The 1st Hong Kong Secondary School
Model UNESCO Conference 2022​

What is Model UNESCO Conference?
Model UNESCO is an educational event in which participants play the role of representatives of UNESCO Member States, simulating meetings that take place within the Organization.
Students participating in this simulation are introduced to the work and purposes of UNESCO. They gain insight into international issues and how international politics works. The aim is to seek through negotiation, discussion, and debate solutions to various world problems: for example, human rights, economic development, environmental protection, disarmament, as well as more important issues such as war and peace.

Conference Day November 26-27th 2022

On November 26th and 27th, 2022, the First Hong Kong Secondary School Model UNESCO Conference organised by UNESCO Hong Kong Association (UHKA) and the Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development (HiESD) was successfully held.

The 23 participating teams were from 13 local secondary schools and international schools in Hong Kong, including the Belilios Public School, Christian Alliance International School of Hong Kong, Heep Yunn School, HKUGA College, Holy Trinity College, Immaculate Heart of Mary College, ISF Academy, Kiangsu Chekiang College International Section, Po Leung Kuk Camões Tan Siu Lin Primary School, Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School, Sha Tin Methodist College, St. Paul’s Co-educational College and St. Stephen’s Girls’ College.

Nearly 100 students participated in the conference, they played the role of representatives of UNESCO member states, simulating meetings that take place within the organization to discuss one of the most important issue in the world: “Transforming Education for Our Common Future”.

The Conference received the support from the hornourable advisor – the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, and Mr. Zhang Songyun, Deputy Director of the Division of Education of the  Commission delivered a congratulatory speech. 

In addition, the conference have received acknowledgements from the Consulates General of Australia, Mexico, Russia and Spain in Hong Kong. The consul generals recorded congradulatory videos to express their support to the conference and provided the latest information about the status of education transformation and international for reference.

The opening ceremony began with welcoming remarks by Professor Karen Cheung, the Executive President and Secretary General of the UNESCO Hong Kong Association. Professor Cheung, along with Mr. Wong Kwan Yu, SBS, JP, the President of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, Principal Chu Kwok Keung, member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Principal Andy Wan Ka-kit from the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong, and Ms. Betty Chow Mei Yin, Vice Chairman of The Non-Profit-Making Kindergarten Council of Hong Kong and other prestigious guests “powered-up” the globe on the stage for the kick-off ceremony of the conference.

The motion of the conference is designed in response to the “Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education” report published by the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education in November, 2021 and the “Transforming Education Summit” held in September, 2022. With this motion, the conference encourages students to develop an in-depth understanding of the historical background and innovative transformation of education policies in various countries, evaluate on how the countries they represent can respond to the challenges arising from rapid changes in science and technology, socio-economy, the eco-system by implementing educational reforms, reshaping the education system, and try to propose solid solutions through negotiation and innovative thinking. 

 

On the first day of the conference,  the delegates presented their strategies and actively engaged in general debate sessions. On the second day, the case session was held on the topic “Cyberbullying in Hong Kong Secondary Schools”. This is an unique element of the Model UNESCO Conference where the moderator led each group of students submit a comprehensive final proposal through negotiation and discussion, so as to promote mutual understanding and tolerance of different point of views, and enhance students’ critical thinking and public speaking skills. 

The challenging preperation process was much longer than two days. In August 2022, the organisers of the conference – HiESD and UHKA completed the first “Model UNESCO Student Coordinator Training Programme”, to empower student leader to initiate Model UNESCO student clubs and activities in their schools. Since the announcement of the motion of the conference at the end of October, the participating teams carried out thorough research and practise sessions. In addition, UHKA and HiESD also organized briefing sessions to guide students in topic preparation, and arranged a number of youth-led talks to enhance students’ negotiation skills and understanding of sustainable development. This includes a thematic workshop on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals delivered by Ms. Americana Chen – the Youth Affairs Representative of the Hong Kong Association for UNESCO, and a workshop on the skills and strategies for MUN and MUNESCO delivered by speaker from the Model United Nations Society of the City University of Hong Kong. 

After two days of debate, participants will nominate among themselves to determine the winner of the awards: the best delegation, the best speaker, the best negotiator and the best strategy. We are proud to congradulate teams from ISF Academy (the delegation of France) and Holy Trinity College (the delegation of Greece) for winning the  “Best Delegation” in the junior and senior divisions respectively, while teams from St. Paul’s Co-educational College  (the delegation of China) and Belilios Public School (the delegation of Spain) won the  “Best Strategy” in the junior and senior divisions respectively. Chiu Wei Yin Julie from  St. Paul’s Co-educational College and Chou Cheuk Yan Ambrose from Immaculate Heart of Mary College won the nomination of “Best Speaker”, while Valerie Shek Sze Ai from ISF Acadmy and Aidan Chong from Christian Alliance International School of Hong Kong won the “Best Negotiator”  in the junior and senior divisions respectively. This year’s conference has received generous sponsorship from Ryoden Development Company Limited and sponsored by Innotier Limited. 

The overwhelmingly positive response of the conference reflects Hong Kong secondary school students’ growing global citizenship awareness and their interest to participate in social and international affairs. In the future, UHKA and HiESD will thrive to organise more relevant activities and trainings, to provide more students with opportunities to participate in Model United Nations, Model UNESCO conferences, to enhance students’ participation in social affairs. These experiential learning opportunitites, self-motivated research, public speaking and debate activities, are fundamental to nurturing students’ cross-discipinary skills andenrich their leadership experiences, train their communication and negotiation skills, and to broaden their global visions, ultimately, nurturing a new generation of leaders to meet future challenges.

Participating Schools :

  • Belilios Public School
  • Christian Alliance International School of Hong Kong
  • Heep Yunn School
  • HKUGA College, The University of Hong Kong
  • Holy Trinity College
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary College
  • ISF Academy Hongli College
  • Kiangsu Chekiang College International Section
  • Po Leung Kuk Camões Tan Siu Lin Primary School
  • Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School 
  • Sha Tin Methodist College
  • St. Paul’s Co-educational College 
  • St. Stephen’s Girls’ College

Honourable Advisor:
Chinese National Commission for UNESCO

Supporting Consulates: 

  • Consulate General of Australia in Hong Kong
  • Consulate General of Mexico in Hong Kong
  • Consulate General of Russia in Hong Kong
  • Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong

Supporting Organisations: 

  • Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers
  • Centre of Advancement of Chinese Language Education and Research of the University of Hong Kong
  • Baptist Convention of Hong Kong
  • The Lutheran Church Hong Kong Synod
  • Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council
  • At Knowledge Education Foundation
  • The Non-profit-making Kindergarten Council of Hong Kong

Sponsors:

  • Ryoden Development Limited
  • Innotier Limited

Remarks and Messages

Mr. Zhang Songyun

Deputy Director, Division of Education,
Chinese National Commission for UNESCO

Mr. Pablo Macedo

Consul General
Consulate General of Mexico in Hong Kong

 

Ms. Katie O’Rourke

Consul (Political-Economic)
Consulate General of Australia in Hong Kong

Mr. Igor Sagitov & Ms. Anna Frolova

Consul General & Attache
Consulate General of Russia in Hong Kong

 

Mr. Miguel Aguirre de Carcer

Consul General
Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong

UNESCO Hong Kong Association & MUNESCO
Previous Achievements

Winning the Best Delegation in the First International Model of UNESCO

The world’s first International Model of UNESCO was held online from April 29 to 30, 2022, youth delegations from 42 countries around the world joined together to debate the motion of “Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education for all”.

The delegation of Hong Kong SAR – Americana Chen and Reese Wong who are both UNESCO Hong Kong Association Green Citizen Youth Ambassadors were awarded the Best Delegation for the overall event, Best Delegation in Case Session and Hong Kong’s strategy received the highest number of votes to be included in the final resolution, showcasing Hong Kong’s solutions for promoting inclusive, equitable and quality education through Education for Sustainable Development on international platforms.

Model UNESCO Student Coordinator Training Programme

On August 27, 2022, the first Model UNESCO (MUNESCO) student coordinator training programme organized by UNESCO Hong Kong Association and the Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development was successfully completed. 
The comprehensive training programme covered the procedure of MUN and MUNESCO, the topics of discussion with respect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, how to draft MUNESCO proposals, background documents, rundown documents and how to moderate MUNESCO events.

Expert speakers from UNESCO Hong Kong Association, the Kazakhstan Federation of Clubs for UNESCO, CityUMUN, Georgetown International Relations Association, were invited to deliver the sessions.

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