The 14th annual Iberian Model United Nations conference took place November 13 -15, 2008 at the Centro Culteral de Belém. Once again CAISL hosted the popular conference, this time with over 300 students from 19 schools and 11 countries – the largest IMUN conference yet! 

After welcoming the student delegates at CAISL on Thursday, participants got right to work lobbying and merging resolutions. The following day, busloads of student delegates headed for the Centro Cultural de Belém for the bulk of the conference held there on Friday and Saturday. The Honorable Ambassador of the United States, Thomas Stephenson, kicked off the conference with the keynote address, speaking about international relations and the recent US elections, and taking questions from student delegates. Ambassadors and other distinguished guests were then paired with the student delegate from their country, mingling during the morning coffee break.

New to the conference this year, a Special Conference was introduced to highlight human rights and discrimination issues. The keynote speaker for the special conference, Ms. Ana Monteiro, a representative from Amnesty International, captured the attention of the audience and answered questions from a long line of students with thoughtful quesitons on the topic.

Following the keynote addresses and the opening speeches, the student delegates spent the remaining time lobbying, debating and merging resolutions. Items on the agenda this year covered a wide range of topics including: “The question of indentured labor and semi-slavery,” “The increase of infectious disease caused by climate stress,” and “The adoption of nuclear power as a primary source of power.” In separate session the Security Council addressed the situations in Darfur, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

CAISL offers the Model United Nations class each year. In this course students learn about the structure and function of the United Nations and simulate UN activities. Every year the MUN class organizes and participates in the Iberian Model United Nations conference at the Centro Cultural de Belém. The IMUN conference consists of a simulation of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. Students take on the roles of UN Member States and NGOs and debate issues from those perspectives.

To read more about the conference, check out the November issue of the CAISL Beacon in the Newsletter section of our website.