After years of inactivity, the Mira Loma Model United Nations club has been reestablished.
According to the United Nations Association of the United States of America, Model UN is “a simulation of the UN General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassador role while debating topics such as gender equality, climate action, global health, and more.” Model UN requires students to critically think, research, and publicly speak, allowing them to develop necessary skills while learning about global issues.
Model UN has proven to be a popular activity at Mira Loma, attracting more than 50 members since its formation at the start of the school year. Thus far, each Mira Loma participant has assumed the role of an ambassador of a United Nations member country. In these roles, student delegates represent the positions and roles of their country.
During lunchtime meetings, students have practiced impromptu speaking and debated topics such as universal healthcare, oil prices, and green energy. Students have further practiced resolving conflicts with other ambassadors, negotiating with others, and drafting resolutions.
Junior Ava Martinez shares, “So far I have been able to practice and become more confident with public speaking. My favorite part of the club is the creative aspect of coming up with solutions, as well as collaborating with others to come to a consensus.”
Fellow junior Joy Jang agrees with Martinez about how participating in this activity has been fun and worthwhile. Jang comments, “Since joining Model UN I have become much more proficient in public speaking and researching deep into the necessary topics required for the conferences. My favorite part has to be being able to have intricate debates with my friends and the rest of the club about things I may not have previously known or been interested in.”
The lunchtime sessions have been in preparation for the upcoming Santa Clara Valley Model United Nations Conference 2023, which will take place in San Jose from January 27 to January 28, 2023.
At the conference, student delegates will have the opportunity to participate in General Assembly Committees or Special Committees. Delegates assigned to a General Assembly Committee will discuss and debate various international issues with delegates from other high schools. After all delegates have voiced their thoughts and negotiated with each other, the goal is to agree on a solution to the global problem. Delegates then draft a detailed resolution to the international conflict that was discussed.
The General Assemblies include the International Atomic Energy Association, Disarmament and International Security Committee, World Health Organization, and United Nations Environmental Program. Within these committees, delegates will debate diverse topics including the use of radiation sources in the developing world, improving food and water security through nuclear technology, the inequities regarding COVID-19 around the world, combating drug resistance for effective disease mitigation, sustainable development of cities, global waste management, violence faced by women in Iran, stopping Haiti’s gang-related humanitarian crisis, addressing the rise in inequality from the use of standardized testing as an economic good, and the role of gender identity in traditional sports.
Delegates taking part in a special committee also represent individual countries, but these delegates spend time discussing and debating different simulated situations. For example, one Special Committee at the upcoming conference is the Security Council, which will be reviewing the situation in Cyprus and Afghanistan. Another Special Committee is the Historical Crisis Committee, which will simulate the UN Interim Force in Lebanon 1982. A third Special Committee is NATO, which will debate combating piracy in east African countries, as well as NATO’s stance on nuclear weapons. The World Bank Special Committee will review financing universal health coverage, along with financing food security. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Committee will be addressing Afghani refugees escaping war and Iraqi refugees escaping the Taliban. The final Special Committee is the Economic and Social Council, which will evaluate the violence against indigenous women worldwide, as well as the promotion of equal access to education.
Mira Loma members are eagerly anticipating the upcoming conference. Martinez states, “I am looking forward to talking with people from many different schools. I am also looking forward to practicing speaking and negotiation skills, even if I am a bit scared to do so.”
Expressing similar sentiments, Jang remarks, “The upcoming conference in Santa Clara is definitely going to be really fun and a completely new experience for me. I’m particularly looking forward to spending time with both the members of the club and the students from other schools who will be partaking in the conference with us.”
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