Middle School Students Tackle World Issues at 4th JMUN Conference
On February 11th, 2010 the CAISL Middle School played host to the 4th annual Junior Model United Nations (JMUN) conference. Over 150 students from CAISL and more than 50 students from St. Julian’s attended. The keynote speaker this year was Fernanda Schmelz, a local charity campaigner who has been working with HELPO, Share to Learn and UNICEF. The focus of the keynote address was, “Developing Education in Impoverished Countries,” and Mrs. Schmelz talked about the lack of good quality learning opportunities in less economically developed countries --the main message being that any charitable action, no matter how small, can have a big impact on the lives of impoverished children. Mrs. Schmelz finished by sharing some of the positive results charitable donations have had on the lives of children in Africa through improving schools.
After the keynote address, the students split into their committees and began to debate the agenda issues from the perspective of the country each of them had been allotted. Students took their roles seriously and soon got down to some detailed discussions on how to solve problems connected to international relations, world health, poverty and terrorism. The hard work the students had put into researching countries and issues prior to the conference was clearly apparent in the quality of the debating that took place. Using correct parliamentary procedure, students discussed resolutions to the issues, made amendments and finally voted on the resolutions to try to identify the correct course of action that should be taken to solve each issue. At the center of each debate, making sure that it ran smoothly, were High School chairs and co-chairs. The level of professionalism and knowledge of the chairs is a key contributor to the success of this program.
By the end of the day, with the problems of the world solved, or at least with plans in place for their solutions, tired delegates could loosen their ties and let their hair down. More than 10 successful solutions were passed and the students felt that this was a major accomplishment. Excitement levels were high and conversations from delegates and chairs alike about successful amendments or taking the floor for debate echoed around the atrium. This experience certainly excites many students to take more interest in world affairs and hopefully, will inspire a few to take action.
To view the view the JMUN newspaper publication, please see the file at the
bottom of this page.
To view larger images or a slide show, click on 'More Info' under any of the photos.
 |
pdf file: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 7 or higher) to view this file. Download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader for PC or Macintosh. |
