Eight GU-Q students organised MUN exercises for more than 200 high school students in India.
Georgetown University (GU-Q) recently concluded a three-day Model United Nations (MUN) conference in New Delhi, India.
This was the second India venture for GU-Q’s MUN programme, where eight Doha students organised the diplomatic role-playing exercises for more than 200 high school students from across India.
The MUN simulations recreated challenges encountered by the actual United Nations organisation in response to current global issues. Participating high school students were also given the opportunity to learn about Georgetown’s degree programmes and educational opportunities on its Education City campus.
Mohamed Khalil Harb, GU-Q student development officer and MUN co-ordinator, took part in the organisation and months-long preparation of the conference.
Commenting on the dedication of GU-Q students, Harb said: “The conference would not have been a success without our wonderfully capable Georgetown students. They chaired every committee perfectly and constantly assisted with staff-related work. This was a chance for GU-Q students to practise diplomacy in action abroad and they were incredible representatives of Georgetown.”
The New Delhi conference had six mock committees: the UN Human Rights Commission, UN Economic and Social Committee, UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Advisory Panel on Freedom of Expression and UN Security Council.
Topics discussed in these committees included Syrian refugees, issues regarding migrant labourers, Gulf politics, the future of renewable energy as well as the changing role of media and censorship.
The opening ceremony featured a keynote address by Dr Brendan Hill, associate dean of students at GU-Q. During his speech, Dr Hill highlighted three historic cases in which diplomacy failed, resulting in horrific consequences: the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, the idea of creating separate Arab and Jewish states in Palestine in 1947 and the futile appeasement strategy towards Hitler in the lead-up to World War II.
The conference also featured a diplomatic reception in which the diplomatic community of New Delhi was invited to mingle with the high school students and share real-world skills
and knowledge with aspiring young leaders.
For the first time in India, the GU-Q MUN also included a cultural night event, which gave participants the chance to showcase India’s cultural diversity and its varied traditions through dance, song and drama.
