The Barriers Initiative’s Take on Thailand Model UN

Throughout history, the most influential geopolitical concepts have been brought to life by diplomats and international leaders despite barriers. Countries gather to negotiate peace. Leaders debate trade agreements.

Representatives argue for decisions that affect millions of people whom they may never meet. Founded in the wake of the Second World War, the United Nations serves as the most powerful organization to call for the protection of fundamental human rights, economic development, and prosperous societies.

For many young people, Model United Nations, more commonly known as MUN, is their first window into the world of diplomacy and policymaking. MUN is an educational yet competitive activity where students role-play as representatives of nations to the United Nations and other international forums.

From researching supply chain sustainability to negotiating arms reduction treaties, students collaborate with friends and foes alike to simulate the journey to a safer world.

For certain students, these extracurriculars become a regular part of their school life. With the support of clubs, teaching advisors, and senior MUNers who guide you along the way–it feels as though MUN has no barriers to entry.

How Barrier MUN Equalizes Opportunities

However, this is only true for international school students. On average, private and international schools are better equipped with facilities, staff, and the time required to fully develop an MUN club. This luxury is not observed in most public schools.

Through our many years of experience with training Model UN delegates, BarrierMUN believes that the key to equalizing the opportunities within the MUN circuit for all Thai students relies on creating better accessibility to conferences and resources, and bringing about a more inclusive community.

Bringing More to Students

Accessibility begins with making resources available for students who would not usually have access to them. Through our conference webinars and on-site workshops, we have introduced over 600 students from 30 schools to the fundamentals of Model UN. From introducing resolutions to explaining motions, our sessions are designed to make MUN less intimidating for participants.

Promoting an Inclusive Environment

True inclusivity is not only about reducing costs. It is about ensuring that all students receive the same opportunities. The Barriers Initiative works closely with our partners to ensure that conference invitations are extended to the six Thai public schools that are currently in our outreach network. By maintaining an active connection between conference organizers and schools, we help bridge the gap between Thailand’s international and public school MUN communities.

Making Conferences More Accessible

For many students, the greatest barrier between them and a MUN conference is not their lack of passion, but the cost of attending. Conference fees, transportation, and other expenses quickly make the activity inaccessible to students from lower-income backgrounds. The Barriers Initiative has long since created a subsidy program to help fund the conference fees of students.

While these subsidies represent only a fraction of the costs that students face, they reflect a belief that the ability to participate should be determined by their passion and not background.

The students in Barrier believe that in order to bring about a better future, our nation must improve our capabilities of producing effective, confident, and competent leaders who are able to handle pressure and ever-changing circumstances.

Other than traditional education, extracurricular activities such as debating and MUN hold the most potential to instill desirable leadership and communication skills in the Thai youth. With these opportunities being so important for the future of students, we believe that a child’s socioeconomic background should not determine whether they attend conferences or not.

If you are interested in our work, you can find out more on @barriermun_mun on Instagram.