Students from Acera’s Model UN Club participated in Commonwealth Academy’s eighth annual Model UN Conference on April 29th. The event wrapped up an amazing MUN season for this After School Enrichment Class. Three students earned special recognition for Best Delegate, Best Position Paper, and Honorable Mention during the eighth annual Commonwealth Middle School Model UN Conference in April. The event focused on a variety of global crises, as well as historical and futuristic simulations.
At the Conference, Sam Paley was awarded Best Delegate for their representation of Russia on the United Nations Security Council. The simulation focused on the Russian invasion of Crimea, and delegates were tasked with finding a resolution to the crisis that benefited a single population while also satisfying the five nations holding veto power.
Aadhira Satheesh earned Best Position Paper for her submission representing the Republic of China in the United Nations General Assembly session on prison reform. In the simulation, the Assembly was tasked with proposing solutions and policies to prevent human rights abuses in prisons around the world.
Serena Lipman earned an Honorable Mention for her representation of the Republic of Fiji in the UN General Assembly. In this Model UN simulation, delegates debated resolutions to the issue of Melanesian Separatism resulting from post-Colonial borders.
At Model UN conferences, students are divided into separate committees, with a public speaking coach — a business or legal professional, or a collegiate MUN expert — assigned to each committee. The coach supports students as they write their opening speeches and observe the first committee session and provide feedback on each delegate’s public speaking, negotiation, and persuasion skills.
“Learning to take on a perspective that is not your own, and solving problems with a systemic view in mind is exactly what is at the heart of this kind of an event,” said Courtney Dickinson, founder and director of Acera School. “These are attributes we foster at Acera.”
