Russian Secretary-General, Korean General Assembly President

 

to Head Global Model United Nations Conference 2011

 

Newly Appointed Officials Complete

Leadership Training Workshop at World Body’s New York Headquarters

The United Nations Department of Public Information has confirmed the appointment of 19 Secretariat and General Assembly officials who will take on the challenge of leading the 2011 Global Model United Nations Conference, to be hosted by the Incheon Metropolitan City and the United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea.

Having undergone a leadership training workshop organized for the group at United Nations Headquarters from 6 to 10 June, newly appointed Secretary-General Tatiana Makarova said: “I was genuinely surprised by my appointment.”  The 22‑year‑old PhD student of international relations at Moscow’s prestigious National Research University in the Russian Federation added: “It is an honour to have been given the opportunity to be Secretary-General at such a prestigious event.”

The Global Model United Nations Conference is in its third year, following highly successful events in Geneva in 2009 and Kuala Lumpur in 2010.  With its focus on the theme “Sustainable Development: Advancing Human Progress in Harmony with Nature”, the Conference will bring together 600 of the best university students from Model United Nations programmes around the world.  It will give each the opportunity to debate many of the most important issues facing humanity, within the context of a simulated General Assembly session.

“I look forward to working with the amazing Secretariat,” said Ms Makarova, referring to the nine other members of the Secretariat: Carlos Andres Paredes Minango of Ecuador, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs; Oliver Pase of Australia, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information; and Emmanuel Mike Kweyunga of Uganda, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.  Wang Hu of China was appointed Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management and Missy P. Chareka of Canada as Assistant-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management.

Appointed Secretaries of four Main Committees to be simulated were Michael Abi Semaan of Lebanon (Disarmament and International Security), Anastasiya Skripnik of the Russian Federation (Economic and Financial); Anindya Restuviani of Indonesia (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural); and Abdallah Salim Mohamed Busaidy of Kenya (Special Political and Decolonization).

Dongyeop Lee of the Republic of Korea was elected by Conference delegates to take on the role of President of the General Assembly.  Elected as Chairpersons of the four Main Committees were Farzana Julie Ahmed (Kenya), Thomas Jaunich (Germany), Giovanna Fernandes Alevato (Brazil) and Alfonso Simon Abularach (Bolivia).  Vicente Avalos Barrio de Mendoza (Peru), Carmen Alejandra Zavala Bandala (Mexico), Zhikica Pagovski (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and Diane Jeanblanc (France) were elected Vice-Chairpersons.

“It is an honour to have been elected President of the General Assembly, and I am particularly excited to be performing this role in the Republic of Korea, both mine and Ban Ki-moon’s home country,” said Mr. Dongyeop.  “I am determined to ensure all delegates have an amazing experience in Korea.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to the Republic of Korea to address the Conference.  Ms. Makarova said: “I have no doubt this will be a highlight no delegate will soon forget.”

Each Secretariat and General Assembly official attending the workshop in New York participated in seminars led by United Nations luminaries, including Jean Gazarian, Senior Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Discussions focused on the roles and responsibilities of the positions that the students would be assuming during the Conference, with several distinguished diplomats and senior advisers providing insights which, according to Mr. Pase from the University of Sydney, taught them more than any textbook ever could.  “The candour and critical reflection was refreshing, and each speaker’s passion for their work was inspiring,” he said.  “Their advice will be invaluable in our preparations for the Conference.”  In addition, the students met senior United Nations officials and diplomats on substantive issues to be discussed in each Committee.

Intended to serve as a model of best practices for other regional or national Model United Nations Conferences, the 2011 Global Model United Nations Conference will be governed by rules of procedure closely replicating those used within the world body.  Delegates will also have access to high-ranking United Nations officials during debate.

The Conference is designed to facilitate the key United Nations strategy of engaging with youth around the world.  University students between the ages of 18 and 26 are invite to participate, and the deadline for registration for the 2011 event is 30 June.

More information on the Global Model United Nations Conference and 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