Throughout the year at Jesuit, the Model United Nations team has been busy with weekly meetings. These meetings include preparing for an upcoming conference or having a discussion about some pressing issues in global affairs. The Model UN team continues to participate in several regional conferences with many high schools present such as St. Mark’s, Hockaday, or Coppell High.
What is Model UN?
Model UN is an academic simulation of the United Nations where students act as delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world issues with the political perspectives of their assigned countries. Basically, a delegate in Model UN role-play his or her assigned country’s representative. For instance, a student representing Germany will use German policies on given topics in the conference.
Model UN conferences are hosted by universities, high schools, non-profit organizations and other educational institutions. Model UN conferences are not only in the United States, but also in England and India. For instance, colleges such as Georgetown University host the annual North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN). On the high school level, Coimbatore in India annually hosts the Saint Ignatius Model United Nations (SIMUN).
Model UN conferences are separated into many committees. These committees can include the General Assembly, Security Council, Human Rights Council, World Health Organization, etc.
In Model UN, delegates develop many skills such as public speaking, debating, writing skills, and leadership abilities. Also, Model UN helps students explore potential career paths such as politics, law, business, and more.
Dallas Area Model UN Conference
After weeks of preparing for the conference, Jesuit Model UN sent three delegates to attend the annual Dallas Area Model UN Conference (DAMUN). All three delegates participated in the General Assembly. Luke Harrison ’22 represented Singapore, Anthony Nguyen ’24 represented Spain and Max DeGroote ’25 represented Ghana. The conference’s topics were the doping in the Olympics and land degradation in Africa.
During the conference, the delegates voiced their positions on whether drugs should be legalized in the Olympics or not and solutions to widespread land degradation crises. Overall, these delegates’ resolutions for the continuation of anti-doping measures and a UN-led initiative land conservation and waste management were all successful. Also, the delegates had the opportunities to discuss and make connections with many delegates from different schools.
The Colony High School Model UN
After a three-month long hiatus and two winter storms, Jesuit Model UN kicked off its second semester by sending three delegates to The Colony High School. Luke Harrison ’22 represented South Africa in the General Assembly, Christian Nguyen ’22 represented Honduras in the Historical Security Council, and Anthony Nguyen ’24 represented Honduras in the Human Rights Council.
In the General Assembly, Luke Harrison tackled the topics of Mali’s recent government transitions and Nigerian terrorists. Luke led the Pan-African Council in ensuring civil liberties and guaranteeing safe education and humanitarian aid to Mali and Nigeria.
In the Historical Security Council, Christian Nguyen engaged in debates and discussions regarding the United Fruit Company’s involvement in Central America. Specifically, Christian decided whether to allow the United Fruit Company to stay in Honduras or not. In the end, Christian passed resolutions to allow American businesses to stay, as long as Hondurans benefit economically and politically.
In the Human Rights Council, Anthony Nguyen partook in the committee’s Turkish-Kurdish Conflict. Specifically, Anthony had to resolve the Kurdish conflict by passing resolutions. These resolutions allowed the Kurds to have a semi-autonomous region to legislate themselves, creation of an oversight committee to monitor Turkey and the sending of humanitarian supplies to the Kurds.
Thoughts on Model UN’s performance this year
After a year of successful conferences, I interviewed two seniors in the Model UN organization.
Christian Nguyen ’22 talked about how “he learned the importance of leadership” and how groups initiating significant resolutions are led by “dominant charismatic people.” Also, he shared how he chose to be part of the Historical Security Council at TCCMUN. Christian emphasized on the importance of how we live in the aftermath of the events of previous generations.
Luke Harrison ’22 shared how DAMUN provided him an opportunity to meet members of the Model UN community. Also, Luke shared why he joined the African Council. The reason is that despite possessing a broad range of cultures and languages, Africa continues to be ignored on the world stage. In addition, Luke knew that it is important to bring up Africa’s “tidal wave of issues through more global attention and more focus on diplomacy.”
Interview with Mr. Yohannes
Also, I had the opportunity of discussing with Mr. Yohannes, the Model UN moderator, about past conferences and anticipations for the future.
How do you think the Model UN team has been this year?
“I think that the Model UN team has been great this year in spite of COVID restrictions. We have already participated in two conferences this year, and we are planning on attending mock conferences with St. Mark’s. We can ask other DFW schools such as Hockaday to participate in a mock conference.”
Why do you think Model UN is important?
“Let’s think about perspectives. I think it is easy for students to perceive events through their lens of their own or American interest. However, it is important to look at the world through the lens of global superpowers like Russia and China or small countries. For instance, my family is from Eritrea. So, it is important for us to see the different perspectives of many countries and find potential paths towards compromise. We live in a society where our differences are stressed, and people are becoming less interactive and willing to cooperate with others and their differences. In Model UN conferences, delegates craft resolutions to find some common ground and potential solutions to some of today’s pressing issues.”
Is recruiting new members important?
“I always think that we should not prioritize on counting the numbers of new recruits. Instead, we should concentrate on finding students who are passionate in learning about the world. It is not important to see how many numbers of freshmen are in the organization, but it is more important to try to make the learning experience for these newcomers meaningful.”
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more club news like Model UN!
