Model UN Hosts Annual High School Conference
Future leaders in the realm of international cooperation have gathered in Norfolk to participate in Old Dominion University's 32nd Annual Model United Nations High School Conference, the oldest and most professional UN simulation in the region. The conference, sponsored by the university's Model United Nations Society, is being held at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in downtown Norfolk from Feb. 11-14.
Approximately 850 students, representing 48 high schools across the region and the United States, are participating in the program, which has been held at Old Dominion since 1977.
"Model UN is above all a way for students to learn global affairs through simulation, mastering country briefs more intimately than they would in a typical classroom, dealing with applied politics and negotiation," said Aaron Karp, faculty sponsor for the ODU Model UN Society and a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Geography.
"For me there also is a sense of personal contribution. Model UN was my own introduction to a world beyond the Midwest, where I grew up. It started me on a path that led to graduate study, work for United Nations in New York, research institutes abroad and ultimately to ODU, where I have continued to work as a consultant to the UN secretary-general (on weapons proliferation). Being able to help build the program here is a way of sharing something that has served me well," said Karp.
Jean-Bernard Gazarian, of France, senior fellow and coordinator of the Training Programme for Permanent Missions of the U.N. Institute for Training and Research, who has been with the United Nations since 1946, will deliver the keynote address, "The Future of the U.N.," to the delegates during the closing ceremonies on Saturday.
Opening ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in the Sheraton's International Ballroom. Following the welcome, the delegates will break into their various committees and discuss topics such as "Weapons of Mass Destruction" at the Security Council session and "The Situations of Women and Girls in Afghanistan" at the Economic and Social Council.
Delegates from each participating school are assigned to represent a particular country during the conference, and the students take their preparations seriously. A recent news release from the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., mentions that representatives from the embassy gave a presentation to students from Dominion High School in Sterling, Va., to provide them with useful information in preparation for the ODU conference.
Faculty forums will be held in conjunction with the student conference, during which guest speakers will deliver presentations on domestic and international political issues. Participants from ODU include Steve Yetiv, professor of political science; G. William Whitehurst, a former U.S. congressman and currently Kaufman Lecturer in public affairs; and Chris Drake, recently retired professor and director of the geography program. Additional speakers include retired Rear Adm. Larry Baucom, Charles Dunn, dean at Regent University, and Gazarian.
The 26 participating Hampton Roads area schools include:
- Norfolk: Booker T. Washington, Granby, Lake Taylor, Maury, Norfolk Academy, Norfolk Collegiate;
- Chesapeake: Deep Creek, Great Bridge, Hickory, Indian River, Oscar Smith, Western Branch;
- Virginia Beach: First Colonial, Frank W. Cox, Landstown, Princess Anne, Tallwood;
- Hampton: Bethel, Kecoughtan, Phoebus;
- York County: Grafton, York;
- Newport News: Menchville, Warwick, Woodside; and
- Portsmouth: Woodrow Wilson.
For more information contact Alan Rogers, assistant director of ODU's Model UN Society, at 683-5933 or ajrogers@odu.edu.