FWPMUN Shines at Parker

On Saturday, February 10, Upper School students hosted the eighth annual Francis W. Parker Model UN conference—FWPMUN VIII. Twenty schools from across the Chicago area attended the conference, bringing nearly 400 delegates in total to make FWPMUN VIII the largest conference yet.

Seniors Cate O’Connor, the Secretary-General, and Grant Koh, the Director-General, led a Secretariat team of five other Upper School students, including seniors Naomi Gross and Jack Charfoos and juniors Julia Josephson, Beckett Nikitas and Gabrielle Silverman. The seven of them had worked together since last spring to bring the conference together, reaching out to schools, ordering supplies and training the 60 staff members who ran the debate at the conference. Upper School History teacher Andy Bigelow guided the entire staff and Secretariat, leading the conference to success.

The day started with former Ukrainian Peace Corps Director Michael Ketover who traveled from Krakow, Poland to discuss his work in the Peace Corps and other NGOs. After hearing from Mr. Ketover, committees split and began their day of debate. FWPMUN VIII had a dozen committees, discussing topics from trafficking and artificial intelligence to the FIFA World Cup and Harry Potter. With occasional crises acted out by crisis staffers, committees were shaken by President Nixon making his appearance and wizards casting spells on giants.

The entire FWPMUN team had an amazing day meeting and leading students from across the city and beyond, and everyone is so proud of how the conference turned out after more than six months of preparation.

Click here for photos.