INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE CAS ACTIVITY

REFLECTION FORM
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Student Name: Emre Gksu
Name of Activity: MUN Conference
Name of Organization: International Affairs Association at the University of Pennsylvania &
PRIDE Peru
Date(s) of Activity: November 24-27, 2016
Approximate # of Hours: 18 hours of session
Length of Activity (weeks / days): Two weeks of preparation, three full days of session
This Activity is (check all that apply): Creative:__x__ Action:____ Service:_____
Learning Outcomes achieved with this activity:
(1) Increased my awareness of my own strengths and areas of growth.
(2) Undertaken new challenges.
(5) Worked collaboratively with others.
(4) Shown perseverance and commitment in this activity
(6) Engaged with issues of global importance.
(7) Considered the ethical implications of my actions.

REFLECTION STATEMENT:
MUN Conference is a simulation of United Nations Conferences organized globally by the UN
to discuss international crises and disputes to obtain international peace and security, while
combatting climate change. The way these conferences look like and the way we are supposed to
behave at conferences werent new to me. As the current president of Eyboglu High School
MUN Club, this was my 11th conference. After three years in the MUN club, international
conferences have become a place to defend my resolutions, rather than improving my skills.
This MUN Conference in Lima, Peru was organized by International Affairs Association at the
University of Pennsylvania & PRIDE Peru. I was a delegate of Japan at Disarmament and
International Security Committee accompanied by the vice president at Eyboglu MUN Club:
Efe zkan. So we had to work collaboratively to present our country adequately. We discussed
the problem of foreign military intervention in internal conflicts and the problem of cyber
security. One of the biggest challenges we have had was the language of the conference. Because
the conference was held in Peru, the local language was Spanish. The major challenge for us was
to convince the Peruvian delegates on international disputes. We had to consider the ethical
implications of our actions due to the different understandings of ethics around the world. This
fact pushed us to work collaboratively with others, respecting the way they think and their
understanding of international politics. I think what improved me the most during the conference
was the increase in my awareness regarding different perspectives.
During the conference we engaged with the issues of global importance. The official language of
the conference was English but throughout our free time in Peru I had to speak Spanish. So I had
to improve on my previous knowledge of Spanish. I had two weeks to prepare information and to
research not just this topic but how this affects our country and what is our countrys politics
towards it. So during these two weeks I showed perseverance and commitment. This activity
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helped me to develop a lot of new skills, one of many being my fluency in Spanish. I learned a
lot about Latin American MUN conferences and how people from different cultures behave in
these situations. This activity helped me to show my skills as a politician, but also to increase my
awareness of my own strengths, I practiced to have a speech in front others and to negotiate with
delegates. This conference was not just fun but I learned a lot and I think this will help me in
future.
__________________________________________
Students Signature (only in print form)

____December 18th, 2016

Date