Laura Moye
Dear Delegates and Special Guests,
It is our honor to welcome you to TAIMUN XXIII.
In 2024, many countries held elections for government leadership. While elections are an opportunity for candidates to express their vision and plans for the future of their countries, they can also be hotbeds of toxic negativity.
As adults, we often present ourselves as knowing better and having more maturity and wisdom than young people. Sometimes this is the case, but many times we fall short.
In this school year’s student government elections at AST, we saw students model collaboration and respect even in the midst of very competitive races. During the question and answer time in front of the student body, candidates were asked to summarize their opponent's speeches, and then to express the best qualities and skills of their competitors. The students rose to the occasion and, with grace, shared those positive attributes. I found myself inspired by the students’ ability to put the school first and to work together to participate in a process in which some of them would win and some would lose. It was as though no one was really going to lose because they were not the point. The community was the point. There would be plenty of ways for everyone to contribute regardless of their title anyway.
Student Government is basically Model Government. Just like it, Model UN is a place where students can create dynamics and solutions that are better than those their adult counterparts have made.
The world is a complex place. As you get older you can see more and more layers that make global problems complicated to solve. You see so many fractures that you might wonder whether some problems can be solved at all. Are we doomed to catastrophic climate change? Can Israelis and Palestinians both enjoy peace and self-determination? Can countries achieve development without ruining the environment or deepening inequalities?
Can we mend or move forward with our fractured world? You do have parameters in MUN, it's not completely open-ended, but it is a model. So, yes, you can! You can reach across real world differences and fractures to find harmony through compromise, creativity, and negotiation. You can model for adults what that should look like. You can model for yourselves, developing skills and ideas as the next generation of global citizens.
I look to you for inspiration as you model how to bring harmony to our fractured world at TAIMUN XXIII. I will keep doing my part as a global citizen and I look forward to following your leadership as you transition from your teen years into adulthood.
With Faith,
Ms. Moye