On February 10, the eighth Francis W. Parker Model United Nations (FWPMUN) kicked off at 7:30 AM, welcoming over 360 delegates from 20 schools around the Chicagoland area and Wisconsin. Helmed by a secretariat team of seven students, the conference has been in the works since May of last year. 

Although it is often confused with the Model UN club in the Upper School, FWPMUN is a separate entity specifically focusing on planning the conference while the Model UN club trains delegates and attends other conferences.

“We first started working back in May when we selected the head chairs,” Secretary-General Cate O’Connor said. Head chairs are normally pairs of students who choose a debate-provoking topic to create a committee for.

Some from this year’s conference include global industrialization, human trafficking, and abortion rights. In total, there were 12 committees this year. Head chairs write long background guides to prepare delegates for the conference. “The head chairs started working on their background guides in September, and then we met as a team every week leading up to the conference,” O’Connor said.

On the day of the conference, delegates arrived at Parker, starting their day of debate with a keynote address from Michael Ketover, former Country Director for Peace Corps Ukraine. The forty-minute opening presentation was filled with his experience working in the Peace Corps, his dedication to helping others, and his invitation to the delegates to pursue similarly consequential work. Following the keynote, the committees commenced. For over five hours, delegates were busy debating and writing resolutions until the closing ceremony and awards took place.

While this can sound intimidating, there is no prior experience needed to be a part of FWPMUN. “There’s a bunch of different levels of understanding, and we [the Secretariat team] also help you prepare a lot,” Director of Finance Gabrielle Silverman said. 

Head Chair Nia Nashashibi, along with Head Chair Alex Sarnoff, led a committee on human trafficking with only one year of Model UN experience. “Being a head chair at FWPMUN was such a fun experience,” Nashashibi said. “It’s really fun being on the planning side of things for once, and I hope FWPMUN continues to take place for many years to come.”