The Phillipian

Ban Ki-Moon spoke to nearly 500 delegates at NAIMUN. (Courtesy of UN Information Center)

Forty Phillips Academy students listened to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon speak this past weekend at the North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) Conference.

Secretary-General Ban visited the conference on Thursday, February 14, hosted by Georgetown University students at the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C., where he called upon high school students to become the world’s next young leaders.

According to NAIMUN Secretary-General Monica Munn, this is the first time that a United Nations Secretary-General has spoken at NAIMUN in its 45-year history.

Around 480 delegates and NAIMUN staff members packed into a conference room to hear Secretary-General Ban speak, according to Munn.

“I am delighted to be here and to see such a large and enthusiastic group of young adults engaged in global issues,” said Ban. “Let me recognize the Georgetown International Relations Association for successfully organizing one of the largest Model United Nations in North America.”

Approximately 2,800 Model UN delegates from 128 high schools across the United States, Latin America, Canada and Denmark attended the conference.

Munn received an email from one of her contacts at the United Nations Information Center, based in Washington D.C., notifying her that Ban’s visit coincided with the dates for NAIMUN.

On his two-day trip to Washington, Ban met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President George W. Bush.

Three days before the conference commenced, Munn finalized arrangements for Ban to speak at NAIMUN.

“My contact passed the information along to Ban’s staff, and from there, he said he was definitely interested and he said that he had a couple of hours free in his afternoon,” said Munn. “It was pretty much very last minute.”

“I think it was incredible both for the staffers and for the delegates,” said Munn. “I think it set the tone for the weekend, having the Secretary-General speak about how the United Nations has affected him and how Model UN replicates the process of the United Nations in the real world.”

Ban began his speech by recounting how he first became involved in the United Nations. As a teenager, he visited Washington as part of an American Red Cross program, when he met President Kennedy at the White House.

“As a child of the Korean War, I grew up viewing the United Nations as a savior:” said Ban. “This prosperity, in turn, helped a boy from rural Korea to rise up through his country’s diplomatic ranks and eventually become Secretary-General of the United Nations.”

“It was a very inspirational and unforgettable experience for me,” Ban continued. “It made me think, ‘What should I do for my country?’ and made me make up my mind – I need to be a diplomat.”

Specifically, Ban focused on the UN’s recent work on climate change. He said that one of his top priorities as Secretary-General was to curb the effects of climate change.

Munn said, “His talk on global climate change was appropriate for the conference because we had a committee on the Kyoto Protocol, so it was very fitting.”

“There is a shared sense of urgency to act now. It is not too late, but we are running out of time,” said Ban. “I do not want to leave this world in such bad shape to you.”

Ban also said that programs such as Model United Nations were unique in providing insight into addressing the world’s problems.

He said, “At the end of the weekend, I trust that you will emerge as ambassadors of the UN with a deep appreciation of the challenges of international diplomacy and be ready to ably communicate the work and mission of the organization.”

Munn said that she believed that Secretary-General Ban’s visit to NAIMUN gave the conference more realism and seriousness.

“We had a great keynote speaker, but how many people get to actually meet the Secretary-General?” said Munn. “I think it helped to incentivize students to create solutions that can be feasibly implemented in the real world, and that’s what we usually go for in these conferences.”

Georgetown Student Amy Fenstermacher ’07 has been involved in NAIMUN for the past five years. “The fact that he did Model UN when he was our age set us to reinforce the fact that we’re doing something that has a future,” said Fenstermacher.