Manchester delegates take part in student UN assembly

21 Mar 2011

Manchester politics students are returning home today from  Singapore where they took part in WorldMUN – a student version of the United Nations.

MUN- which stands for Model United Nations  - is an initiative by students from across the world which simulates the practices, actions, and debates of the UN.

Participants research a country, role play as diplomats, investigate international issues, debate and deliberate over a range of issues.

This month, 2,100 students from over 65 countries, representing more than 270 universities, will descend upon Singapore in a gathering of some of the world’s brightest and best minds.

Ahead of the trip, the 11 politics undergraduate students and WorldMUN delegation had the opportunity to discuss international affairs with Dr Frederico Alberto Cuello Camilo, Dominican Republic Ambassador to the United Nations.

The trip is partly funded by the politics department at the University’s School of Social Sciences

The World Model United Nations was conceived and organised by Harvard University and has been held every year since 1991.

The event moves to a new international city each year and combines debates and discussion on key international issues, with exposition to new cultures and traditions, all in a truly global setting with participants from across the world.

After travelling to locations including  The Hague in the Netherlands; Puebla, Mexico; Geneva, Switzerland; Beijing, China; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, WorldMUN will visit  Southeast Asia for the first time.

Head of the Manchester University WorldMUN delegation, third year student Cynthia Keza Birikundavyi, was offered an internship at the United Nations New-York headquarters following the meeting with the ambassador.

She said: “We were passionate about representing the University of Manchester at WorldMUN Singapore and excited at the prospect of appropriating the theoretical knowledge we have acquired in lectures and libraries to current and genuine issues, all within the framework of the United Nations.

“The meeting with the Ambassador was an interesting and useful experience ahead of our trip to Singapore.”