Debating Tour to Ireland
On 16 April Xan Atkins, Litha Bakumeni, Declan Williamson, Chris de Blocq, MJ Rosslee, Grant Rautenbach and Greg Slack joined Mr Molony and Mr Cuyler at OR Tambo International Airport to begin the final stage of their first Model United Nations Debating Competition which was to take place in Dublin, Ireland.
It was an experience they had been preparing for, for the best part of 6 months: In total over 200 hours of research; in excess of 1000 pages of notes; more than 20 meetings - and still they knew not what awaited them at the Royal Marine Hotel, overlooking the Irish Sea.
St Andrew's College was to represent the Philippines against 108 other delegations comprising of more than 750 delegates from 17 different countries. From Austria to Turkey; the UK to The USA; Bahrain to Finland, College was the only representative from Africa to attend the 21st Annual SAIMUN.
The shock wave of 750 students vying for recognition, desperately trying to create allegiances, networking with anyone that would listen, was awe-inspiring. NEC ASPERA TERENT indeed! And the difficulties were many: Many of the delegates knew each other from previous competitions; most had attended at least 3 in the last 2 years... All 7 College boys were novices.
After 4 days of intense debate, 8 resolutions drafted by the SAC delegation were passed by the approval panel, with 1 making it all the way to the General Assembly. The die was cast and all that remained was the award ceremony:
Both Xan Atkins and MJ Rosslee were ranked in the top 5 percent of the delegates and received an "Honourable Mention" by the conference's Secretary General. The SAC team was placed in the top 6 of the 108 competing teams, also placing them as a delegation in the top 5 percent. A great achievement by all accounts.
After the conclusion of the competition, the group moved to the centre of Dublin city to visit some of the sites that make the Emerald Isle famous including the world renowned Guinness Storehouse and The Jameson's distillery which were among the favourites.
Congratulations to al 7 boys; not just on their fantastic achievements, but also for their commitment to excellence and their drive to succeed.
