First Conference - 3–4 March 1977 Last Conference - 19–20 March 2024
The UNIS-UN Conference is organized and run by high school students from the United Nations International School (UNIS). It aims to foster an environment in which young adults can grow their worldview and expand their horizons, whilst learning about and discussing important, influential issues in our world today. By inviting a variety of different schools from around the world, with different outlooks and cultures, it creates an atmosphere in which students can learn and form opinions in a globalized setting and ultimately become better, well-rounded world citizens. An integral part of the UNIS-UN experience was the hosting of visiting students by UNIS families to help foster friendships and promote cross-cultural exchange.[1]
The conference is held annually in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Headquarters. The use of the General Assembly Hall by the UNIS-UN Conference is a strong representation of the tie between the United Nations International School and the United Nations. The conference is targeted towards the international high-school students that make up the majority of its audience. Attending schools must be invited and attendees must be affiliated with a school.[2]
Each year, a new topic of interest and importance is chosen for the conference. The UNIS-UN Conference is designed to provide students with expert knowledge imparted by provocative guest speakers. The conference also endeavors to give visiting students a platform to express their own opinions and views during the debate segment, introduced in 2006. The conference has gained much fame over the years, and is commonly the first thing associated with the United Nations International School. More than seven hundred students hailing from six continents attend the conference. Approximately 400 of the attending students are enrolled at UNIS. An additional 300 - 400 more students are invited from international schools around the world.
History
UNIS-UN was founded in 1976 by several UNIS students in collaboration with a Tutorial House (UNIS equivalent of high school) humanities teacher. The conference was first held on March 3 and 4, 1977, in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Headquarters, and became a tradition every year since then.[3] In 2011, the Cultural Showcase was introduced, featuring international performances at UNIS by visiting schools the day before the conference.[4] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 conference was cancelled along with the tradition of hosting visiting schools. The organizing committee has grown over the years (to its current number of approximately seventy).
Organization
The 2006 UNIS-UN Conference UN General Assembly HallSecretary General Kofi Annan and President of the General Assembly Jan Eliasson at the 2006 UNIS-UN Conference
The UNIS-UN Organizing Committee is split up into several committees (Visiting Schools, Finance, Tech, Logistics, Editing, and Speakers) to ease the organization process. Visiting Schools is in charge of organizing the students visiting from abroad. Finance manages the budget and buys merchandise for the attendees to purchase. Technology organizes any technological components, like presentations for the speakers and liaising with UN staff. Logistics organizes the Day of Cultural Exchange, which includes workshops, the Cultural Showcase, and a welcome dinner the day before the conference. Editing edits the articles for the Working Paper, and Speakers finds people to speak at the conference and organizes the debates. Each committee is headed by one or two students (usually juniors and seniors). These committee heads make up the UNIS-UN Executive Committee (ExComm); however, there are a select few students who are not the heads of the commissions but are prominent members of the committees.[5]
Preparations for the conference are begun nearly a year in advance and include finding and researching a topic of global relevance, drawing up a list of speakers, inviting several hundred students from schools all over the world, and compiling a Working Paper of articles pertaining to the topic written and edited by members of the UNIS-UN Editing ExComm. The conference is broadcast live on UN Web TV.[6]
