The Stephen E. and Isabella H. Stevens World Peace Foundation is established by Dr. Stevens in honor of his late wife, Isabella Stevens. Married for over 50 years, much of their life was spent together in Hawaiʻi. Dr. Stevens felt that Hawaiʻi was the perfect location for the world to come together in the pursuit of peace, his personal mission. The foundation ensures that Hawaiʻi’s high school and intermediate students will become true global citizens with an awareness of world issues and the ability to address them in a peaceful manner.
PacMUN begins in 2012 with two committees at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. The first PacMUN hosted three schools: ‘Iolani School, St. Andrews’ Priory, and Mid-Pacific Institute, and around 100 delegates.
The second iteration of PacMUN would be held at the East-West Center.
PacMUN would be held at the East West Center and have two committees: UNESCO: Addressing Gender discrimination in Education and Using ICT’s (Information Communication Technologies) to Increase the Effectiveness of Education. and SOCHUM: Rights of the Child and Rights to Self Determination. This would be under the management of Tina Rawlins.
PacMUN would be held at the Waikiki Beach Marriot. In the 4th year, we have decided to expand our enrollment by inviting a few select schools from around Hawaii as well as Canada and California. Our goal was to welcome delegates from around the globe. This conference would be under the management of Tina Rawlins.
Under the leadership of Secretary General Ben Chao, PacMUN 2016 was the first edition at the Hawaii Convention Center, and the first to welcome schools from the Mainland US. Committees would include DISEC, SPECPOL, UNEP, US Senate, African Union, NATO, Bandung Conference 1955, UNHRC, African National Congress 2007, State Council of the PRC, CCP, EOPOTUS, and UNSC.
We welcomed delegates back to the Hawaii Convention Center for the next iteration of PacMUN!
With Committees including DISEC, and the Commonwealth, the Joint Crisis: Syrian Civil War included committees representing the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russian Federation, Turkey, Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Among the highlights, the Joint Crisis Committee: United States, Chair Emily Bishko as President Donald Trump “debated” Senator Bernie Sanders, as portrayed by JCC:United Kingdom Chair Jake Steiner, while Co-Chair Yoo Ra Sung moderated. All eight of our Joint Crisis Committees met in one room to debate the Syrian conflict, the topic of our Joint Crisis.
2019 included many committees, including the UNHRC, SOCHUM, Great Māhele, The Spanish Juntas of 1808, United Kingdom Cabinet, 1972, JCC: Venezuela, United States, Cuba, Colombia, Russian Federation, and US Senate. A highlight from the year was the advanced special committee, where the United States Senate, like the United Kingdom Committee at PacMUN 2018, used a unique set of rules derived from the real-life US Senate, and the British House of Commons. Director Jake Steiner described this committee as, “a normal Model UN committee that I jerry-rigged into an Ad-Hoc.” Delegates navigated topics such as a woman’s right to choose, the role of technology companies in modern society, and a mysterious avian flu. In the meantime, Senators needed to manage a hectic 2020 election cycle, which saw Howard Schultz run as an independent, no majority in the Electoral College, and a shift in majority in the Senate itself. Finally, on Sunday, delegates managed three independent crisis arcs, involving the secession of the West Coast under King Gavin Newsom, and alternative proposals from the Air Force and NASA for the Space Force.
PacMUN 2020 was the first online-only iteration of the conference in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Hosted on Zoom, we welcomed 166 participants spanning six committees. It was also the first under the management of Secretaries-General Jake Steiner and Yoo Ra Sung. Committees included UNODC, Disarmament and International Security, UNSC, 1918 Flu Pandemic, Iran, and the Cabinet of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933.
PacMUN 2021 was the second online-only iteration of the conference in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, with a staff gathered in Sunnyvale, California. Hosted on Zoom, we welcomed 219 participants spanning eight committees. It was the second under the management of Secretaries-General Jake Steiner and Yoo Ra Sung. Committees included the UNHRC, COP 26, Pacific Islands Forum, ASEAN, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue India, Australia, Japan, and the United States of America.
PacMUN 2022 was the first iteration of the conference after the Coronavirus pandemic. We welcomed back old participants and opened our arms to new friendly spaces, spanning nine committees. It was the first under the management of Secretaries-General Mika Ishii and Anya Prasad. Committees included the Committee on the Status of Women, UNEA, WHO, NASA, Ukraine Crisis with the Office of the President of the US, EU, Ukraine, and Russia, and our first Ad-Hoc, the Bunroku War of 1592.
2023 would be the second under the management of Secretaries-General Mika Ishii and Anya Prasad. It would hold the largest attendance in PacMUN at the time, and welcomed nearly a dozen schools from around the country. Committees included the WHA, UNHCR, IAEA, Interpol, WEF, Hawai’i Local on the ost of Living, Climate Change and Militarization, a future-based space committee on the Second International Year in 2057, featuring the US National Space Council, new Pacific Rim Alliance, the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency, and the Chinese Outer Space Affairs Commission, and the Directory of the French First Republic.