With teams of students representing member nations, participants in three simultaneous sessions underwent an all-day crash course in diplomacy and foreign relations. The year’s proceedings focused on current issues in Ukraine, with particular emphasis on refugees, territorial integrity, human rights, financial assistance, and potential violence.
According to Rolf Lokke, history faculty member and coordinator of the event, students have been preparing for several weeks. “Each participating country is represented by three students,” he says. “They conduct research on the country and its beliefs and the United Nations, and are required to represent the plausible view of the country to which they are assigned.”
Rolf says that while this activity is a good introduction to the United Nations and parliamentary procedure, the enduring value is in having the students work together to solve problems. “This is an important introduction to constructive negotiation,” he says. “Students have a visceral appreciation for how difficult it can be to solve problems and build consensus among a large group of individuals.”
While the student delegates were not able to completely resolve the current issues in Ukraine, they made great strides towards a peaceful resolution to the tensions there, says Rolf. The chairs and moderators of each Security Council committee were members of Albuquerque Academy’s Model UN team.
Earlier this month, seventh graders participated in their own Model UN activities. According to history faculty member Dennis Fazio, the theme for the seventh grade activities was also based on the Millennium Development Plan, a United Nations program designed to decrease the numbers of people around the world living in extreme poverty.
“Students spent about two months preparing for this day,” says Dennis. “Each was assigned the role of Developing Country Representative or Economic and Social Council Member,” he explains. Working in pairs, Country Representatives did in-depth research, developed a project proposal designed to meet one or more of the eight Millennium Development Goals, and presented their requests for funding.
Economic and Social Council members, in addition to reviewing the project proposals, researched and wrote a resolution addressing world youth issues (e.g., child violence, child labor, water, wildlife, education, etc.), about which they educated their classmates in a General Assembly of Nations. The country representatives in the General Assembly were then asked to sign a pledge of support for their recommendations.
