open to all students and there is a process to sign up starting by scanning the QR Code on the  flyers posted around campus. 

“If you want to join you will need to contact President Luisa Ceballos and Vice-president Mariana Mesa. The MUN community wants to want to give opportunities for people who en enjoy having these opportunities of external models,” Mariana Mesa, MUN Vice-President, said.

Being in MUN for just 1 year can help you in being more extroverted and have good qualities in talking with people. It will also help you in your abilities to be able to speak publicly.

“I usually can tell the kids that have already been in MUN even in eighth grade. Why? Because they’re amazing public speakers. They go and give presentations when we do debates,” Buttersworth said.

The MUN members go to other schools and debate with other students giving them opportunities to improve their communications and argumentative skills.

“The difference between MUN and the COSMUN  club is that the MUN club only does events on the TCS campus while in MUN club you have the opportunity to go to different schools to debate and meet new people,” Mesa said.

The MUN and COSMUN members are constantly trying to improve these clubs, for better accessibility for everyone, making these clubs more affordable for anyone.

“She’s working very hard to make COSMUN more affordable for people that want to come from outside from other schools. So traditionally, MUN tends to be kind of expensive. And then, therefore, sometimes only like elite schools are going to them. But as they become more affordable, like we get sponsorship, things like that,” Buttersworth said.

 Another thing to know is that during COVID-19 the reunions were way easier because these were virtual, but now it has been harder to meet because people are busy. The team is trying to normalize the meetings again by having announcements in the advisory.

“When you go to university, people outside of Colombia know what those clubs are, and if the clubs are just here we might not know what it is outside. So for MUN it will help you not only here in Colombia but also outside,” Buttersworth said.