University of Pittsburgh to Host 10th Annual Model United Nations Nov. 6

PITTSBURGH-Approximately 420 students from 26 high schools throughout Western Pennsylvania will convene at the University of Pittsburgh Nov. 6 to participate in the 10th Annual Model United Nations Conference.

The Model UN gives area high school students the opportunity to assume the role of diplomats as they participate in mock sessions of several bodies of the United Nations, including the UN Security Council, the League of Arab States, the Organization of American States, and the World Health Organization. Each school delegation has been assigned a country to represent in negotiations. The students prepare for this event by researching their assigned countries' positions on a variety of real-world issues. Participants will discuss controversial matters facing the worldwide community within the formal context of a United Nations simulation.

Students will debate such issues as nuclear proliferation, reform of the Security Council, the Arab-Palestinian conflict, Iraqi reconstruction, expansion and preservation of democracies in the Western Hemisphere, the crisis in Sudan, and the North Korean nuclear arms program.

Throughout the debates, students are evaluated on their abilities to realistically present the positions of the countries they represent. Awards will be presented to individual outstanding students and to country delegations.

Members of the Pitt Model UN Club have played an integral role in the planning of the conference and will participate as the UN Secretary General, committee chairs, and members of the UN staff.

The Model UN will be in session from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the William Pitt Student Union, 3959 Fifth Ave. The event is sponsored by Pitt's University Center for International Studies and Model UN Club, Citizens for Global Solutions Pittsburgh, and the United Nations Association.

For more information, visit www.pitt.edu/~modelun or contact Elaine Linn at 412 648-2113.

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