The École St. Mary High School Model UN team had an outstanding performance at the Rotary Club Model United Nations Assembly held in Winnipeg on May 1-2.
Two delegations received recognition. The delegation for Ukraine made up of Izzah Ashim, Michael Edet earned tan honourable mention for the prestigious Rais Khan Award for the most diplomatic delegation. Meanwhile the delegation of Hannah Aikoye and Davina Akinjobi, representing Bangladesh, placed fourth for the Rais Khan Award.
The school sent three delegations to the event, which allows students to showcase their interest and understanding of global issues like the movements of refugees and the use of GMOs. The other delegation was made up of Amryn Silveira and Mikel Ndubuka who represented Iceland.
Akinjobi said that when she first arrived, she felt a little intimidated because of the number of delegates but once the Model UN began, she became more comfortable.
“As we got into the actual activities, the people were really nice, the coordinators were really nice,” she said. “It was just pretty fascinating to just learn about the different world issues and everything that’s going on.”
Ashim also said the first day was challenging, but rewarding.
“The first day was really stressful and I was incredibly nervous, but then after when you got to the second day, it was a lot easier to go through,” Ashim said.
Ndubuka said he was not looking forward to the eight hour drive to Winnipeg but got more comfortable when he arrived.
“When we first got there, I didn’t really see that many people there, but I knew it was going to be a lot of people. At the first day, the first assembly, I was kind of a little shaky,” Ndybuka said.
“There was a lot of people. After we got in the first meeting, I started talking with everybody (and) they were nice people. They were kind people, so it was really easy to talk to them, and I think after that everything just started coming naturally. It was a really fun experience.”
The St. Mary delegations were among 60 others from Northern Ontario, and Manitoba.
Resolution 1 was ‘The blockade of Gaza requires global cooperation to protect access to humanitarian aid, uphold international law and ensure freedom of navigation.’
Akinjobi noted that this resolution was a controversial subject similar to one at the Prince Albert Model UN, which Carlton Comprehensive Public High School hosted on March16-17.
Akinjobi was part of the subgroup focused on getting aid into Gaza.
“It was pretty challenging,” she said.
She added all of the countries had different political views so it was hard to get agreements.
Akinjobi observed that being Haiti in Winnipeg was quite different than being Russia in the Prince Albert session.
Ndubuka’s subcommittee focused on Resolution 2 which was the topic of Addressing Global Media Censorship and Safeguarding Freedom of Journalism.
Ashim was also on the Gaza Resolution but on a different subcommittee than Akoinjobi. Ashim’s focused on rebuilding infrastructure, like hospitals and school systems.
Ashim said that she was surprised her group received an honourable mention.
“I thought we did fairly well … but I didn’t know we were that good to get even the top five,” she said. “It was good (to hear) that we got it.”
Akinjobi said both she and Aikoye worked hard leading up to the assembly, so it was rewarding to place in the top five.
Ashim is in Grade 12 and Akinjobi and Ndubuka are in Grade 10. The students who were not graduating said that they would return to do Model UN
Edet said that he was focused on placing as high as he possibly could at Winnipeg, but he also enjoyed the camaraderie that came with the trip.
“When we had free time I was mostly thinking, ‘okay, what do we need to do for the next day?’ The ride there? I had fun on the ride there. I sang a few songs. I took a couple of naps,” Edet said.
“For the most part, I was thinking, okay, what do I need to get done, not just in relation to Winnipeg, but the schoolwork I’m missing. What do I need to prepare for? That sort of thing.”
The St. Mary team was coached by Rémi Joncas. Joncas said the performances of all teams showed the growth of the Model UN in Prince Albert. He said the event is always positive for both students and coaches
“We’re really well treated and over there,” Joncas said. “I think there’s a good committee and everything. What impresses me all the time is how well PA does. Just not St. Mary’s but Prince Albert and area.
Joncas said that all of the teams from the area are better than average.
“I mean, PA, Shelbrook, Carlton, we have a strong culture of Model UN in this area. that’s been due to a lot of our coaches,” Joncas said.
“PA is very strong. We got people like Morley Harrison, Dennis Ogrodnick, Kelly Klassen, all the senior members. We created in PA something that’s very strong in Model UN. I really feel like when we went there, even one of our students said, we’re pretty strong in PA.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
