On May 3rd to 5th, our Model United Nations Assembly was staged 61 years after our inaugural MUNA in 1957.
The event has been growing in recent years, in spite of the fact that there are now about 46 MUNAs across Canada, some like ours catering to high school students, others to the universities.
MUNA this year hosted 72 delegations, comprising 144 students and 51 counsellors; delegations came from Minnesota, North Dakota, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Four resolutions were presented to the students for research and debate:
The Situation in Syria,
Non-proliferation/ North Korea,
Promoting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
and Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective into the United Nations System.
These topical subjects, debated by the students from the perspective of the countries they were assigned, led to some lively discussion. The counsellor of the delegation which represented Iran wrote after the event that her students "enjoyed playing the role of Iran and even being on the defensive for much of the debate." She added that one of the students "was often at the microphone asking the West to stay out of Middle Eastern affairs."
The Bert Friesen Award was presented to the Best Prepared Delegation. The quality of debate was such that four Honourable Mentions were awarded.
A counsellor wanted us to "please extend our appreciation to as many people as possible on a wonderful opportunity for students to assume this kind of role in such a formalized yet comfortable setting. The hospitality is outstanding."
A big thank you to all those Rotary Clubs which supported their local high schools, enabling them to send delegations to this important educational event.
MUNA Committee, Rotary Club of Winnipeg.