Lessons beyond diplomacy

Confident

Cai Haohuan from Nanjing Foreign Language School looked confident when he debated the motions at the simulated World Tourism Organization conference.

"I'm interested in international relations and like public speaking, so the MUN is a combination of my interests," says Cai, adding that he has also developed the habit of following the news to keep up with current affairs.

He started to research the topics he was to speak on in March. And speaking about his preparation, he says: "Taking in different voices is as important as speaking from my own standpoint. And, sometimes, seeking a possible compromise is important."

Yu Shengming, a history major from Nankai University learned about teamwork at the event.

As an assistant director of the Joint Crisis Committee, he had to write a background guide and academic test for delegates along with the director and 14 other assistant directors.

In the JCC, the ministers of countries, such as the US, Russia and Syria were grouped together, and they were required to give an appropriate response to certain statements released by the crisis center.

"Their statements could bring opportunities or trigger problems for some countries," says Yu.

"At this point, cooperation between the countries and the delegates' capacity to deal with emergencies were highlighted."

Julian Coyne, an English teacher at CFAU who served as an adviser to UNESCO, says the diverse topics the students discussed at the conference will be conducive to their future careers.

"If they do any sort of international business, then they are going to have to discuss topics that are similar," he says. "So, they can learn how to discuss these things here."