New Year and New Plans for the Mediterranean Model United Nations: What Should We Expect?

Well, it’s becoming more than clear that the summer break is officially over. Despite the straggling remains of tourist crowds traipsing through the streets of Menton, ice creams in hand, Menton’s Sciences Pistes are starting to smell the beginnings of a new academic year. Readings are already stacking up, various looming assessment deadlines are being discernibly placed in calendars, and the once-toasty temperature feels as though it may be beginning to drop at Sablettes.

However, with the onset of this fresh new year, Menton’s student organizations are beginning to get their acts together. The Mediterranean Model United Nations is no exception — not only have interviews been conducted, but the board is coordinating two major events to be hosted in Menton this year. MEDMUN’s President and Vice-President, Inès Jabri and Maria Azadian, respectively, have been unequivocally toiling away to put together a schedule and a plan so that you, dear Sciences Pistes, can get excited about the newest SPMUN and MEDMUN conferences of 2022 and 2023.

Now, ‘what is the difference between these two conferences?’ you may well be asking yourself. Fortunately, Jabri and Azadian took the time to let us all in on this information.

SPMUN is a conference that “caters to people with interests in all regions of the world,” Azadian states. It offers an opportunity for all Sciences Pistes with passions “from the Americas to East Asia” to come together and get to know one another. A pivotal part of this conference will be drawing inspiration from our fellow students’ passion, learning from one another’s experiences, and considering what it means to be a globally-engaged citizen in an ever-changing socio-political environment.

The theme for this year’s SPMUN on the Menton campus is “Reconstruction and Redirection: Imagining a Post-Crisis World.” Intrigued by the decisions behind the choice of such a compelling theme, I quizzed Azadian about some of the thought processes that underpinned the MEDMUN board’s final choice. “We had many discussions about the theme for this year’s conference,” she said, “[and] we noticed that the discussion often centers around the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of conflicts today.” While deliberation about the current crises — the crippling consequences of climate change and the ongoing public health crises, to name a couple — were all taken into consideration, Jabri and Azadian considered how these everyday topics and questions “miss a part of the bigger picture.” “With the geopolitical, economic, environmental, political, social and judicial thematics,” Jabri says, “participants will get a multifaceted perspective of today’s global issues.” Instead, people need to think more openly of the disturbingly daunting question that humanity should be asking itself now: “how can we rebuild (our) world?”

Under the umbrella of such a moving theme, SPMUN will bring together Sciences Pistes from all six of the Menton Campus’ neighbors — a unique opportunity for the Mentonese to get to know some of their otherwise distanced peers (and in some cases, rekindle a few close connections to other students from across campuses originally made in Reims last year). Moreover, for the first time in its history, the SPMUN conference will be trilingual — with committees discussing global issues in English and French and now in Spanish.

MEDMUN also focuses on the Middle Eastern and Northern African regions, allowing for dialogue with delegates who either come specifically for the conference’s unique regional focus or who simply enjoy the opportunity to meet a few new faces and enhance their understanding of diverse worldviews and opinions. Jabri eagerly states that MEDMUN expects over 400 students from all over the globe to arrive in Menton, allowing for the “accomplishment of a year of teamwork,” which she reflects will “make our little city shine.”

Regardless of some key differences in the content explored by the conferences, both will undoubtedly offer their participants a diverse number of unique and exhilarating opportunities. As Azadian puts it, “each conference, at the end of the day, creates its community of people passionate about debate and diplomacy.” Jabri further elaborates, saying that “having two MUN conferences on the Menton campus is an incredible opportunity” for all students to benefit from “not only… the intellectual aspect of these experiences, debating topical subjects in different committees,” but also to “share their culture, knowledge and advice.” Despite its poeticism, Jabri’s firm belief that “diversity and multiculturalism become the backbone of these events” rings true for all participants.

Heads of Crisis, David Ederberg and Riwa Hassan, are also cooking up a storm. Ederberg emphasized his excitement at seeing “students from all campuses… use their different backgrounds and perspectives” to come to meaningful and insightful conclusions in their respective “captivating crisis” committees.

Both conferences will offer Sciences Pistes some of the most fantastic opportunities to meet new and exciting people from France and the world. Menton’s upcoming MUNs create incredible opportunities to “learn about international relations,” and “expand network[s] and lifelong friendships,” according to Azadian However, aside from the cerebral rewards of conference participation, “debating with a stunning view of the Mediterranean right outside your window is not such a bad thing either!”

Jabri correctly puts it when she states, “Get ready for the first intercampus event of the year, located on the beautiful Riviera, where you will have the opportunity to debate, create memories [and] share your experience!”

SPMUN will be held in Menton from the 11th to 13th of November, 2022, and MEDMUN will be held from the 31st of March to 2nd of April, 2023.