delegates dining room
(music playing.) model un is a conferencethat includes over 5 000 delegates from around the world and we meet in new york city todebate various issues. universities from across the world pretty much prepare for this formonths. because they're not representing the countries they've traveled from, rather countriesthat they've never known before and so they get to learn a really different perspectiveand it's quite remarkable to see. and you also have the formal aspect where studentssit down in the formal setting in the un committee and vote on motions, on resolutions and actuallyadopt international law documents. a typical day at model un, you get up definitely quiteearly. shower, suit up. you will meet with your team before the committee session starts.so you're working on any developments that
came up in the night before. and then whenwe are in committee session, we will move for motions to for example suspend the meetingor we'll do speeches and during informal caucusing is when we really debate on the resolutionsand start writing and drafting and such. and at the end, of course, after committee sessionis done, a lot of people often meet together just to draft off a few points to make sure,um, that we have all the time to really make a really solid working paper. there are alsopoints, we're just sitting and waiting, in model united nations, and it's really importantto make sure, during that time you're putting your time to use, so, passing notes, whichis really fun. (laughing.) the little of piece of paper has a lot of purposes. (laughing.)those are perhaps one of the funnest thing(sic)
from model un. the little pieces of paperthat are being passed around are to keep updated with different delegations that you're workingwith during informal caucus. it's a great tool to keep the conversation going. thosepieces of paper keep the formal session quiet, so you can hear the delegate and still communicatevital ideas to your resolution and to continue the process. the national model united nationsis an incredible opportunity to represent countries that are not theirs. and in ourcase, representing soudan is a country that many of us euh have a very different perspectiveon and...and their particular view from historical and geopolitical ends. for the past four monthsor so, we've also just been researching, researching, researching, researching. you need to go intotheirforeign policy, um their economics, just to
make sure that you are representing them tothe best of your ability. the most important thing that i can teach a student is to beconvinced, because if you're convinced in the value of your own solutions to globalchallenges, you will be able to convince others of their worthiness. the universities andcã©gep from quebec, including the university of ottawa, have joined in the quebec modelunited nations. it is a practice simulation and by attending qmun, where we are about250 students, it's their opportunity to experience a nmun-like. so of course we are very busyhere with the conference but we're also enjoying new york. it's, perhaps, one of the most multiculturalcities i've ever been in and you could just see the energy booming you know. even on thestreets, you see people from all over the
world. we are going to see a broadway showon wednesday night, once all of the formal sessions and our committees are finished.we are also working out of the un building itself. and that's the recognized united nationshall with the very large arc and it's where the actual countries sit. you can't help feellike real delegates because... it's new york! which is very inspiring, puts you in character.it makes you feel like you're actually functioning as a un delegate. so far i've enjoyed reallythe quality of the delegates that are here. meeting different people from all over theworld. we've meet people from europe, from africa, from all across north america, fromasia and just these people that have, you know, traveled such a long way to come togetherand to try and solve some of the world's biggest
problems. it helps you learn how to deal withpeople from a variety of cultures. you learn negotiation, you learn working in a team.i've really benefited learning the impact of communication. well model un, on the surface,it provides an amazing opportunity to develop public speaking skills, diplomacy skills,being able to work with people across cultures, euh from 48 different countries. it's aboutlearning when to show leadership and when to pause and step back and how to manage groupdynamics in that sense. it's an experience i'll never forget. (music playing.) (stand.applause.)