Students from South Africa and Kenya participating in the Finals of the Model UN in Cape Town, South Africa
United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Pretoria was once again privileged to be involved in the South African Model United Nations International Conference.
After an intensive five months of preparation which commenced with the training of students on Model UN debating, the programme culminated in an Awards Ceremony on Robben Island. At this ceremony, held on the 19 October 2009, 12 students from each of the 9 provinces in South Africa were selected to participate in an international Model UN Debating conference in the United States in 2010. The entire project was funded by the South African cell phone service provider, MTN.
Each team consisted of four students, two from a resourced school and two from an under-rescourced school as determined by the National Ministry of Education who are partners in the programme along with Education Africa, the Model United Nations of South Africa (MUN-SAS) and the UNIC Pretoria. In addition to teams from all nine provinces of South Africa, there were also students from schools in Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States who participated.
The two topics given to the participants to prepare for debates were: (1) A global responsibility towards failed states, and (2) Developments in the field of Information and telecommunications in the context of international security.
This year, for the first time, an “Emergency session” debate was held which involved the students being informed at the conclusion of the first debate that a global epidemic had broken out and they were expected to convene into separate committees to work out a global response to the emergency. It was felt that this approach is more in line with the international Model UN conferences and affords the adjudicators a more accurate opportunity to assess each student’s participation in an unrehearsed manner.
In addition to participating in the two debates, the South African students underwent individual interviews with representatives of MUN-SA and the UNIC Outreach Officer where they were assessed on their knowledge of national and international affairs, among other issues.
Another new element in this year’s programme was that UNIC Pretoria arranged for the debaters to participate in this year’s Stand Up Against Poverty campaign. The pledge was read by one of the students and every person in the debating chamber then stood up and held up the “Stand Up Against Poverty” t-shirts they were given.
The importance of social and economic justice was made even clearer when all the participants spent a night on South Africa’s famous former prison, Robben Island, with former political prisoners who recounted their experiences on the island. This helped make the Model UN experience a life changing one for the participants.
UNIC Pretoria is actively involved in the Model UN Debate Competition for South African High School students from its inception. This includes in the selection of topics, allocation of participating ‘countries’, selection of tutors and training of students. In addition, UNIC Pretoria arranged for the UN agencies in South Africa to be involved through the deployment of UN staff members to the various provinces to adjudicate the nine provincial competitions which are held in conjunction with each provincial Ministry of Education. Among the adjudicators in the provinces this year were the UNIC Information Officer and the Outreach Officer.
The UNIC National Information Officer (NIO) was one of three adjudicators at the Finals and the NIO delivered an adjudication presentation at the Awards lunch on the Island. Addresses were also given by the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Enver Surtee and the chair of the MTN Foundation, Professor Njabulo Ndebele, who both delivered inspiring messages.
The team that will be going to the United States next year comprised of four students from two schools outside Cape Town, De Kuilen High and Ravensmean Secondary. This team represented North Korea and did a sterling job in portraying the policies of the Pyonyang government. These four young women will be joined by 8 other students from the rest of South Africa. In addition, awards were also given for Best speaker which was won by Mr Kwaku Darkwah from St Georges School in London who’s team represented Italy.
As always, the Model UN programme is an affirming and enriching experience for both the participants and the organizers. It is a tangible and stimulating example of how young people view the United Nations as it continues to inspire and empower tomorrow’s leaders today.