Contributor: Kevin Lai (Intern)

The "New Taipei City 2021 Academic Year Model United Nations Conference for Middle Schools and Elementary Schools" was held online by New Taipei City's Education Department in May this year. The "Sustainable Development Goals" was selected as the conference theme, and students from middle and elementary schools represented different countries in discussions of relevant topics led by lecturers from National Chengchi University's Center for Foreign Policy Studies. In June, another conference, "The Ninth Qingshan Youth Forum: Model United Nations Conference," was held by New Taipei City with participants from Qingshan Elementary and Junior High School and three other middle schools.

At the "New Taipei City 2021 Academic Year Model United Nations Conference for Middle Schools and Elementary Schools" held on May 16, under the leadership of the lecturer team from National Chengchi University, elementary and middle school students, respectively, discussed the topics "preventing overfishing to achieve sustainable development of marine resources" and "combining government and private resources to aid domestic and international refugees." During the conference, the students were well organized and demonstrated excellent bilingual debating ability. The conference promoted students' understanding of people with different cultural backgrounds and their different modes of thinking and provided them with an opportunity to experience how conflict and cooperation works on the world stage from the perspective of a delegate.

On June 13, Qingshan Elementary and Junior High School, Fuhe Junior High School, Lujiang Junior High School, and Da-Guan Elementary and Junior High School took part in "The Ninth Qingshan Youth Forum: Model United Nations Conference," with student discussion focusing on refugees fleeing from the Russian–Ukrainian War. The delegates of various countries exchanged their ideas and reached a consensus through negotiation and compromise and, at the end, developed a draft resolution. "In addition to basic Model United Nations knowledge and skills, students developed media literacy and self-criticism, enabling them to view the world from a different perspective," stated the United States delegate from Qingshan Elementary and Junior High School.

Since the 2019 academic year, New Taipei City has been supporting the Model United Nations program for students, subsidizing schools at all levels to hold Model United Nations courses and camps, training teachers to promote Model United Nations activities, and encouraging students to establish Model United Nations clubs. Model United Nations activities cultivate students' appreciation of humanity, knowledge of civic action, and understanding of environmental protection and sustainable development.

Competent Authority: The Education Department