March 11, 2010
Model U.N. is off to NYC for Nationals
UW’s Model United Nations team is only a couple of weeks away from its most anticipated event of the year—the National Model United Nations Conference. On March 26, the team will be headed to New York City.
Model U.N. conferences simulate the United Nations and each school represents a particular country. At nationals, the team will be representing Ethiopia. Sophomore Emily Elijah, director of public relations, said that the team members have been busy researching and preparing to be knowledgeable about their country and the issues it faces–from sustainability to food production.
Elijah said that the team left nationals with the award for “Distinguished Delegation” in 2007, 2008 and 2009; they hope that this year will be no different.
To excel at Nationals, Elijah explained that the team “needs to be really active… As a delegate you need to keep making speeches and advertising your policies—whatever your stance is, you need to sell it and talk to as many people as possible. You have to network and speak eloquently to get supporters.”
For Elijah, the highlight is meeting teams from allover the world. “There are more than 2,500 people, so it’s pretty intense,” she said.
Elijah said that not all members can go to nationals because the team is limited to 14. So, the UW team also participates in the Far West Model U.N. competition, which is April 16-20.
“Nationals brings schools together from all over the world,” Elijah said, “but Far West is the premiere competition on the West Coast.”
Far West is held in San Francisco, and Elijah said that the UW team will represent Somalia at the competition.
“We fundraise a lot throughout the year to help with the cost of attending competitions,” said Elijah. “Like we’ll put henna onto people for $3-5 on the HUB lawn and we just had a big fundraiser, Party for Peace.”
At the Party for Peace, the team coordinated with East African speakers from around the Seattle area and offered music and food from Ethiopia and Somalia.
Elijah said, “The Model U.N. is a great learning experience. There are so many skills you learn through the club that you don’t necessarily get in the classroom. Like giving speeches in front of large groups, for example. We try to offer seminars and help our members with speech and writing skills. Those skills will benefit us not only as Model U.N. members, but later in life when we have careers.”
Elijah also emphasized that the Model U.N. is a club and that it is there to create a community for its members.
“Competitions are important,” she said, “but a big part of the Model U.N. is just coming together and having fun. Depending on the week, we have anywhere from 25 to 40 members at our meetings and we put a lot of importance just on team building.
“We volunteer together,” she continued. “For example, we have a Relay for Life team. The Model U.N. isn’t just an interest, it’s a place to meet people and make connections. We don’t just go to competitions. We have social events, too. It’s fun.”
Elijah believes that while the Model U.N. will look good on any resume, “it’s largely just about being a team.”
