PAMUN/ HMCE
2011 Harvard Model Congress
By Cindy Plecko
This March, 19 SIS students in the 2nde and 1ere classes travelled to Brussels to take part in Harvard Model Congress, a yearly event hosted and run by Harvard undergraduates which offers a realistic simulation of the American Congress, and other International institutions. For 2 ½ days our SIS students worked together with others from all over the world to debate current issues and to contruct policy in the form of bills and resolutions. Students spent months researching their topics and practicing short speeches and their efforts paid off. Each and every one of them played a very active role in their respective committees, acting with confidence and professionalism and 4 of them won awards of excellence. They were Lauren Coste and Eric Buisson from the classe de seconde, and Mathias LeGargasson and Simon Sochas from the classe de premiere.
Pictured in the photo are: Hugo Sinha, Thomas Arnaud, Caroline Elak, Charlotte Epinay, Rochelle Guillou, Mathias Le Gargasson, Clara Brissy, Estelle Varloot, Simon Sochas, Laurene Coste , Jessica Férauge, Eric Buisson, Francois Clément, Hugo Sinha, Tom Thonet, Thibault Hardy, Colin Gabla, Mr. Rist, Leo Badrinath, Carl Giesecke
I asked some questions to some of our participants about their experience. Here are their responses :
1. What was the best part of HMCE for you?
The best part of HMC for me was my first speech at the full Congress session because I had the feeling that I had the audience’s full attention and felt like I was in power for 2 full minutes without anyone judging. Hugo Sinha-U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Even though writing speeches and fiercly defending my position in full session was great fun, I really liked going out to eat in the evening and talking with interesting people from all around the world. Laurene Coste-U.S. Senator from Maine
I really enjoyed this fantastic trip. You learn a lot about the topics you study, your oral debating skills and English level are greatly tested. I strongly recommend this experience to other students who like meeting new people and debating about important worldwide problems. Carl Giesecke- Representative for Canada. G8
2. What did you learn?
That I wanted to go to Harvard =) Apart from that, I learned to quickly write a basic speech when you have to go up and talk about a subject in a short period of time, and I got to fully understand the complex functionning of the legislature in the US today. Laurene Coste
We learnt how to behave and to speak in a committee like the Senate or the World Bank (for example) . We also learnt how to construct our ideas clearly and effectively and to be more comfortable when we tried to convince others that our solution was the most appropriate. Clara Brissy Executive Director from Russia in the World Bank
3. What did your committee accomplish?
My committee was very busy throughout the weekend, and we debated very much... We managed to pass a number of different bills, including one constitutional amendment making sure that there is proper continuity in the Senate - both in terms of political parties and in terms of a fully functioning body with a fixed number of senators. Laurene Coste
4. Would you recommend HMCE to other students? Why?
I would definitely recommend HMCE to other students because it forces you to gain confidence to prove a point and argue in front of other people you barely know. Furthermore, I met a lot of students from all over the world, which made it that much more fun and exciting to work with! We all participated in finding solutions to issues the world faces today and I learned so much from the debates. It was such a great experience, that you should all try! Rochelle Guillou, Representative of Venezuela in the WTO
I would most definitely recommend HMCE to any high school students because it is extremely fulfilling. The simulation of the American government is very realistic and the general atmosphere is phenomenal. It is a great opportunity to speak up freely and expressing your ideas (which is unusual in the French education system). A plus is that it looks good on your American University application! Hugo Sinha
Dernière modification le 05-04-11 par
