On January 21, 2024, fifteen LJCDS students and three Upper School teachers departed for a weeklong trip to the Netherlands. The purpose of the trip was to participate in The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN). The trip was led by three faculty advisors and a group of seven seniors, two juniors, five sophomores, and one freshman—all members of Torrey Model United Nations.
THIMUN is the most prestigious Model UN conference in the world. Every year, the event attracts over 3,000 students from six continents to the World Forum in the Hague. LJCDS is one of the 200 schools to attend the invitation-only conference.
At THIMUN, schools are assigned delegations. This year, the LJCDS team represented the delegation of Poland in a variety of committees designed to address prescient issues like the war in Ukraine, the preservation of marine biodiversity, women’s rights, and more.
During the four days of committee, students woke up at seven in the morning, put on their suits and personalized Torrey-blue L.L Bean jackets, and boarded the tram to the World Forum. From there, the team split off to attend their issue-specific committees. In these committees, students worked together with delegates from schools around the world to draft, approve, and pass resolutions related to the issues at hand. By the end of the week, they’d passed dozens of resolutions that THIMUN, unlike any other conference in the world, sends to the UN for real-UN consideration. THIMUN is about as real as a “model” UN can be.
However, despite the conference’s prestige, speaking with most of the students in the LJCDS delegation it became clear that, while THIMUN is an unparalleled opportunity to engage in debate and international relations, the best part of the conference is simply meeting students from around the world. LJCDS students made friends with students from Japan, Tanzania, Jamaica, Uruguay, Turkey, and more. Exchanging selfies, Snapchats, and Instagrams, people made lifelong connections. At lunch, students learned about each other’s personal lives and witnessed the International Court of Justice hearings occurring just down the block.
Outside of the conference, LJCDS students also partook in tourism. They visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and got a chance to try the renowned apple cake at Winkel 43—the perfect cap to a 20-hour travel day. In the Hague, students had free time to walk around after the conference, visiting parks, exploring bookstores, and perusing the city’s historic streets (in the rain).
And of course, they ate good food. Every night, teachers led the LJCDS students to dinner at a variety of restaurants. From Vietnamese to Indonesian food, students got a true taste of the Hague.
In spite of flight cancellations on both ends of the trip, cutting into students’ tourism time, jetlag, and the “Hague plague”—the cold that everyone at THIMUN seemed to fall victim to—the LJCDS group remained positive and grateful for this truly one of a kind opportunity. It will surely be remembered!
