On Sunday November 27, the St. Petersburg College Model UN (MUN) team returned from Japan, where faculty and students attended the 2022 National Model United Nations (NMUN) international conference. This year’s gathering, which was hosted by NMUN in partnership with Kobe City University of Foreign Studies (KCUFS), was held from November 20-27 in the city of Kobe.

This was the first time SPC MUN has attended a conference in Asia, though Kobe 2022 was the second conference the team participated in this fall, after NMUN-DC in early November. In Kobe, students were able to network with other delegates and further sharpen their leadership, public-speaking, and collaboration skills.

Following its performance at the NMUN-DC conference where SPC-MUN students won the Outstanding Delegation Award, this time the team took home the Honorable Mention distinction for representing the interests of Costa Rica and Mali. This award was won in a very competitive field that included prominent American and foreign colleges. As one student commented, “This was an experience of a lifetime, and I am so grateful to be a part of this team.”

Travel Team

SPC-MUN Japan traveling team was led by me, Dr Gyldas Ofoulhast-Othamot, and Dr. Bill Fleming. The eight-student team benefited from the input of MUN faculty, including the lead faculty Dr. Douglas Rivero. The team was subdivided into the following committees as follows:

• Duke Panagiotis and Ronan Howard (Costa Rica General Assembly)
• Caroline Geiger and Joshua Brown (Mali Non-Proliferation Treaty Review)
• Hunter Hise and Elsa Al-Awar (Costa Rica Non-Proliferation Treaty Review)
• Mia Newsom and Yadira Rivers (Mali General Assembly)
• Head Delegates: Hunter Hise and Yadira Rivers

Peaceful Theme

The primary theme for the 2022 conference was peace, especially in the backdrop of current global conflicts and the fact that, hitherto, Japan remains the only country that has suffered the use of nuclear weapons. Topics for discussion in the General Assembly (GA) and Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) where SPC students served included the following:

GA:

• Topic 1. Promoting Mental Health and Improving Access to Care
• Topic 2. Adapting Energy Systems for Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation

And NPT:

• Topic 1. Practical Measures to Implement Article VI
• Tropic 2. Strengthening Measures for Nuclear Security

Overall, students exhausted their topics of discussion throughout the three days of the conference and came up with solutions to resolve those very difficult global issues.

Cultural Experiences

The team departed Tampa on November 18 and arrived in Tokyo, Japan’s capital and the world’s most populous metropolis, the following day. There, the team had the chance to explore the city, visiting the Imperial Palace and the Shibuya Crossing before traveling via the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kobe.

Before the conference got underway on Nov. 23, conference delegates went on cultural tours organized by NMUN and KCUFS. For SPC-MUN, the cultural tours commenced with a visit to the Peace Memorial Park and Museum in Hiroshima.

The trip to the thriving city of Hiroshima highlighted both the folly and promises of humanity. Students attended a lecture by volunteer guide Akemi Yagi, which focused on the story of one particular orphan survivor of the A-bomb. Akemi explained not only the difficulties in general that orphan survivors faced in their life following the 1945 events, but also how they rose in the face of adversity to live dignified lives.

The team ended the cultural tours in Kyoto, Japan’s ancient imperial city. There, they got the chance to immerse themselves further into Japanese culture by visiting the Kiyomizu-dera Temple Complex and Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine with its 5,000 vermillion gates. The team also had the opportunity to walk around Kyoto and enjoy Japanese cuisine and hospitality.

Altogether, student delegates were elated and humbled by the cultural experience and the bonds they forged with fellow delegates and KCUFS student volunteers. One student declared, “This was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life. It was an honor to work side-by-side with delegations from around the world, like Italy, Japan, Germany and Australia. I don’t think I would ever have that chance if not for SPC’s MUN program and the rockstar faculty behind it.”

Spring 2023 MUN Conferences

Now that MUN fall conferences are over, SPC-MUN turns its focus to spring 2023. Two conferences in Charlotte and NYC are scheduled for early next year. Student recruitment for the two traveling teams has already commenced and will continue until early or late January.

As always, SPC-MUN students and faculty are grateful for the support they have received since the creation of SPC-MUN from the college and Dean Joseph Smiley, as well as the overall campus community. SPC-MUN is looking forward to carrying out the college flag and enhancing SPC’s national and global reputation in future years.