The Illinois State University Model United Nations team was recognized as an “Honorable Mention Delegation” at the end of the week-long annual National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference.
A group of twelve students from the Department of Politics and Government, led by faculty advisor Noha Shawki, participated in the NMUN conference in New York City March 27-31. The students who participated in the Model UN program this year are: Ania Alfano, Tyler Bohannon, Frank Cassata, Dana Cichon, Kaitlyn Goodrum, Savannah Harrington, Jennifer Hatt, Megan Kreke, Ryan Mackie, Ryan Myers, Melissa Ward, and Aleksandra Wolan.
The ISU delegation represented Bosnia and Herzegovina on six different committees, and each student researched a number of global issues. These issues included transnational organized crime and its threats to international security; promoting access to renewable and sustainable energy for poverty reduction and sustainable development; special political missions and the future of UN peacekeeping and peace operations; building resilient cities to promote climate change and disaster risk reduction; plastic debris in the world’s oceans; and adapting to recent developments in small arms and light weapons technology.
Besides researching a variety of global issues and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s policy positions, students also studied the UN’s rules of procedure.
The “Honorable Mention” recognition reflects students’ deep knowledge of the global issues they debated with other delegates, their correct application of the rules of procedure, and their leadership in proposing creative solutions to critical global problems and in drafting working papers jointly with other delegates and working to create consensus around these working papers.
This is the third consecutive year that ISU Model UN team received national recognition. In 2014 and 2015, the teams were recognized as “Distinguished Delegation.”
