The Wichita State University Model United Nations is a class that teaches students about the many activities of the UN around the world and prepares them to participate in regional and national Model UN conferences.
Students serve as delegates at the conferences, representing the interests of a different country on mock United Nations committees. Other schools represent different countries. The ultimate goal at the conferences is for the delegates to write resolutions that try to solve many of the global problems facing countries around the world. Committee topics range from addressing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, to protecting the rights of women and children.
Students begin by selecting which committee they will serve on and learning more about the topics that that committee addresses. Once they have a basic understanding of the issues, they research the position the specific country that the delegation is representing on those issues. Finally students write a position paper summarizing their country's interests.
Position papers are 1 to 2 page summaries of the topics each committee is addressing and the specific position of one country on those topics.
There are two conferences in that students attend, thus the commitment to the group is a full year commitment. Each year students participate in the American Model United Nations conference in Chicago in November. On alternate years they attend the National Model United Nations conference in New York, or an international conference in the late Spring. Students will be absent for a total of two weeks of class to participate in the conferences. These are officially excused absences, but students will still need to make up any work or exams that are missed.
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