By Sean Conner

As our plane descended through the dense cloud cover towards Marco Polo International Airport on the Italian mainland, our group—Avi Soin (‘27), Brandon Thomason(‘24), Director of Capstone Programs Rhiannon Boyd, Middle School Latin teacher Mike Leber, and myself—readied itself to fight through basically no sleep and enjoy a full day in Venice, Italy. I was nervous, since I had never traveled to Europe before, but I was excited to explore this new city. After we disembarked from the plane, we grabbed our luggage and were greeted by a student and teacher from our partner school, Liceo Marco Foscarini. We then boarded a boat that took us to a water bus station, the primary transportation system in Venice. 

From March 19-25, our group had the opportunity to participate in Liceo Marco Foscarini’s FOSCAMUN conference. FOSCAMUN is an international Model UN conference where 50 students from the school and 50 students from other schools and countries come to Venice to participate. Along with Collegiate School, this year’s participants were Shizuoka Seiko Academy in Shizuoka, Japan, Séminaire des Jeunes in Strasburg, France, Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich, Germany, Liceo Benedetti-Tommaseo in Venice, Italy, Scuola Navale Militare “Francesco Morosini“ in Venice, Italy, IES Domingo Miral in Jaca, Spain, Liceo Scientifico Guglielmo Oberdan from Trieste, Italy, Colegio Carol Baur in Queretaro and Mexico City, Mexico, and Wasagasse Gymnasium in Vienna, Austria.     

As we entered the school, we were greeted by dozens of students from Liceo Foscarini and four of the six international schools. After a few minutes of settling in, I quickly said hello to my friend Emilio, whom I met during Collegiate’s International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC). IELC is a Senior Capstone course where Collegiate students work with students from other countries to develop sustainable solutions to global environmental problems. During this year’s conference, students from Liceo Foscarini attended, and their attendance inspired me to go on this trip. 

As soon as I settled in, I went to the school’s infirmary, because I had been feeling unwell after the long journey. The doctor told me that sleep was the best thing for me, because I had not slept in over 24 hours, and I was sent home with my host student, Pietro. We walked to the water bus, and shortly after we got on it, I received a text that my brother had tested positive for COVID-19 back in the US. I tested positive shortly after arriving at my host family’s house. While I thought this was going to ruin my entire trip, it was only a minor speed bump. The only impact it had on me was that I missed one day of sightseeing, had to wear a mask for a few days, and had to stay at the Combo, a hostel right by the school, for a few days. I tested negative on Thursday, removing the mask requirement and allowing me to stay with my host family for the remainder of the trip.  

Piazza San Marco. Photo credit: Sean Conner.

On Wednesday, I arrived at the school for a scavenger hunt at all the places I had missed seeing the day prior. My group for this scavenger hunt consisted of students from Italy, Spain, Mexico, Austria, Japan, Germany, and France. We explored the Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, and had the opportunity to explore some of the shops by the bridge.  

After two days of exploring the beautiful city of Venice and connecting with our fellow international students, we began the formal part of the conference. I arrived at the school around noon, went to the courtyard to receive my FOSCAMUN tote bag and conference materials, took photos with our delegations, our committee, and the international students, and had lunch and recess. After recess, we traveled to the school’s church for the opening ceremony. 

The opening ceremony was a surprise. The ceremony is significantly more formal than ours at IELC, something that was emphasized to me. It opened with a few words from the Deputy Secretary General of FOSCAMUN, followed by a playing of the national anthem of each attending country. After that, a few people spoke, including Foscarini’s Head of the School, a representative on the Venetian town council, and a representative from UNESCO. It was a beautiful way to start the conference.   

UNWomen committee for FOSCAMUN 2024. Photo courtesy of FOSCAMUN.

On Friday and Saturday, we spent most of our time in committee sessions. I was in the UN WOMEN committee (a.k.a. the best committee) in which we were tasked with finding a solution to guaranteeing the right to motherhood in conditions favorable to a woman’s self-determination. The countries represented in this debate were the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States of America, Egypt, Canada, Somalia, Yemen, Norway, Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Sweden, France, and Mexico. We spent time discovering each others’ positions before breaking into two blocks and drafting resolution papers. During the voting process to determine which resolution paper would go to the General Assembly, no country voted for the opposing block’s resolution paper, leading to one eventually being passed by one vote. 

Saturday evening, the school hosted a gala for all the FOSCAMUN students and their hosts. The gala is similar to prom in the US, except you do not come with a date, and food is served at the dance rather than before. Food was served at the beginning of the dance and consisted of many different types of seafood, a staple of Venice. As the night progressed, we began dancing to a variety of genres, from rock to reggaeton, and the energy remained the same, whether the song was good or bad. It was truly a night that I wished would never end.

On Sunday, we had our General Assembly session. During this, we discussed each committee’s resolution paper and tried to discover which countries would be with us and which would be against us. After about an hour, we listened to for and against arguments on each paper, with all eventually being passed. Later in the day, we had the closing ceremony. It was similar to the opening one, except each committee presented awards to the three delegates voted the best in their committee. They also recognized students from each of the visiting schools. Once the ceremony concluded, we returned to the Combo one last time and then tearfully said our goodbyes as we departed for home. 

Presiding over a UNWomen committee session. Photo courtesy of FOSCAMUN.

I asked our committee president, Emilia Vaccari, and our committee moderator, Giulia Ferretti, about their time at FOSCAMUN this year. Vaccari said, “This was my third year taking part in FOSCAMUN, but I never get used to it. Somehow, it never fails to surprise me in the best way possible. This year, the feeling of excitement caused by the opportunity to discuss such important topics was not the only aspect I will treasure in my heart. This year, I had the luck of meeting people who turned out to be much more than skilled delegates: the students I worked with soon became friends. I could not thank you enough for making this experience even more memorable.” 

Ferretti told me, “I think the conference is a really nice experience for the people to meet new people and new ways of thinking. I think it’s nice that people can overlook the problems that we have in our society, such as we did in UNWomen, [discussing] the problem of motherhood and the determinations of women in a society mainly “ruled” by men. The thing I most love about FOSCAMUN is that it makes it possible to create relationships with people that live far away from your country, and that you create friendships that last for a long time.”

Along with them, I was lucky to meet so many kind and engaging people in Venice. My host family was amazing. While they did not speak much English, they made me feel like I was living in a home away from home. They helped me fully experience the cuisine, the people, and the city. I also was privileged to have a wonderful committee. They made me feel comfortable and appreciated and made it an unforgettable experience. I also was able to build a strong connection with the Japanese students. We bonded over baseball, fishing, and they taught me about rugby. I have been able to keep in touch with everyone.

The Dolomite Mountains behind Venice. This is a rare sight due to heavy polution and can only be seen after storms. Photo credit: Sean Conner

The city of Venice is fascinating. I loved the architecture and how the city seems trapped in a time hundreds of years ago. I loved taking the boat every morning, because I saw so much of Venice and the surrounding islands, including the stadium where Venezia F.C. plays, the Dolomite mountains, San Giorgio island, and Piazza San Marco. I ate plenty of delicious food there too. The pizza and pasta I had were some of the best I have ever had. I tried local food, such as canoce (sea cicadas), which were delicious. 

This was such a meaningful experience that I will never regret taking. If you are a Collegiate student, I highly recommend taking this trip. If you are not at Collegiate, I still recommend going to witness the magnificence of Venice on your own.        

Featured image courtesy of FOSCAMUN.