creativity

I have attended a total of 3 Model United Nations (MUN) conferences over the last year and a half; I have participated in conferences in Paris, The Hague and Athens. MUN is a simulation of the workings of the United Nations and hence participants are expected to take on the point of view of a designated country and then aim to solve global issues. Some of the issues I have had to debate include “Global Zero: a world without nuclear weapons” and “amendments to the 1925 Geneva protocol” to be able to debate effectively these issue must be well researched and understood.   The MUN experience has been a fantastic opportunity that has allowed me to travel and given me the chance to develop an entirely new set of skills. To participate successfully in an MUN conference one must have a few key skills, firstly the ability to work and think creatively with others to solve a common problem, secondly one must not be afraid to express and opinion and express it in a clear and effective manner. MUN teaches all of this in addition it helps give the confidence to stand up in front of a large group of your peers and deliver a speech. During my time as a member of the ISP MUN club I have vastly improved my public speaking skills, and increased my ability to work with effectively and creatively with others.

PAMUN- hours=3x8hrs = 24 hours

This was my first MUN conference that took place in December 2010. IT was held in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. I was placed in the political committee, one of the main bodies of the United Nations General Assembly. I was understandably nervous as this was the first time I would be expected to debate in a committee of almost 200 people. I found that I had come a little underprepared about the issues to be debated (piracy in Somalia) and so I spent the first day learning about the procedures and how to go about being an effective MUN delegate. Personally I saw Paris as training for the largest MUN conference I would be attending at the world forum centre in The Hague.  The se3cond and third  days of the conference I understood the procedure a lot better and so felt more comfortable posing questions during debate

THIMUN- hours = 5x8hrs= 40hours

The Hague International Model United Nations. This is one of the largest MUN conferences with over 3000 participants. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet people from all over the world many of them I am still in contact with. I had the privilege of leading the delegation from ISP in the role of ambassador. I represented the ambassador to the UN for Barbados. This involved added responsibility both within the conference and outside the conference. It was a huge honour. The Hague was my favourite of the three conferences I went to as to me it offered the biggest challenge. I was the legal committee of the general assembly. My aim at the start of the conference was to make a speech. By the end of the 5 days I had made 4 speeches and countless questions. I came out of the conference with a nomination for best speaker. For me this conference showed how much my ability to speak confidently and clearly had improved.  Within this conference I with a team of peers had to create a resolution to come up with a legal solution to nuclear arms. The resolution I co-submitted was passed with a large majority.

DSA-MUN hours -4x6hrs= 24hours

This was the smallest conference held at the deutsche schule of Athens.it was a trip in October 2011 with purely grade 12 students many of whom had never been to a conference before, being one of the senior members I looked to help the less experienced. In terms of pure enjoyment this conference was fantastic it was more relaxed than The Hague. I was representing South Sudan in the disarmament committee. This was interesting as I was debating from the point of view of a country that was less than a year old. This gave my arguments and interesting slant and was challenging in some ways. I came out of this conference with the award for best speaker. This to me was nice as it shows clear progression from my first conference in Paris where I made no speeches.

To conclude I loved my time in the MUN club it has taught me many key skills.it has made me a better team player. I have learned to reflect and see the different sides of an argument. Furthermore it took me outside my comfort zone especially in The Hague as making speech to over 200 people in such a formal situation was nerve wracking but I found that I had got a massive rush from the risk taking.  MUN is slightly sobering as we are constantly reminded that the world is not entirely fair and that extreme poverty does exist and it is our responsibility as the next generation to do our part in helping others.

Total hours 88 

service

Service

Within this section of the CAS program I have undertaken many tasks including tutoring, helping at a soup kitchen and also a regular babysitting service for staff at school. The service section of the CAS program is one that can have quite a strong effect on emotions. I was struck particularly when helping at the soup kitchen by this. I was surprised by the fact that a lot of the people coming to have a free meal from the French Salvation Army (for whom I was volunteering with a group of friends) were not actually homeless as such but rather it was more the elderly who may not have been able to afford to buy their own food. I found the service element enjoyable as a whole and also very beneficial to me. Especially when I was tutoring both economics to my friend Tedros and biology to my friends Michaela, Tori and Farah. I was able to help them improve third grades in the subjects and furthermore going over the syllabus with them helped me  improve my grades as well as it meant that I was firmly cementing the basics allowing me to study on the harder HL topics in my own time.

Babysitting 8 hours

This runs as an ad hoc service for whenever there is a whole senior school or entire school meeting. This often left staff with childcare problems. I volunteered to help look after their children. This took place mostly after school hours either on a Tuesday or a Thursday. There was one incidence where I came in on a Saturday to help while there was a staff training day. I had a few regular turn outs for the babysitting. I ensured the children who were all from the infant and junior schools. Did their homework and after this was done I provided a box of paper, scissors, glue, and colouring in materials. In addition the elder ones were able to use one of the computers in the library. This was an interesting and engaging activity which helped teach me how to manage a larger group of people. There was two occasions where I was asked to look after a young child who was not yet in school. To allow me to effectively babysit the elder children and the younger baby I recruited two friends, Tudors and Kelly to help. This allowed us to split up the work load and ensure the children were safe and content at all times. The responsibility of babysitting was quite a big one, although by using the library as a room in which to look after the children reduced the risks. I had to ensure that when the children did get hyper or very energetic that they remained safe and did not fall into one of the tables. Or injure them in some other way. One of the other challenges I had to cope with was when two of the children did not get on with one another. It was not serious more of a boy girl rivalry that is so common at the younger ages but there were some instances of name calling a had to be stopped. the children were very responsive and nothing more than a firm talking to was needed to restore order.

Tutoring Biology 15hrs

As someone who is naturally inclined to a scientific way of thinking I have found that the study of biology comes very easily to me. This combined with the fact that I wish to become a doctor means that biology is one of my strongest subjects by far. However I knew that not all people are so scientifically incline so I offered my help to any in HL or SL bio who wanted some help. I helped two girls in SL Bio who were already doing well but were struggling to move into the next grade boundary. I was asked to do this around the time mock exams came up in June and so we would meet regularly during lunchtimes or frees to go through practice papers and areas they didn’t understand too well. I firmly believe that one of the best ways to increase your grades is by working with someone who is able to help you.  By working closely with both students I felt I was able to help the understanding by explaining concepts just slightly differently. In addition we would go over past papers and do IB style questions. I tried to pass on the same approach to the biology essay questions as I use. I make a plan with bullet pointed statement corresponding to the number of marks. And then I start writing, I taught them this approach to the exams as I find it a really useful way to  maximise the number of marks gained as it helps to order things on paper and in your head.

Tutoring economics 15 hours

I had never taken economics before but I found I understood it quite well. I also find it fascinating. However my friend Tedros who is in the same class as me often has problems with the subject. Especially with the internal assessment so to help him for each of the five economic IA’s we have sat down together and gone through the article I help him highlight and understand the relevant points and then I make him do a detailed plan. Including what economic terms he must define and what diagrams he must use and what their explanations are. I then help him check through and explain any errors I can see. I also helped him with exam prep. I did this through creating flashcards for him and myself and then testing each other this was a very effective and collaborative way to learn.

Disco 4 hours

I have helped at a couple of middle school discos bother here at ISP and at EAB victor Hugo. This was not one of my favourite activities as occasionally the younger year groups could be obnoxious and rude. And it also involved cleaning up at the end of the discos which is never pleasant. However it make me think of those people worldwide who have unpleasant jobs such as street cleaners and those less fortunate than myself.

Soup kitchen 3 hours

I did this with a group of friends volunteering for the Salvation Army in France. Once a week in the north part of Paris the Salvation Army gives a free meal to any who need it. I enjoyed the team work that was involved. The activity was helpful to others and also helped me improve my French speaking skills as I had to work with a mainly French group of people. The activity made me consider the ethical issues surrounding poverty. It made me realise that it is easy to live in a western society and think that poverty exists in Africa and not outside your front door.