Second Annual Global Model United Nations Conference Appoints Mexican

 

Secretary-General, Elects Chinese General Assembly President

 

Malaysia to Host 2010 Event in Kuala Lumpur, 14–18 August

Eighteen university students from around the world have taken on the challenge of leading the 2010 Global Model United Nations Conference organized by the world body’s Department of Public Information, with nine being selected to form the Secretariat while others were elected as General Assembly officials in an online poll.

Attending a workshop organized by the Department at United Nations Headquarters from 7–10 June, the group were trained in their roles and briefed by senior officials and diplomats on organizing the Global Model United Nations Conference.  This year's edition, to be hosted by the Malaysian Government, will be held from August 14 to 18 in Kuala Lumpur.

The Conference will bring together the best university-level students from Model United Nations programmes around the world under the theme “Towards an Alliance of Civilizations:  Bridging Cultures to Achieve Peace and Development”.  Global Model United Nations 2010 will be a simulation of a summit meeting, giving delegates a forum to address issues at the highest level.  The inaugural event was held at the United Nations Office in Geneva in August 2009.

Esteban Ramirez Gonzalez of Mexico was selected as Secretary-General of this year’s Conference; Radda Abubakar of Nigeria as Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs; Khaled Kabbara of Lebanon as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management; Hugh Jorgensen of Australia as Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information; and Lynn Lai of Malaysia as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management.

Selected to serve in the crucial roles of secretaries to the four committees to be organized for the summit simulation were Ada Jonusyte of Lithuania, Eva Kohler of Sweden, Selina Angmor of Ghana and Utkirbek Tadjimov of Uzbekistan.

Yue Qiushi of China was elected President of the General Assembly, as were the following Chairpersons of the four committees to be simulated:  Lawrence Muli of Kenya; Maxim Afanasyev of the Russian Federation; Pamela Usai of Italy; and João Pedro Sá Teles of Brazil.  Olga Khabibulina of Belarus, Juliana Moura Bueno of Brazil, Isaac Appiah of Ghana and Kari Moe Jacobsen of Norway were elected Committee Vice-Chairpersons.

“I am honoured to work with such a talented group of people and to contribute to such an important project.  We will work day and night to provide a relevant platform for young people to voice their views on pressing global issues,” said Mr. Ramirez Gonzalez, a 23-year-old master’s student at the Graduate Institute of International Relations in Geneva.  Ms. Yue, a student at the Beijing Foreign Studies University said:  “I feel humbled and honoured to have been elected by my peers around the world to serve in this prestigious position.  The Global Model UN Conference is a great opportunity to make our voices heard as youth.”

One of the criteria for selection as leaders of the Conference is significant leadership experience in the students’ respective national Model United Nations conferences and, in some cases, in international Model United Nations conferences.

At the four-day workshop in New York, the Global Model United Nations officials gained invaluable insights into the structure and functioning of the Organization, particularly the General Assembly.  Senior officials and experienced diplomats shared their rich experiences with the students, who delivered individual presentations on the Conference theme after a series of discussions with representatives from the Alliance of Civilizations.

The presentations focused primarily on the negative impact of social, cultural and religious polarization and the four Alliance of Civilizations themes of youth, media, education and migration.  Mr. Jorgensen, from the University of Queensland, said:  “In an attempt to find meaning in this increasingly complex world, it is tempting to only watch, listen and read information that confirms our own prejudices, however far removed these may be from the truth.  Refusal to understand those around us makes the clash of civilizations a real possibility.  The Global Model UN Conference will become part of the dialogue to redress this information imbalance.”

Intended to serve as a model of best practices for national Model United Nations conferences, the annual global event involves youth in all aspects of the planning process and encourages the establishment of new Model United Nations programmes where they do not exist.  The Global Model United Nations Conference uses rules of procedure that closely represent how the Organization’s bodies function, and gives students access to officials prior to, and during, Conference deliberations.

The Department of Public Information provides training materials and online tools that allow participants to collaborate, using new communication technologies.  The Conference is designed to expand and deepen the Department's outreach to youth, a top priority for the United Nations.  University students between the ages of 18 and 24 are invited to participate in the Global Conference, and the deadline for registration for the 2010 event is 21 June.

More information on the Global Model United Nations Conference and on the student leaders can be found on the Conference website:  www.un.org/gmun.

For additional information, please contact Yvonne Acosta, Chief, Education Outreach Cluster, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, at acostay@un.org; or Bill Yotive, Manager, Global Teaching and Learning Project, at yotive@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record