CISSMUN IX: What is Different?

By Colin Jun

​The CISSMUN IX Conference was held in Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS) from January 19th to January 21st. Under the theme of “A Place to Stand,” students from various international schools around the world discussed more than fifty topics in sixteen committees. Most parts of the conference procedure are no different than the CISSMUN X conference - Lobbying, Merging, Formal Debate and the CISS Magazine - Vigil. Some unique features made the CISSMUN IX conference different from past CISSMUN conferences and other MUN conferences. 

1. GINAsia 2018

Photos of Student Workshops in GINAsia 2018 - Photos taken by Concordia GIN Media Team

While the CISSMUN IX conference was happening in most of the high school building of
​CISS, another side of the school - middle school and elementary school - was filled with the participants for GIN Asia (Global Issue Network Asia) 2018. GIN conference has several similarities with MUN conference - by the fact that they both deal with the international issues (events) and require the collaboration between the students from around the world. However, GINAsia takes a different approach than CISSMUN to solve the problems. For every issue, GINAsia serves as the platform which schools and students can participate the workshops about the specific global issues or the projects and discuss. Compared to CISSMUN, GINAsia workshops include more interactive activities (simulations or games) and encourages informal discussion for the topic. 

​2. Keynote Speakers

Photos of Keynote Speakers in CISSMUN IX, GINAsia 2018 - Photos taken by Concordia GIN Media Team

By GINAsia 2018, six keynote speakers made presentation related to global issues. Melati and Isabel Wijsen, two teenage environmentalists and activists, made a presentation about their past projects such as “Bye Bye Plastic Bali” and “Beach Clean Up Event” as well as their school “Green School Bali.” Kim Phuc, the most famous survivor of Vietnamese War for her picture, made a beautiful presentation about her life as the survivor of the war and the famous photo taken during the war. In her speech, she asked the students to the bright side of the story - her story of hope and forgiving - when they ever look at that picture again. On the second day, Ishmael Beah, a Sierra Leone-born human activist, and Peter Dalglish, a humanitarian, made the speech about their lives and their perspective towards the global issues. ​

3. CISSGIN APP

One of the most praised features of CISSMUN IX and GINAsia 2018 was the CISSGIN App that is introduced. Through the CISSGIN App, the students were able to quickly check the schedule of the conference, necessary information such as rules of procedure, contact information, campus map and brief information about the keynote speakers. Many students complimented the broad range of information the app covers. 

Screenshot of CISGIN App - Screenshot taken by reporter