A truly amazing, fun-filled weekend it was at HabsMUN 2026!
Friday, 13th March. Heralding the trip, the weather had already adjusted to our needs; a bright, beautiful spring’s day set the scene as we gathered around the Wynter Bee Theatre, ready to conquer the world. We carefully piled luggage into the back of the minibus, exchanged excited remarks about our plans, and momentarily discussed who’d potentially get a ride in a certain student’s car. Setting off soon afterwards, we caught our breath, gathered our research, and took a moment to view the stunning landscapes we passed on our way to Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools.
As soon as we arrived, we got straight into it at pace! First, a stunning experience was witnessed as we entered Bourne Hall’s prestigious auditorium. Complete with live music and beautiful decoration, hundreds of delegates mingled diplomatically before being escorted to committee rooms to start the debate.
Representing Switzerland in the Health committee, I was taken to an enormous hall alongside fellow delegates, where our chairs quickly cracked on with policy statements. Over the weekend, we would be debating on infectious disease in refugee camps, neglected tropical disease, and even the question of children in conflict zones. To the room’s delight, lots of ice-breaker games were introduced in between.
After a few hours of calm discussion, delegates flocked back into Bourne Hall for the Opening Ceremony- an introduction of thumping music, flashing lights and an astounding flag ceremony almost immediately left us with jaws dropped and eyes wide.
As the evening went on, however, we heard from wonderful people- first, the three Secretary-Generals of the conference, then three special guests. Firstly, Executive Principal of the Haberdasher’s Elstree Schools Gus Lock, portraying a captivating look into the history of the UN itself, then Gabrielle Gower (OBE), who offered insightful advice into diplomacy and the importance of connecting to people’s needs. Finally, Sir David Lidington (KCB, CBE), who shared highlights of his time in Parliament, representing the UK in Europe and the UN, and his thoughts on modern debate.
Soon afterwards, the words ‘HabsMUN 2026 is officially OPEN’ and a bang of the gavel led to rapturous applause throughout the auditorium. Just like that, our weekend had begun.
A quick drive back to our hotel, an exchange of room keys and a collection of exhausted, relieved sighs closed Night One of our conference. We’d worked hard already, and yet as we dove into our covers we knew the best was yet to come.
Having had an excellent night’s sleep (I credit the comfortable blankets), the team were wide awake, and ready to power through a successful day of debate. A continental breakfast from the hotel brought us some well-needed delight… and sugar… before we hopped into the minibus for another bright day of debate.
As such, my committee (Health) quickly assembled into action. Our rapid debate upon morally deep topics simply further allowed every delegate to bring something to the table. With all sorts of effective, well-written solutions made (created from MUN’s infinite funding, of course), a variety of international views and concepts worked together to form some truly effective resolutions.
My committee room was certainly one packed with excitement – switching back and forth from formal debate to interesting mini-games and karaoke competition practice; Health was truly a delight to witness. With our Chairs dead set on achieving glorious victory, our room of delegates entered HabsMUN’s inter-committee karaoke competition with just five minutes of practice: singing to I Want it That Way by the Backstreet Boys, we successfully made it to the final with great choreography (and lots of enthusiasm).
After having finished the day and successfully passed five consecutive resolutions, it was now time for our committee to see the fruition of our karaoke efforts. After a well-executed ramp up to the final, lots of fanfare and introduction of the judges to thunderous applause, Health sang, danced and even did cartwheels through the entirety of Bourne Hall. After our performance, four other committees quickly battled after us with a variety of songs, including Baby by Justin Beiber and Let it Go from Frozen.
As the judges stood up to announce the winner, there was complete silence, electric tension as we listened attentively for the news everyone wanted best. So when the words “And the winner is… the Health Committee!” came from the judges, the entirety of our delegates leapt up cheering, clapping and racing back up the stairs for a picture.
For some delegates, this would have signalled the end of a very successful day. For Gordon’s, however, our fun had just begun. Driving back to our hotel, we changed into more comfortable clothes and headed to the minibus, using the twenty-minute journey to Wagamama’s to both exchange stories of the day and discuss our plans for the meal.
We arrived at the restaurant, sat down quickly and scanned the delicious menu for something we might want to try. After ordering drinks and food, it was soon announced that HabsMUN would be two students’ final conference in their MUN journeys. So over bowls of katsu curry and ramen (the katsu curry particularly being a favourite for the team), we reminisced about past experiences and future excitement, told stories of foreign cities and local wonders. Most importantly, we all agreed Model United Nations had undoubtedly brought us wonderful memories we’d never forget. Soon afterwards, we wrapped up our meals and set off. We returned to our hotel, satisfied and ready to take on the final day of the conference.
After a delicious breakfast on Sunday morning, another quick gathering of strategies and packing of bags. Suitcases stacked, we were now officially off on our final day. This day would primarily focus on General Assembly- a chance for delegations to truly show their might with world affairs- and, as such, our team knew this would ultimately be just as important as the debating had been before.
However, due to the sheer number of delegates and staff, there were not one, but two GAs this time, meaning that the stakes had essentially been doubled. In addition, a Crisis Committee was also working exceptionally hard – after China single-handedly launched a rocket towards Taiwan, it was up to whoever each delegation selected to settle the matter.
Myself and another student were representing Switzerland in General Assembly One and we now had to quickly decide upon resolutions we wouldn’t have debated on previously. From neglected tropical disease solutions to declining biodiversity in city spaces, delegates were able to fight passionately for their beliefs, make alliances, and help solve some of the world’s most complex problems.
Soon afterwards, it was time for the conference Closing Ceremony. Sitting expectantly to listen, we got to hear each Head Chair’s stories of their committee, highlights of the conference, and most importantly, the awards. One student and I were particularly delighted to find out that they had won Best Delegate of their committee, and I was one of the delegates receiving a special mention from the head chair. Finally, again to thunderous applause and surprise confetti, with a bang of the gavel, HabsMUN 2026 officially closed.
Overall, HabsMUN was a fantastic experience, offering new friends, cherished memories, and most importantly, working out resolutions to help change the world.
- Daniella