Inspiring the future citizens and decision makers of tomorrow
5 May 2023
On April 28th, The SeaCleaners teams were warmly invited by the Institution Notre-Dame de Valence for the opening of the 4th edition of their Model United Nations conference, IMUN 2023. For three days, 150 high school students from Valence and Lyon worked on the theme "Diving into a new society", focusing on the problems posed by water, a vital resource for humanity and the planet.
Can we imagine a society without plastic pollution?
This is the question posed to the students by The SeaCleaners team, after presenting the impacts of plastic pollution and possible solutions to curb this scourge. Encouraged by the introductory speeches of Mrs. Clapot, Member of Parliament for the 1st constituency of the Drôme, and Jacques Berger, Head of School, the students then exchanged ideas, following the UN model, within the different committees. The debates focused on plastic pollution and the North Pacific waste vortex, access to water for minorities, piracy and trafficking in maritime spaces, intensive fishing and drought prevention and management. The students acted as UN delegates, representing the different countries on these important issues.
“This conference aims to shape the political, ecological and civic consciousness of future generations. It is an exceptional opportunity for young people to understand the difficulties they will have to overcome, and to train them for the great struggles of tomorrow.”
Learn to manage crisis situations
Our teams also proposed to the students to work on a crisis situation: “Following an unprecedented cyclone in Indonesia, waste from Bali’s illegal dumps is invading the ocean. What to do?”
The delegations from Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia joined forces to propose two clauses: “ask the countries bordering the Indian and Pacific Oceans to send boats to clean up the damage” and “call on private and public companies to send boats, manpower and equipment”. These clauses were discussed with the other delegations from France, Japan, China, India, Taiwan and the United States and several amendments were proposed and voted on.
Tiffanny Vallon, director of the MUN and English teacher at the Institution Notre-Dame, said, “This is an activity that allows students to understand global issues and develop their negotiation, communication and problem-solving skills. I am happy to see all these young people involved in debates and collaborations to find innovative solutions to water-related challenges.”