The 2nd Annual CIC Model United Nations Conference

This past weekend (November 2-4), we hosted the second annual Columbia International College Model United Nations Conference. We were very honoured to have The United Nations Association in Canada (UNAC) co-organize this conference for the Columbia International College students and for our partner school Columbia International School from Taiwan. Eight students from our partner school in Taiwan came to participate in this event. This conference was an great opportunity for the Model United Nations Team to experience hands on learning and to further develop their situational skills.

The conference was very successful, the UNAC members had only positive words to say about Columbia International College and our students. This conference could have not been so successful if it wasn’t for the hard work of the many departments of the school. I would like to thank Raymond and his team, Maintenance Department, Housekeeping staff, I.T. Department, Campus Security, Procurement, and Chartwells for making it a successful conference.

During the conference the participants were divided into two small committees. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussed the The Rohingya Crisis and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs discussed the legal regime of outer space and global space governance.

All the participants displayed great passion while trying to resolve these two important global issues. Among the students there were a number of students from each committee that stood out and were awarded for their contribution to resolution of the topics.

United Nations Security Council
Best Delegate – Yi-Shu Tseng (Vicky)
Most Outstanding Delegate – Mariano Garcia Duenas Carrion
Honorable Mention – Anton Kudriashov

United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs
Best Delegate – Dameli Mambetalinova (Emily)
Most Outstanding Delegate – Chi-Chun Lin (from Columbia International School from Tiawan student)
Honourable Mention – Nazarii Shershun
Honourable Mention – Ilya Zaets

Additionally to these awards the all the participants had to write a short position paper about their country’s views on the topics. The top papers got awarded.

Best Position Paper – Si Yan Meng (Sophia)
Most Outstanding Position Paper – Nguyen Gia Hien Tu (Hein)
Honourable Mention – Carmen Li

Another highlight of the conference was the Saturday Night Social/Networking Event where we had 21 Model United Nations Alumni come back to the school to share their experience and wisdom with the current team. Alumni came from all over Southern Ontario and one even flew in from Amsterdam for this event.

This conference was a very valuable experience for the Model United Nations Team in their preparation for the Change the World Model U.N. Conference that is being held in March at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Furthermore, this is a excited step on making this conference a global conference. We are hoping the continued growth of this conference will help our students understand the global issues of the world and develop many skills and attributes for them to be successful in life.

This was another exciting step in the developing a strong relationship between Columbia International College and The United Nations Association of Canada.