The Gables Model United Nations team collaborated with other schools from across Florida to competitively resolve global issues; at the Miami Dade College North Campus, on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1, students negotiated, argued and finally, came to an agreement on the pressing issues of the day. Representing Venezuela, Morocco and Kazakhstan, the Gables MUN team worked to formulate their own global resolutions and played a crucial role in developing proposals the entire delegation could agree on. Using the experience gained from this conference, the team begins preparations for future competitions.
Miami Dade Model UN was founded in 2013 by the non-profit organization Foundations for Leadership, an educational initiative that helps students prepare for real world problems. By simulating the diplomatic processes of the UN, students learn essential communication skills and adopt a mindset of mutual understanding and compromise. The team at Gables is sponsored by the social studies department and history teacher, Mr. Miller. Through this club, he hopes to teach students argumentative skills like public speaking, debate and reaching a middle ground.
“In the conference, there is all sorts of socializing, diplomacy and argument. Students spend hours trying to find ways to fix global issues and then convince other countries to support their resolution. You can’t just defend your position and country, you have to connect with hundreds of other students throughout the entire conference. It’s nonstop creating relationships and negotiation,” Mr. Miller said.
To prepare for this MUN conference, students familiarized themselves with the political landscape of the country they were representing. As part of the delegation, they would support or oppose proposed policies based on their country’s perspective, rather than their own political beliefs. Secondarily, after the conference’s general assembly, students would brake out into committees to address more specific issues. MUN members studied their country’s policies on public education, sustainable energy, nuclear disarmament and the return of cultural artifacts. On Feb. 23, the members attending the delegation submitted their Position Papers, stating their country’s official position on the matters to be addressed at the conference.
“I was working on Morocco’s education, and we had to research a lot in advance when it comes to how Morocco had developed its public education in the past and how the country is improving today. Our resolution focused on education in underdeveloped countries… we proposed a policy to pay parents or reduce their taxes if they sent their children to school. Often transportation costs along with other factors make sending kids to school hard, so we were trying to alleviate that,” sophomore Andres Kardjian said.
On Feb. 28 at 1 p.m., the Gables team arrived along with over 800 students from across Florida at the MDC North campus to begin the general assembly. Together, the representatives began the discussion over the central matter: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As the assembly ended, likeminded delegates joined together to make blocs, coalitions of country’s with similar policy stances. These alliances cooperated to create a resolution they would all vote for and agree on, in this case, a sustainability agreement.
After an hour of informal discussion, the formulated blocs joined in a moderated caucus to decide on a resolution. Representatives from the blocs came to the podium and delivered speeches advocating for their proposals while also arguing against opposition proposals. After all the groups made their case, the delegates voted and came to an agreement at the end of the first day.
Students reconvened at MDC North the following day at 9 a.m. to begin debating in their respective committees and sub-groups, addressing more specific matters overlooked in the general assembly. The most prominent of these committees were the UN Security Council and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, both key entities within the UN.
The UNSC addressed the multitudes of problems facing the recently destabilized Haiti. Together, they developed humanitarian aid initiatives to alleviate the growing hunger and shelter crisis in Haiti. The UNESCO committee worked to help return cultural artifacts to their home countries; Gables students researched the affects of Morocco’s colonial past and the stolen artifacts that remain in foreign museums to this day. They developed a proposal along with other affected countries to create a cultural security force dedicated to preserving and protecting historical artifacts and art.
“Me and Linus Boettcher represented the Kingdom of Morocco and advocated for the restoration of cultural artifacts. We created the Finding Our Missing Objects bloc and created a triple alliance with countries who agreed with our stance. Our bloc stated that before we could restore art, we needed to build and boost our economies and security systems,” senior Michelle Hernandez said.
The second day of the conference concluded at 5 p.m. and outstanding delegates and representatives were recognized with awards. Although Gables did not come home with any awards, students part of MUN team learned about the global struggles for peace and the difficulties of achieving it. Their effort to navigate the obstacles of human conflict and cooperation make them among the few individuals prepared to foster global peace and create meaningful change in the world.
“I wasn’t able to attend the previous conference, but I want to join the next one in March. I’m definitely going to be apart of the women’s rights panel and the general human’s rights assembly, because I feel this issues are very relevant. I want to go into the conference over-prepared and confident, because that’s how you get people to support your resolution,” sophomore Carolina Sesin said.
