Model United Nations students are once again donning the hats of countries around the world as part of their annual state conference Friday-Sunday at the Marriott Hotel in Plano.

The concept of this YMCA-sponsored club is simple: students simulate the United Nations and attempt to pass resolutions to solve real-world issues.

“Model UN is a national and international club where kids model the United Nations and they model as delegates of different countries and just debate on policies that would be passed in the United Nations,” Model UN undersecretariat of media Saesha Dravekar said.

To participate, students are assigned a country, which they represent as a delegate, and one of six committees, which are based on the UN’s six main committees. Each committee is assigned a real-world issue to tackle and students must debate and work together to create a potential solution that aligns with the interests of their country

“Students will work together in committees representing their countries to come up with resolutions for important problems facing the world,” club advisor Sarah Wiseman said. “They will also have a portion where they will take those resolutions to the General Assembly, which is a couple hundred people listening and debating about the issues.”

Preparing for Model UN students must intensively research their country and its stance on their committee’s issue to prepare for a debate that will ideally yield fruitful solutions.

“It’s difficult to prepare for MUN,” freshman Jiya Sharma, who serves as the UK’s delegate to the Security Council, one of the most advanced committees, said. “One way that I did it was by researching my country and writing my GSL, which is basically my opening summations and it’s what I think of the topic and how I represent my country and it’s basically a summary of my entire debate.”

Wiseman feels that despite the effort, Model UN is a valuable experience and teaches students not only about current events around the world, but also how to convey their opinions and solve problems while remaining kind and polite individuals.

“I hope that students take away a sense of responsibility for what’s happening in the world, as well as an understanding that things can be done with good values and with respect because a lot of that is missing right now in our public discourse, both within the United States and abroad,” Wiseman said.

Most students enjoy attending the state conference and value the insight they gain into global issues and real-world problems.

“I’ve been going to state for several years now,” Sharma said. “I love it. Like I just love being there. And I love participating in competitions. I love meeting new people, communicating with like-minded youth, and discussing topics of worldly importance because I find, oftentimes, we find ourselves thinking about things that aren’t so important: the next TikTok dance, or a TikTok star. But, those don’t really matter in the grand scope of things. And in MUN, you discuss topics that do.”