2018
Seven members of the BUHS Global Affairs Club headed to Dartmouth College the weekend of April 6 – 8, 2108 to join nearly 600 other New England students for their first Model UN.
Organizers assigned the students to represent Mexico in seven different ‘committees’ of the UN: Emma Allen tackled how to protect healthcare facilities in wartime as part of the World Health Organization; Jesse Jerome delved into the world of cryptocurrencies in the Economics and Finance Committee; Elery Loggia argued for further mechanisms to reduce third-world debt in the World Bank Committee; Dory Abdullah debated international abortion rights and Kurdish autonomy in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee; Holden Hiler explored how the Human Rights Council could impact the abuse of human rights in Chechnya; Angelika Toomey delved into how to regulate drone technology in the Disarmament and Security Committee and Amelia Glickman passed resolutions to ease the ongoing crisis is South Sudan as the Mexican delegate to the Special Political Affairs Committee.
All students wrote position papers on their topics and learned how to write resolutions in the middle of debate. “You learn about the country you represent as well as the various responsibilities and structure of the UN itself,” parent volunteer and coach Lissa Weinmann said. “Students deeply research an issue, form opinions, imagine solutions, then verbally advocate and defend their positions on the fly. It can be a powerful learning experience, especially when students try to see through the lens of the country they represent, even when those views differ from their own.”
The students also did an audio tour of Dartmouth’s “Epic of American Civilization” a world famous mural by Mexican artist Jose Clemente Orozco. Thanks go to Windham World Affairs Council, Javed Chaudhri and the Allen family for helping support the students. The students may team up this fall for another Model UN conference at Brown University. Interested students should contact the Global Afairs Club’s Elery Loggia (loggie@wsesu.org) to learn more.
2016
Five area students attended the prestigious Dartmouth Model United Nations Conference on February 25 – 27, 2016 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Opening ceremonies kicked-off Friday where students, three from Brattleboro Union High School and two from The Putney School joined 400 other delegates who each represented a country grappling with a challenging international problem of today.
BUHS students were randomly assigned to be Delegates from Iran in various UN General Assembly committee simulations. One Brattleboro student played Iran in the Social and Humanitarian Committee grappling with the hot issue of international human and illegal organ trafficking, another played a central role as Iran in the Disarmament and International Security Committee delving deep into problems of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, and the third was catapulted to the year 2025, a time when space militarization has run amok and must be resolved, as Iran’s delegate on a Future Disarmament and National Security Committee.
One student from The Putney School joined with others to search for solutions to poverty in the Least Developed Countries as Iran’s delegate to the Committee on Economics and Finance and the other represented Poland on a special NATO committee exploring solutions to the rise of ISIS in Afghanistan.
2014-2015
In January 2014, Board Member Lissa Weinmann launched a Model United Nations Club at Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) which convened weekly during the school year. In May 2014, BUHS hosted its first ‘Mini Model UN’ at the school, attended by students from neighboring high schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
In April 2015, BUHS Students performed well at their first Regional Model United Nations Conferences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with guidance and financial support from WWAC.
BUHS Students at the first regional Model United Nations Conference at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in April 2015
BUHS Model UN Team Winners
WWAC’s YOUTH OUTREACH COMMITTEE
WWAC board member Lissa Weinmann, with Javed Chaudri, directs the WWAC’s Youth Outreach Committee whose mission is to expand WWAC’s outreach to area youth. The WWAC provides much needed scholarships to help students offset the entrance fees at regional Model UN conferences.
Model UN and the Youth Outreach Committee are seeking interested WWAC members to assist with this ongoing effort. Please contact Lissa Weinmann at LRWeinmann@gmail.com if interested in playing a role.