Diplomacy, International Relations and Fun

FWPMUN IV, Parker’s fourth-ever one-day Model UN conference for Chicago-area students, took place on Saturday, February 1. A group of 35 students had worked since March 2019 to prepare for this conference, which hosted 250 delegates from all around Chicago for a day of debate.

At the Opening Ceremony, Parker parent emeritus Ivo Daalder, former U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and current president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, shared his views on the importance of diplomacy in solving global issues, reflected on his experience as Ambassador and took questions from students. Then delegates divided into 10 committees and spent the day debating issues from tax-increment financing in Chicago to the state of abortion in the United States to the role of artificial intelligence in combating disease across the world. The Closing Ceremony featured an awards presentation to individual delegates and school teams.

According to faculty advisor and Upper School history teacher Andy Bigelow, “It was an epic day for the Parker community, and, in the words of our founders, it was very ‘student-centered’ and ‘student-driven.’ Our kids ran the entire event with few adults in the room.  Our kids created, led and orchestrated each committee successfully. This is Parker at its best, and we are all very proud of our students.”

Click here for photos of FWPMUN IV.