By IMPACT staffwriter, Si Yun Ee
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The Munual was developed in Taiwan by a group of High School students two years ago, who were inspired by their passion for Model United Nations (MUN). It is a student led initiative with the primary goal to improve the local MUN community and environment. With their experience, members and student leaders of Munual aim to contribute to the MUN community by sharing their experiences, knowledge and key takeaways from the conferences that they have attended. This also includes the importance of helping their audience, Taiwan delegates, and to help them recognize that MUN is more than a debate society or social event. Rather, it is the experience to recognize each individual’s connectivity and responsibility to that entails them as a citizen of the global community. Ansen Lai, a participant at Hsinchu Model UN(HSINMUN), a local conference in Hsinchu, Taiwan, says that “Whether delegates are new or experienced in MUN, Munual comprehensively prepares each participant from start to end” such that, the initiative aims to not only promote MUN as an outlet for global association, but for MUNers to readily take on lessons from their own MUN experience to be impelled to make a difference in the world.
The Munual also provides MUN guides and tips in both English and Chinese for The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) and UNA-USA Model UN procedure. Doing so assists the attainment of sustainability for MUN programs throughout Taiwan. Especially in local schools where the issue is more prevalent, those lacking funding are able to establish an MUN program or team on their own without seeking external training for rising student leaders or interested directors. In doing so, these schools that are lacking in resources are able to provide their students interested in global issues and debate a new form of collaborative international program. The guides provided by Munual ranges from how to guides, to introducing what the United Nations is, as well as tips specific to different conference types. For example, the preparation process detailing the difference between THIMUN and UNA-USA.
Audrey Hsu, one of Munual’s founding student leaders when asked why she joined Munual, says, “ I believe that MUN is a great activity that connects you to the rest of the world. There are a lot of criticisms in regards to the MUN community in Taiwan and I recognize this to a certain degree, that’s why I joined the Munual, to make the environment better.” Such criticisms include the divide between local and international schools MUN programs in Taiwan, wherein, local schools don’t have enough resources and lack of accessibility to these resources due to language barriers. Munual took upon the initiative to provide bilingual guides and everything publishes is available in both English and Mandarin. In her years in high school, she has worked to continuously improve the online site Munual provides but also through her experiences, enforce to future MUNers especially in Taiwan that “MUN is a great way to connect with others locally and to find a common interest with your peers.”