Doha: Over 350 high school students from 50 local and international schools took on diplomatic roles in academic simulations of the United Nations from February 18 at Qatar National Convention Centre.
Dima Khatib, journalist and Managing Director, AJ+, who heads Al Jazeera network’s digital-only news platform and was ranked as one of the top 10 most influential Arabs on Twitter, delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony.
The GU-Q MUN is the longest running international model UN conference in Qatar, providing hands-on experiential learning by encouraging students to confront global issues through the perspectives of their countries.
Diplomatic role-playing strengthens critical thinking, strategic negotiation and debate skills and serves to introduce students to higher education, said Jacqui Snell, Manager, Educational Enrichment, GU-Q, who was one of the two staff members involved in organising logistics for the event.
“By interacting with our university students, participants are getting a great introduction to Georgetown, and a closer look at what a liberal arts education is all about. The MUN empowers high school students to say ‘yes, I can fit into a university setting’,” he said.
“Not many students would have access to the support we provide through pre-conference workshops and tailored training for participating schools,” said Mohamad Khalil Harb, Student Development Officer who worked with Jacqui.
GU-Q students chose the theme, topics and speakers and prepared background briefing.
Hessa Al Noaimi, Qatari senior at GU-Q and MUN Secretary-General, welcomed the delegates and explained the theme ‘Contested Boundaries: Redefining Authority’.
“The MUN board tailored a pertinent theme that reflects challenges to our understanding of cultural, economic and national borders.
“It is your duty as delegates and distinguished chairs to join us in contributing to this dialogue and finding plausible solutions to the issues,” Al Noaimi added.
Around half of the high schools were from Qatar, with the remaining from the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Jordan, Greece, Ethiopia, India and other countries. “The diversity of these young people enhances the authenticity of our MUN as representing the UN,” added Harb.
New at this year’s event was a Press Committee that left the printing press behind and used a shared online portal to disseminate photos, videos and daily updates.
This year also marked the first time local students in GU-Q’s Planet Georgetown pre-college preparatory programme participated.
Students whose schools did not participate in the MUN due to lack of support or resources, had the opportunity to take part.
Student committees negotiated topics in mock panels, including the legality of torture, the nuclear threat to security, borders and refugees, the situation in Yemen, and the social media-inspired and hashtagged topic, #CombatingCyberWarfare.
The conference culminated in a Cultural Night, celebrating each school’s national heritage and featuring cultural items, food and artistic performances.
The Peninsula
