The Model United Nations Assembly of 2022 with over forty eight schools representing over 92 countries was an experience of a lifetime for students Kryzantha Castillon, Tamira Fazel and Saleha Khurram.

The Model United Nations Assembly or MUNA, is an annual event that takes place at Auckland Girls grammar, where senior students from schools across the North Island represent a certain UN country to debate on topics that are a matter of political, social, environmental and economic concern. Each country was to choose two out of five topics to debate on. Our school represented Finland and Western Europe at this event.

Our team, Finland, participated in two remits, where we discussed the socio-economic perspective of Finland regarding the aid and relocation of Ukrainian refugees and the conflict in Yemen. Certain countries would agree or disagree with our given views, creating room for debate and changing our mindset to understand and acknowledge problems with a three-dimensional view.

When we first entered the doors of the auditorium, we came as students with a goal and energy that could be felt amongst other people as well. But we came out knowing that we are the future and what the future holds is up to us. Our current world is in such disorder that one wrong turn could lead to irreparable and irreversible damage. However because we were granted this amazing opportunity, we are now equipped with the knowledge and strategies we require to change the world for the better.

Yet this event would not have been possible without the massive support from Mrs Ball and Mrs Fraser, who invested time and effort to grant us the chance to fully enjoy this exciting event that provided the platform to express our views as the youth and upcoming leaders.