Directors Agree: SAMUN a Big Success

By: Sally Yehya and Tomas Brito

At the end of  SAMUN XVIII, some of the directors of the participating schools were asked to share their opinions and/or experiences of the event.. They were also asked to pass on a message to all SAMUN participants.

The director of Escuela Bella Vista (EBV), Bobbi Nicolas said that SAMUN was a great well-organized conference. Her message to all SAMUNers:  “Enjoy yourselves.”

El Peñon director, Lili Baile, fully enjoyed SAMUN. This is her fourth year participating in the event. She informed us that her son put her on to SAMUN two years before she became a director. She was very enthusiastic about the whole SAMUN event. She made the point that SAMUN was a great way for students to express their opinions using diplomatic language and diplomatic behavior. Her message to the delegates: “Go on! Keep up the preparation and do as you wish, but most importantly, participate.”

The director of Jefferson, Gimenez de Ayala has participated in SAMUN for five or six years. When asked her opinion of the SAMUN event, she answered, “SAMUN is an opportunity to express your ideas and defend your future”. She also recalled her daughter’s experience of SAMUN. Her daughter learned much from it and it helped her with public speaking. She was also happy to report that her school had the biggest contingent of delegates (39) in this year’s conference. She also proudly said that the biggest sub-group among the delegates came from Grade Nine. Her message to the delegates: “The future is yours. It starts today. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Enjoy it!”

Marcelo Fernandes is the director of the student contingent from International School of Monagas. This was his first year participating in SAMUN. He was very impressed by the student’s hard work and their diplomatic manners. He mentioned that the students were  all very well-prepared. He thought that their jokes were classy and unique. His message to SAMUN participants was that they should take it seriously and but at the same time enjoy it.

The director of Hebraica, Victor Da Costa, participated in SAMUN for the fifth time. He said that SAMUN was a great experience for the delegates. He was also very happy to say that ten of his delegates came from Grade Nine. He said, “My delegates are happy and that’s great for me because if they’re happy, then I’m happy.” For Mr. Da Costa, SAMUN is an experience that teaches a student many things. “The general involvement of the students was good, and the personal involvement of the delegates was great too.” In his opinion, there were some great resolutions. His message to the delegates: “Prepare for the future, because you are the future”.

Richard Sonnet, the director of ECA group of delegates, has been participating in SAMUN for two years. He believes that there were a lot of great debates. He liked the resolutions of this year’s conference. The students were really involved and there was tremendous, diplomatic debate. There was also a lot of cooperation between the delegates. His message: “Keep working for a better world; don’t get caught in the details. Look at the big picture. Previous generations didn’t do well regarding environmental, war, and human rights issues. So, it’s this generation’s responsibility to solve some of the issues.” 

Participating for the third time in SAMUN, the director of International School of Curacao, Daniel Cwik, gave us his thoughts of SAMUN. “It’s a great way to introduce students. It’s a great parliamentary procedure. It’s great for the delegates because they have to search out global issues. SAMUN teaches them how to negotiate with other delegates, and it’s also fun! SAMUN is stimulating, yet very tiring.” He was also very excited to have a co-secretary general and an ICJ judge in his delegation. “The donuts rocked!” The overall environment of SAMUN intimidated the delegates at the beginning, but at the end, they were all SAMUN champions. “I teach MUN as a class, and this was their big test. Also, it’s a good preparation for THIMUN.” His message to the delegates was that they should enjoy themselves.