FORMUN 2021

On Friday, March 12, we celebrated FORMUN 2021 (Formus Model United Nations), our in-house model organized by students in secundaria, and designed for fifth and sixth graders in primaria. Coordinated by their English teacher, Ana Morales, The Chair worked for more than six months prior to the event, researching on topics of current global interest that could be accessible for children under twelve years old. They designed a web page to assess their delegates, and created a team of MUN trainers who voluntarily led the youngest on their first approach to this type of event.

Models of the United Nations are held in schools and other institutions around the world with the intention of promoting mental and emotional skills such as research, critical thinking, active listening, argumentation, initiative and leadership, among others.

In the name of The Chair, we wish to thank the personnel in primaria who collaborated in this event: Sergio Moreno and Lucía Garza; the delegates’ parents for their unconditional support; and the delegates themselves, for their valuable effort. We hope to see you again soon, getting involved in these kinds of events in favor of peace and the solution of current problems.

We share Alexa, Lia, and Sarah’s notes about their experience.

El viernes 12 de marzo, se llevó a cabo el FORMUN 2021 (Modelo de las Naciones Unidas Formus, por sus siglas en inglés), nuestro modelo interno, organizado por alumnas y alumnos de secundaria, y diseñado para quienes estuvieron interesados entre quinto y sexto de primaria. Coordinados por su maestra de inglés, Ana Morales, el equipo que conformó la mesa directiva trabajó por más de seis meses previos al evento, investigando temas actuales de interés global que fueran accesibles para las y los menores de doce años, diseñando una página web para asesorarles, y creando un equipo que funcionara como entrenadores, guiando a los menores en su primer acercamiento a este tipo de eventos. 

Los simulacros o modelos de las Naciones Unidas se llevan a cabo en escuelas y otras instituciones alrededor del mundo con la intención de promover habilidades cognitivas y emocionales como la indagación, pensamiento crítico, escucha activa, argumentación, iniciativa y liderazgo entre otros.

Agradecemos al personal de primaria que colaboró en este evento: Sergio Moreno y Lucía Garza; a  las y los padres de familia por su apoyo incondicional; y a las y los delegados mismos por su valioso esfuerzo;  esperamos verlos pronto y nuevamente, en eventos similares en pro de la paz y la búsqueda de soluciones a problemas actuales.

Compartimos reflexiones de Alexa, Lia, y Sarah, quienes participaron directamente en el comité organizador:

My experience at FORMUN

– Alexa

During the past three years I’ve been working really hard and taking a lot of time and dedication to help create FORMUN. When I was in 7^th grade I was a MUN trainer, which was a really nice experience; getting to teach people about a topic I really enjoy and trying to share this thing that makes me happy, was something I never thought I was going to do.

In 8^th  grade, I started as a MUN trainer again, and ended up becoming a chair. That was kind of a weird experience, because I was replacing someone and I didn’t have as much time as I would have if I had been chair since the beginning; but it still was a great experience. Between the three years I spent working on this, it was the only one in which I was actually part of the event and got to see everything; it was the only year in which I got to have an important job during the MUN, and had a steady place to be. It made me really happy.

This year, now that I’m in 9^th grade, everything was different and harder. As we are in a pandemic, everything had to be online; it was like starting all over again. Even though I felt a lot of pressure the moment I became secretary general instead of sub-secretary general as I had planned, I was happy to be able to have a say in things, and organize everyone and everything. With the help of who became sub-secretary general, I did my best to create what later became FORMUN 2021; and even though at some point in the process, I considered quitting because of how stressful it was to be the one in charge of most things, especially during these circumstances; I had a lot of fun planning things and, as weird as it may sound, it really made me happy to be sending emails to the delegates, and answering their doubts. It filled me with joy every time I received a message from a delegate saying “thank you” after I sent them an email with information, because it made me realize that my hard work was paying off and what I was doing was actually helping someone.

Being a part of FORMUN is something I will never regret. I will always recommend joining the secretariat, because if you are anything like me, it will be an awesome experience that you will cherish for the rest of your life. I’m sad that this was my last year doing this, but I am grateful that I got to be part of it.

My experience at FORMUN

– Lia

FORMUN has been part of my life for the last three years and I will definitely miss it. I remember always thinking with my friends new ideas for FORMUN all year long, and then start the actual planning a bit late. The day of the event has always been the most fun and rewarding, especially  seeing how the delegates enjoy this event we worked so hard on. It has been a really positive experience. I developed skills like organizing and teamwork a lot, which I know will be really helpful to me in the future. I made new friends at FORMUN and had a really fun time with them. I also found myself loving being a part of a team for this kind of extracurricular activities, and will definitely try out new stuff in the future. Thanks so much for this opportunity.

Mi experiencia en FORMUN

– Sarah

He tenido la suerte de participar en el proceso de este evento por tres años y he creado momentos que se quedarán conmigo para siempre. Creo que FORMUN nos da la oportunidad de conocer sobre lo que se hace en la vida real, lo que representantes de diferentes países hacen para resolver conflictos. Considero que este evento nos ayuda a saber cómo podemos participar en solucionar algún tipo de conflicto en un futuro, en donde todo lo que hagamos ya no será una simulación, sino que nuestra vida real. FORMUN me dio momentos increíbles, en donde se vieron involucrados muchos compañeros y amigos. Me trajo emociones como de alegría y emoción al ver que los niños de quinto y sexto se preparaban y se emocionaban por participar. Me siento muy afortunada de poder haber sido parte de FORMUN y espero que se pueda seguir haciendo. Gracias.

My experience at FORMUN

– Ana Paulina

The truth is, I liked and enjoyed the event very much. I liked the experience of being a MUN TRAINER for the first time.

I also learned about the country that I had to investigate. This was a bit new to me because it was my second MUN to attend, so I learned so much about it. In general, I liked everything, I appreciate all the effort you made to carry out the FORMUN event.