Glendon’s Model United Nations (GMUN) recently returned from competing at the McGill Model United Nations conference in Montreal where York student Nick Hersh won a Best Delegate Award – a first for Glendon.
Left: Nick Hersh, winner of the Best Delegate Award at the McGill Model United Nations conference, shows off his award
Members of the GMUN club, who attended the conference from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 at Le Centre Sheraton, were able to employ their diplomatic skills and use their knowledge from class in this unique experience.
Model United Nations is an authentic simulation of the United Nations bodies and subsidiary committees, observing UN rules and regulations, including the use of formal debate procedure and a western business attire dress code. Each delegate represents a pre-assigned country, and sometimes a prominent political figure of that country chosen from the members of the UN. The delegates then debate world issues for their assigned country.
Right: The Glendon delegation for the McGill Model United Nations conference
This year’s Glendon delegation represented Turkey, Jordan, Guyana and Mongolia in committees in the General Assembly, Economic & Social Council as well as specialized agencies. GMUN also represented countries and people in crisis committees, including Turkey on the United Nations Security Council, former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat of the Egyptian cabinet in 1967, former minister of health Tony Clement of the Canadian cabinet, and former secretary of state John Foster Dulles of the United States National Security Council. It was Hersh’s performance as Dulles that won him the Best Delegate Award.
Although Glendon has garnered many verbal commendations for its work on an array of committees as part of Model United Nations conferences, it has never before received the Best Delegate Award. It is a standard GMUN participants hope future delegates can look up to.
Submitted to YFile by Clara Wong, president of the Glendon Model United Nations