University of Pittsburgh to Host Sixth Annual Model United Nations Conference Nov. 4

November 1, 2002

PITTSBURGH—At a time when the United Nations is in the news almost daily, more than 400 area high school students are expected to develop their own experience in international affairs when they participate in the sixth annual Model United Nations Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, at the University of Pittsburgh.

The conference will convene in David Lawrence Hall, 3942 Forbes Ave. At approximately 9:30 a.m., the students, acting as U.N. delegates, will move to the William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave., for committee meetings and debates. Participants will return to David Lawrence Hall at about 3 p.m. to hear the keynote speech and to present their results from the day's affairs.

The conference gives high school students the opportunity to participate in simulated sessions of the U.N. General Assembly, the U.N. Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Health Organization, and selected U.N. committees. Assuming the role of U.N. diplomats representing various countries, the students will debate a number of current issues. Throughout the day, students will be evaluated on their abilities to present realistically the positions of the countries they represent and deal with crisis situations that might arise.

Keynote speaker for the conference will be Mannika Chopra, a journalist and media activist from India. Chopra participated in the H.J. Heinz Company Fellowship from August 1994 to July 1995. Since that time she has pursued a career in media in her native India. A columnist for a leading Indian newspaper, the Statesman, Chopra regularly freelances for several American and Indian publications, including the Times of India, Indian Abroad, USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Columbia Journalism Review. Most recently, Chopra spent time in the Kashmir region, reporting on the conflict and elections.

As a media activist, she and other colleagues have established a media ethics Web site, http://www.thehoot.org, which tracks media trends in India and monitors how the media covers issues. She also is actively involved with the Indian Women's Press Corps, an organization set up for women journalists as a resource and networking center.

Chopra lectures on media practices to undergraduate students of journalism at Lady Sri Ram College in New Delhi. She also is involved in researching and writing a travel guide of India, as part of the Frommer's series of travel guides (Wiley Publishing, Inc.).

Among the high schools scheduled to participate in the conference are Albert Gallatin, Avella, Avonworth, Bethel Park, Bethlehem Center, Brentwood, Burrell, Butler, Carlynton, Cumberland Valley, East (Erie), Fox Chapel, Freedom, Greenville, Keystone Oaks, Kittanning, McKeesport, Mt. Lebanon, New Castle, North Allegheny, North Hills, Riverview, Seneca Valley, Schenley, Springdale, Taylor Allderdice, Trinity, Union, Vincentian Academy, Washington, West Allegheny, Winchester Thurston, and Yough.

The Model U.N. Conference is sponsored by Pitt's University Center for International Studies, the Pitt Model U.N. Club, the World Federalist Association-Pittsburgh Chapter, the United Nations Association of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh Honors College.

For more information, including a complete schedule of activities, visit www.pitt.edu/~modelun.

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