Nine Hamilton students participated in the National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN) Oct. 29-31 in Washington, D.C. The conference drew more than 50 schools from the U.S., Canada and Europe and approximately 1,000 delegates.
The keynote speaker at the opening ceremony was U.S. Ambassador Susan F. Burk, the president’s special representative for nuclear nonproliferation, who recounted her work during the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Treaty negotiations, and encouraged students to be politically involved in the world around them.
Students attending from Hamilton were Jacob Davenport ’14, Aminata Diop ’11, Samuel Doyon ’12, Jasmina Hodzic ’13, Claire Hunsinger ’13, Heather Prigg ’11, Jennifer Roberts ’14, Stephanie Shapiro ’12 and Kieran Wilson ’14. They represented the delegations from Jordan and Kazakhstan on three committees: the Disarmament and International Security Committee, the Economic and Financial Committee and the World Health Organization.
In preparing for the conference, Hamilton students conducted extensive research with the help of Government Professor Ted Lehmann, the MUN faculty advisor, in order to accurately portray Jordan and Kazakhstan at the conference.
Students used their well developed public speaking and writing skills while they acted as delegates of the United Nations, taking part in international negotiations and creating resolutions with other delegates on some of the world's most pressing issues. The topic resolutions included Promoting Development within Globalization and Interdependence, The Development of Telecommunications and Science in the Context of International Security, and Providing Basic and Primary Healthcare after Natural Disasters.
Among the delegates of the more than 100 countries in the United Nations, there were also students representing prominent NGOs. These NGOs acted as advisors to the delegates to assist them in developing solutions to the problems at hand. Delegates were given the opportunity to face some of the serious challenges of international diplomacy, as well as the strengths and limitations of the UN organization.
Hamilton College Model U.N. has previously attended conferences at Yale University, McGill University, Harvard University and in New York City. Model UN is funded by Student Assembly and the Levitt Center.
