The post Wells 7th Annual MUN Conference first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post Wells 7th Annual MUN Conference appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

This celebration not only introduces young children to the beauty of cultural diversity but also helps them develop a positive sense of identity. They learn to embrace their own cultural heritage while respecting and valuing the cultures of their peers.

()

The post Wells Thong Lo | Celebration of Culture 2023 first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post Wells Thong Lo | Celebration of Culture 2023 appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

On the 28th of January, fifteen students from Wells attended the BKKMUN XXIX conference in Bangkok Patana School. This was the first Model United Nations (MUN) conference for six of our students, and they all had a challenging yet incredibly rewarding experience. Attending conferences like BKKMUN allows for students to develop their public speaking and social confidence, skills which help extend and apply what is learned in the classroom.

Here are some of the reflections that participating students shared about their learning experiences:��

“As someone who has been a delegate many times, it was exciting to be able to chair, not just for any committee, but for the Historical Special Operations Committee (HSOC), one of the most unique and fun committees out there. It was tiring and laborious writing the countless documents needed in preparation for this event, and running around from room to room hand delivering messages, reading communiques and coordinating the event with my fellow chairs. However, the blast I had watching things unfold and the people I met made up for all of it.”��

– Sameer Gathia (Class of 2024)

“Although I have attended many MUN conferences so far, this conference had the friendliest people whom I was able to socialize with. They encouraged me to speak out, so I gained more confidence when giving a speech.”��

-Risa Takahashi (Class of 2024)

“This was my fourth MUN conference, and it was one of the best conferences I have been to. The delegates around me challenged me to speak out loud in a way I normally do not do. As a Wells MUN club leader, this conference has made me further realize that MUN really helps one become a different person, and it helps students develop skills that will stick with them throughout their whole lives.”

-Tanish Kedia (Class of 2024)

“This conference was one of the many MUN conferences I have been to so far. I was expecting this conference to not be fun because of the topic I had to discuss but this conference turned out to be a really fun conference where I was not only able to make new friends but also learn more about an issue that I was not aware of.”

-Franny Pandya (Class of 2024)

“This was my first in-person MUN conference after a while of doing online conferences due to Covid-19. I had a great time meeting all of my friends there and being able to get back into the loop of MUN.”

-Nicole (Class of 2023)

Written By: Tanish Kedia, Class of 2024

The post BKKMUN XXIX first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post BKKMUN XXIX appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

Opening Ceremony

In the opening ceremony, we had the honor of having a great role model as our keynote speaker. Ploy is a diplomat in the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is currently reading a postgraduate degree in international law at the University of Oxford. Her responsibilities include drugs and crime issues under the purview of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. She was an avid MUN debater in high school. After graduating from Ruamrudee International School in 2017, she has gone on to study her first degree in law at Queen Mary, University of London on a full scholarship from the Thai government and partial scholarships from the university. During her time in London, she has held various leadership and debating roles. In her free time, she writes articles on legal and foreign affairs. As a former MUN member, Ploy served as a great model for our MUN participants aspiring for a future career in diplomacy, or international relations or law.

Collaboration in Committees

There were four main committees held in the conference: United Nations Human Rights Council (UNRC), UN4MUN, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNHRC focused on discussing the question of dealing with Hindu-Muslim disputes in South Asia, whereas UN4MUN explored the question of improving rights for indigenous communities in Africa. In the WHO, delegates focused on the question of operating a mental health action plan: the promotion of care and treatment. And finally, UNESCO delegates examined the question of ensuring quality education and increasing accessibility to e-learning for children.��

Overall, the students engaged in productive collaboration, resolution making and debates on the various issues from different perspectives. There was a high level of engagement and initiative shown from delegates, and the chairs did an excellent job of facilitating the conversations and ensuring MUN protocol and standards were maintained in a virtual environment.��

In the closing ceremony, the chairs shared summaries of the day’s events in their committees and commended great performance by awarding best delegates and overall best chairs, as well as some fun superlatives. The following awards were presented:

Best Chair: Shovit Dhakal from EIS (UN4MUN)��

Best Chair Honorable Mention: Aaditi Bhandari from NIST (UN4MUN)

UNHRC

Best Delegate: Natthawit Kokirdpanich, Delegate of India (IPS)

Honorable Mention: Alexis Jade Melocontones, Delegate of Nepal (IPS)

UN4MUN

Best Delegate: Nadthasha Wirak, Delegate of DRC (IPS)

Honorable Mention: Thammathorn Paweewan, Delegate of Angola (EIS)

�±᰿��

Best Delegate: Olivier Hildebrand, Delegate of India (NIST)

Honorable Mentions: Delegates of UK, Canada, China & Pakistan

UNESCO

Best Delegate: Andre Brian Danny, Delegate of UK (IPS)

Honorable Mentions: Delegates of Singapore, New Zealand, U.S., Philippines

Special Thanks

Special thanks go to Ms. Nikki, Dr. Katina, Shreyaa Srivastava, Jiwon An, Cristine Jeong (Class of 2022), Risa Takahashi, Krish Jain and Sameer Gathia (Class of 2024), for their team efforts in organizing and coordinating the conference. Thank you to all of the schools who participated, including students and advisors from Amnuay Silpa, American School of Bangkok, Ekkamai International School, International Pioneers School, NIST, Ruamrudee, St. Stephen’s International School, and St. Mark’s International School.

It was a memorable and meaningful experience, and we are humbled to have had so many eager MUN participants take part and spend their time discussing important global issues on a Sunday! We look forward to continued collaboration with our inter-school MUN network and future in-person conferences!

The post WISMUN VI first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post WISMUN VI appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

On Sunday, October 11, fourteen of our Model United Nations (MUN) members participated in the 28th annual Bangkok Model United Nations, the largest local MUN conference, at International School of Bangkok (ISB). Our students were among over a hundred students from various local international schools. A special keynote speaker from the CDC, Dr. Josh Mott, shared his perspective on the pandemic, as well as current statistics and work being done towards developing a vaccine.

The following committees were included in the conference: Security Council, Human Rights Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Disarmament and National Security (DISEC), UN4MUN, World Health Organization (WHO), International Court of Justice (ICJ), European Union (EU), and Sustainable Development committee. Topics discussed and debated included the question of the use and sharing of technology and data during a pandemic, improving humanitarian and disaster relief assistance, and sustainably developing public service systems in LEDCs.��

Some of our students had chair positions in committees, opportunities to develop communication and leadership skills, as they helped coach delegates through the process of discussing issues and finding solutions. Soumili Kar served as the chair of ECOSOC council, and Hrithi Bhattacharya and Riddhi Tandon (Class of 2021) served as the chairs for UN4MUN, a new style of committee that focuses on building consensus and focused on developing collaboration skills.

BKKMUN XXVIII was an enjoyable experience for our Wells delegation with new experiences, sharing of diverse perspectives, collaboration, and displays of global citizenship. Our delegates were given the chance and voice to shine and contribute to positive problem-solving and peacemaking in this sophisticated simulation of UN procedures and committees. This was also an especially unique conference, as not many in-person MUN conferences are happening currently in the world due to the pandemic situation. Nonetheless, the students were able to discuss and gain more knowledge about such pressing relevant issues whilst practicing strictly enforced social distancing measures.��

Special Mentions

Congratulations to Soumili Kar (Class of 2021) for winning the Best Chair award for her leadership of ECOSOC, and to Shreyaa Srivastava (Class of 2022) for receiving an honorable mention as a delegate in the UN4MUN committee.

Special thanks to International School of Bangkok (ISB) for hosting the conference this year, and for ensuring that social distancing measures were strictly adhered to throughout the event.

The post Bangkok Model United Nations XXVIII 2020 first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post Bangkok Model United Nations XXVIII 2020 appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

Youths for SDGs 2020

On January 25 & 26, international school students from all over Thailand participated in the second conference hosted at Bangkok Patana School. �ۿ۴�ý, who hosted the event last year, were happy to be actively involved in the planning of this year’s event, and also brought a large number of students as participants and youth leaders.��

Youths for SDGs is an academic event that focuses on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and strives to be a part of this universal call to action. The event’s objectives included raising awareness to the SDGs, creating a network of youths passionate about making change, and promoting creativity in finding solutions towards current local issues. With those objectives in mind, the event consists of three main activities: the Breakout Session, the SDG Quest, and the Case Challenge. High schoolers from international schools were given the opportunity to network and share ideas, as well as capitalize on their creativity and problem-solving skills.��

The event began with the opening ceremony, where the conference director and founder of Youths for SDGs, Prima Pupornchai (Wells’ Class of 2015 alumna) gave a welcome speech. This was followed by a speech from our guest speaker Mr. Renaud Meyer from UNDP Bangkok gave an inspiring speech about specific actions being taken towards the SDGs here in Thailand.��

Breakout Session

Then the students headed to their respective discussion rooms for the Breakout Session, led by youth leaders. The Breakout Session is an interactive discussion where participants get to explore different themes of SDGs, ranging from poverty to hunger to gender equality and sustainable development and promotion of climate action.��

SDG Quest

The SDG Quest is another youth-led game where randomly-grouped participants can collaborate in exploring fun activities and booths related to the SDGs. In the SDG Quest, students were separated into random groups, with various schools mixed together. They were instructed to earn as many points as they can by participating in the activity booths and completing tasks related to SDGs within a limited time. This fun activity made the students bond and interact with students from other schools.

Case Challenge

Finally, the Case Challenge presents a current real-life local issue to the teams to find creative and feasible solutions to. This year, the challenge focused on addressing sustainable agriculture issues in Thailand. The teams had two and a half hours of case cracking time to find a solution and make a presentation.

The following day was the presentation day, which consists of 3 rounds: the preliminary round, the semifinal round, and the final round. The winner of the Case Challenge was a team from Ruamrudee International School, who came up with an idea to create an app that would educate and encourage Thai youth to better understand farming practices and skills, with the goal of changing perceptions about farm work among youth.

The closing ceremony concluded the event with a and a closing speech from the conference director, Prima Pupornchai, as well as recognition for the support of the youth leaders and Core team. Overall, the event inspired many students to learn more about the SDGs and to create change in their local contexts. It was a very fun, productive, and memorable weekend. This event was truly an event for youths, by youths.��

Special Acknowledgements

Wells would like to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm of the Core Team, Youth Leaders and participants, which consisted of past and present Wells’ students, who all collaborated by combining their passions to contribute to making the event a success!

����

Core Team:��Prima Pupornchai (Class of 2015),��Srishti (Sami) Soni (Class of 2016),��Tanisha Arbol (Class of 2017),��Natnisha Ahuja (Class of 2018),��Hrithi Bhattacharya (Class of 2021)

Youth Leaders:��Lina Puthengot,��Lucia (Lucy) Lee (Class of 2020),��Muskan Gurbuxani,��Poorvi Daga,��Shradha Silori,��Soumili Kar (Class of 2021),��Shreyaa Srivastava, and��Yewon (Cristine) Jeong (Class of 2022)

The post Youths for SDGs 2020 first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post Youths for SDGs 2020 appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

On Sunday, November 10th, we held our largest and fifth annual Model United Nations (MUN) conference, WISMUN V, with approximately 200 students representing fifteen other international schools in the area.

The conference began with an opening ceremony, in which our keynote speaker, Prima Pupornchai, our MUN club founder, gave a very inspirational speech in which she addressed the importance of our youth being future leaders and advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She is currently the founder of , another initiative that encourages students to spread awareness of the SDGs and take action in working towards the goals. This was followed by a speech from the MUN club President, Aung Sit (Derek) Paing and the conferring of the gavels to the chairs.

Once delegates and chairs settled into their respective committees, they began proposing, debating and collaborating towards problem solving and solution proposals to major global issues. There were five committees in total: Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), Human Rights Council (HRC), Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL), Security Council (SC), Historical Security Council (HSC), and International Court of Justice (ICJ).��

Topics included the question of preserving the rights of indigenous people around the world, political corruption in Venezuela, the role of technology in preserving peace and security, and combatting terrorism in South East Asia.��

Our closing ceremony gave all of the chairs opportunities to reflect and share about experiences in their respective committees. During this time, ‘Best Delegates’ were announced for each committee. Overall, it seems that the beginner MUN students were able to gain more confidence, the more advanced were able to guide and lead those newer to MUN, and everyone was able to productively collaborate and have fun at the same time.

Thank you to the MUN Officers�� and club members for helping to organize the event and to those who supported during the event, and thank you to those who participated in contributing to a fun, collegial atmosphere and a successful conference.��

The post WISMUN V first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post WISMUN V appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

On Saturday, February 23, fourteen members of our Wells Model United Nations (MUN) Club attended the fourteenth annual session of Ruamrudee International School’s Model United Nations. Derek, Lina and Sapal from our Class of 2020 served as chairs of three different committees. The remainder of our MUN students represented delegates from various countries in the following committees: Security Council, ECOSOC, DISEC, UNCSW, HRC and General Assembly. In the different committees, the issues discussed, debated and resolved included the Rohingya Crisis, the protection of journalist rights and freedom of the press, reducing the gender wage gap, and the prevention and control of communicable diseases.

Our students did well representing their respective countries and critically thinking from different perspectives. Lastly, we thank Ruamrudee International School for their hospitality and we look forward to continuing to represent the Wells MUN club in other local and international conferences in the future.

The post RISMUN XIV first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post RISMUN XIV appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

On Saturday, February 3, thirteen of our Wells MUN Club members attended the first ICSMUN conference. Three of our members were chairs of different committees: Shreya Silori (Grade 12), Devanshi Mehta (Grade 11), and Lila Al Tamimi (Grade 11). The remaining members served as delegates in their respective committees, including ECOSOC, Human Rights Council, and Security Council. Student delegates discussed, debated, and collaborated on proposing solutions to major relevant global issues, from the question of mining the arctic to LGBTQ rights.

��

The post ICSMUN 2018 first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post ICSMUN 2018 appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

On Tuesday, November 21, a group of High School representatives from our Student Council and MUN Club attended the UNESCAP Interregional Youth Policy Forum at the United Nations here in Bangkok. The purpose of the forum was to unite��UN officials, policymakers and youth leaders from Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Western Asia to share their experiences collaborating on the Development Account project: “Strengthening the capacity of Governments in the ESCAP, ECA and ESCWA regions to respond to the needs of youth in formulating inclusive and sustainable development policies.”

The students joined a panel discussion on youth policy and development at global and regional levels, and listened to diverse perspectives on the topic. The intended outcome of this discussion was to increase familiarity and capacity identifying the needs of youth, in order to effectively support their development.

Wells would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Mr. Marco Roncarati and Mr. Bryce Hartley at UNESCAP for giving us the opportunity to learn and participate in the youth policy forum!

The post UNESCAP Interregional Youth Policy Forum first appeared on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.

The post UNESCAP Interregional Youth Policy Forum appeared first on �ۿ۴�ý | American International School - Wells.