DOHA - The Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar) concluded its Third Annual Model United Nations (MUN) Conference with a lunch at the Marriott on January 27.
The lunch brought together 325 MUN student participants from 22 countries with diplomatic delegations to Qatar from 16 countries. The awards ceremony honoured outstanding delegates nominated by the chairs and co-chairs of their respective committees.
In the three-day international UN simulation, the high school students where divided into eight committees representing international governing bodies such as the UN Security Council, the African Union, NATO and the Arab League. Each student assumed the role of a member country delegate on the governing body of his or her committee. SFS-Qatar students served as Chairs and Co-chairs of the committees.
Brendan Hill, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at SFS-Qatar considers the experience as a valuable lesson on how diversity can be a force of unity rather than separation. "Our students did a wonderful job chairing the committees. I think that the participating high school students gained so much from the expertise of our students. I was overwhelmed by how cordial everyone was," Hill said.
Nicholas Nassar, a Freshman from SFS-Qatar and an MUN veteran, said that the participants learned the language of the UN and the legal terms used in international politics. In his opinion, the high school students learned how to work with each other under pressure.
Tara Makarem, a Freshman from SFS-Qatar sees a strong connection between what she is learning in the classroom and the MUN experience. "A lot of what we discuss is actually based on understanding history and current global issues. History is very important in drafting resolutions because it tells us what has previous worked and what did not," said Makarem.
© The Peninsula 2008
