OLD DOMINION STUDENTS ATTEND INTERNATIONAL MODEL U.N. CONFERENCE

Old Dominion students Jean-Philippe Gobeil-Jobidon of Portsmouth and William Patterson and Christopher Rawls, both of Chesapeake, attended the European International Model United Nations Conference June 28-July 6 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Maria Fornella-Oehninger, director of the Old Dominion Model United Nations Society, attended as faculty adviser. The conference brought together more than 170 students from more than 30 countries.

During conference activities, Gobeil-Jobidon represented Namibia in the mock Security Council and Patterson and Rawls represented the African nation in the General Assembly.

Appointments during the conference are based on students' abilities as diplomats and negotiators and their leadership and organizational skills as exhibited at national conferences and the Old Dominion Model U.N. High School Conference.

To qualify, students submitted briefs on Namibia, which Old Dominion was assigned to represent, issued briefs on topics including the Pakistani-Indian conflict and delivered oral presentations on those topics.