LAU Model UN delegates get ready for final conference
In pictures — Ahead of the LAU MUN program’s final conference this weekend, the delegates participated in a mock simulation and presentations by experts.
In pictures —
AL WALID GC-LAU Model United Nations students coming from high schools all over Lebanon gathered at LAU Beirut on Saturday, March 27, for a UN mock simulation, in preparation for the program’s fifth annual final conference to be held April 10-11.
Over 1300 high schoolers participating in the LAU MUN program attended the event. After an outdoor opening in front of the Safadi Fine Arts Building, they were divided into their respective 14 committees ranging from the Security Council to the General Assembly Plenary to test the skills they have been learning in the last few months. Since January, the delegates have been participating in training sessions, led by LAU students, on UN procedures and diplomacy skills.
LAU student Georges Badaoui, secretary-general of the LAU MUN program, welcomes the MUN delegates during the opening of the event.
After explanations from their respective chairs and directors (here in the UNICEF committee), delegates had the opportunity to meet with experts on the topics discussed in their particular committees.
Some of the experts included LAU faculty members, including Elie Samia (shown here), LAU MUN program director, who is also a lecturer in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department in Byblos, as well as the director of the Guidance Office on that campus.
Other LAU faculty members who addressed the students included Dr. Wissam Fahed and Dr. Khalil Gebara (shown here) from the School of Business. Presentations were also given by experts from various UN agencies, such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNICEF, and the United Nations Population Fund.
Students from several committees had the chance to attend a presentation by Abdel Salam Marini, director of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation in Lebanon that sponsors the LAU MUN program. He gave the audience a brief history of the foundation and discussed its projects, aimed at bettering the state of youth. He then talked about the United Nations, and addressing the students, he said, “Although the UN has failed in some aspects, it succeeds with youth such as yourselves, because you are the solution.”
Marini addressed the students of six committees, including General Assembly (group 1), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), Human Rights Committee (HRC), Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and Security Council, in the Irwin Hall Auditorium.
Dr. Joseph Jabbra, LAU president, then presented Marini with an honorary trophy to recognize his work and thank him for Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation’s continuous support of the LAU MUN program.
After the presentations by the experts, students had the chance to practice their diplomatic skills in the mock simulation, where they each represented their country’s position on the topic of “North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons.”
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