MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Thirty-one members of the Maplewood Middle School Model UN Club participated in the largest middle school Model U.N. conference in the world on Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2. The conference took place in New York City at the Grand Hyatt, and closing ceremonies were held on Saturday in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations itself. The conference was attended by 1,724 middle school students from 28 U.S. states and 26 foreign countries, and MMS students had the chance to work with and talk to many of these students.
The theme of the conference was “Live Diversity,” and delegates were fortunate to have the experience to do just that. MMS delegates took on the roles of actual ambassadors; some represented Australia and others took on the role of Ugandan diplomats. They worked in committees such as United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNICEF, World Food Programme and United Nations Development Programme.
The MMS students who participated were Armaan Jahangir, Will Schabacker, Tai Artis, Katrina Guterman, Alex Gaudelli, Tim Rohan, James Doherty, Bryn Healy, Bea Anderson, Milo Obrutz, Kenny Huang, Violet Gordon, Phoebe Hill, Maya Krauss, Zoe Selesnick, Olivia VandeVusse, Amelia Wissel, John McLaughlin, Damian Cataneo, Buchi Amobi, Bante Lounsbury, Naomi Gordon, Julia Ethan, Cole Strupp, Rafi Aronson, Max Bryant, Kene Amobi, Sophie Ostella, Lila Promisel, Josie Lally and Zoe Ferguson.
In committee, they discussed solutions to world problems, such as the impact of migration on development, safeguarding cultural heritages, the militarization of space, the rights of indigenous people, and maternal/child health. Special congratulations and commendations to Zoe Ferguson and Josie Lally. They won their committee’s award for outstanding position paper; only 13 such awards were given, one for each committee. Position papers are written by the two partners, and given that more than 850 position papers were written in total, this achievement deserves special commendation.
About the Author
