On Oct. 17, Hays High School’s Model United Nations team, sponsored by teacher Jerald Braun, was supposed to travel the short journey to Fort Hays State University for the Heartland Model United Nations conference, but due to limited schools registering, the event was postponed until a later date.
Due to the event being postponed, FHSU decided to host a mock committee session on Oct. 17 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The mock committee session will include FHSU’s Model UN team. The event will outline the basics of how Model UN runs and how to collaborate with other delegates, which will better prepare students for the official event. With the FHSU team being there, students will also be able to learn from their experiences.
Model United Nations is an educational simulation where students function as delegates of their designated country and try to make resolutions towards global issues. Each country has three delegates from the same school.
“I first joined Model UN my freshman year to learn more about the world and meet new people,” senior Emersyn Sander said. “Now I look forward to going to the conference every year.”
Students prepare for the event by researching a topic based on their country’s perspective and writing position papers about their findings. Position papers can be submitted for awards.
During a Model UN conference, students are divided into rooms and collaborate with delegates from other countries to create a resolution to the topic that most benefits their country. Model UN conferences are split into two different sessions. Formal sessions are used to allow participants to give speeches and set rules, while informal sessions are used to allow students to work one-on-one without rules to create resolutions.
“I am most excited to see what wacky ideas people have,” junior Joseph Zolnierz said.
Most Model UN conferences follow this schedule, but the Heartland Model United Nations conference plans to also include a plenary session. A plenary session is when all delegates attending meet in one room to converse about the topics discussed previously in the other rooms.
Throughout the process of preparing and participating in a Model UN conference, participants gain important skills that can be put into their daily lives, including research and writing, public speaking and negotiation skills.
“Model UN is beneficial to students since it can help them build critical thinking and research skills, engage in public speaking and debate experiences, understand international relations and global issues and develop teamwork and leadership skills,” Braun said.
Wichita State University will host their Model UN conference on Jan. 23, while the Heartland Model United Nations conference will take place on March 11. If anyone is interested in joining, contact Braun.
“I think this year, I am most excited to be attending Model UN in my own town,” Sander said. “Every year prior, the event has been held at Wichita State, but having one in Hays this year has made it much more accessible.”
28astecklein@usd489.com
