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Park University Hosts Model United Nations for Area High SchoolsBy Summer A. Evans - November 22, 2005 - 9:27 amEmail this article | Printer friendly page | Media Inquiries More than 170 high school students representing 11 Kansas City area high schools participated in a Model United Nations conference at Park University on Nov. 11-12 in Parkville, Mo. The Park University Model U.N. provided students the opportunity to participate in a simulation of United Nations decision making. The high schools participating included Immaculata, Leavenworth, Liberty, Louisburg, Olathe North, Olathe South, Raytown, Raytown South, Rockhurst, Shawnee Mission East and Shawnee Mission West. The student delegates addressed such issues as the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation in the Middle East, Protection of Migrants, the Right to Food, and Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism. Security Council delegates addressed current topics such as the crisis in the Dafur region of Sudan, nuclear weapons proliferation in North Korea and Iran, and the situation in the Congo. The Park University Office of International Education and Study Abroad sponsored the event. Model U.N. are authentic simulations of the U.N. General Assembly, U.N. Security Council, or other multilateral bodies, which catapult students into the world of diplomacy and negotiation. In this program students step act as ambassadors of U.N. member states from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe to debate current issues on the organization's vast agenda. The students, better known as "delegates" in Model U.N., prepare draft resolutions, plot strategy, negotiate with supporters and adversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate the U.N.'s rules of procedure-all in the interest of mobilizing international cooperation to resolve problems that affect almost every country on Earth. For more than 50 years, teachers and students have benefited from and enjoyed this interactive, experiential learning experience that not only involves young people in the study and discussion of global issues but also encourages the development of skills useful throughout their lives in such areas as: research, writing, public speaking, problem solving, consensus building, conflict resolution and large group decision making. The next Park University Model United Nations will be held on Nov. 10, 2006. |