Model UN competes, winning awards

UNC Charlotte Model United Nations students in spring 2017 competed internationally at the Harvard World United Nations in Montreal, Canada, where they vied against 2,000 university students from more than 115 countries. Delegates brought home highest honors for individual participants, with two awards for verbal communications.

Despite 17 inches of snow and sub-zero temperatures in Montreal, the students performed well and learned from their debates. In Model UN, students step into the shoes of ambassadors from UN member states to debate current issues on the organization’s agenda. Student delegates make speeches, prepare draft resolutions, negotiate with allies and adversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate the Model UN conference rules of procedure – all in the interest of mobilizing international cooperation to resolve problems that affect countries all over the world.

Students gain important skills including negotiation, debate, and confidence on public speaking. These opportunities provide a broad, globally focused approach to help students grow as future leaders in an increasingly diverse world, Model UN leaders say. They benefit from community support for their travels and also from alumni mentoring.

The final competition of the year was a Southern Regional Model UN Conference, held in April in uptown Charlotte. UNC Charlotte students represented El Salvador, Yemen, Kenya, Peru, and Cameroon. Students won individual awards and delegation awards. The individual awards went to students representing Cameroon in the UNICEF committee, El Salvador in the UNICEF committee, and Peru in the CSTD committee. Outstanding Delegation awards went to Cameroon, and El Salvador and Peru won Honorable Mentions.

Words and Image: Courtesy of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration