Dubai International Academy to hold Model United Nations conference

DIAMUN 2009 is launched with the goal of giving student "ambassadors" from schools all over UAE an opportunity to showcase their oratorical and analytical skills at the 3-day forum, which will be a virtual small-scale version of the United Nations.

In addition to DIA students, 120 students from 12 other schools in the UAE and two schools from abroad will send their student representatives to take part in this meeting of young minds.

The theme of DIAMUN 2009 is "Empowerment through Education", which relates to the millennium development goal of the UN.

The Model United Nations Programme is part of the extra-curricular activities of many high schools, colleges and universities around the world and broadens students' horizons and provides them an opportunity to interact with students from different countries and cultures.

In just four years that the school has been established, the dedicated students at DIA have succeeded in launching their own Model UN.

So far DIA students have participated in eight MUN conferences including The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) in Singapore, The Hague, and Munish- conducted by International School of The Hague, MUN for Middle Schools Students in New York and Harvard MUN.

At DIAMUN, delegates will adopt the policies and perspective of the countries that they have been allocated and debate local and global issues with the goal of coming up with solutions for each of the problems through negotiations, whether it is for finding solutions to guarantee and finance education in less developed countries or issues facing migrant workers.

DIA has a student body of over 1,695 students of 73 different nationalities plus over 200 staff members from 23 different countries, a reflection of the multiculturalism of the United Nations.

Bhanu Shankar, Model UN Director of DIA, said:

"DIAMUN will serve as an excellent platform for young delegates to voice their opinion on challenges facing the world. DIA's young delegates have been passionately involved in Model United Nations Conferences. Preparing for these debates involves a lot of hard work and dedication, as the students have to not only research their countries and the stance adopted by each nation on different issues, but they also have to come up with solutions, that are beneficial to majority of the countries."

Shankar added, "Students will have the opportunity to develop communication skills, arrive at a consensus to resolve conflicts and learn to cooperate; all of which will help them in whatever profession they choose. Despite the hard work they put in, students immensely enjoy attending MUN conferences."

"Senior student Aahan Bhojani, who will be the Secretary General of DIAMUN said: "What you will give to DIAMUN is time, dedication, commitment, and the willingness to compromise in search of viable solutions; however, what you will bring back from the conference are skills, dispositions, and friendships that will last you a lifetime," stated Shankar.

Anja Gullerfelt, a Year 11 student who has previously represented DIA at two MUN conferences, and who will act as the Deputy Secretary General and the President of the Security Council, said, "The best thing about the conferences is that you are building a global network. You meet people from all over the world, and in the process establish relationships that may prove to be useful to one's future career".