ACS Participation in Model United Nations

By Dr. Zornitsa Semkova

From March 31 to April 2, a team from the ACS Model United Nations Club participated in the 1st MUN Conference of Pierce - The American College of Greece (ACG) in Athens. More than 400 delegates from Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and India represented 54 countries in an impeccably well-organized simulation of United Nations Organization’ Committees’ and the Security Council’s sessions, a case of the International Court of Justice, and a session of the General Assembly (GA). Besides their regular debates, each committee also had to solve an urgent crisis.

Our delegation represented France and took part in the following committees:

·       GA 1 (Disarmament and International Security Committee) – Eva Sapunova, 10/10

·       GA 2 (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee) – Nona Kadieva, 11/2

·       GA 3 (Special Political and Decolonization Committee) – Alexandra Zidarova, 10/10

·       GA 4 (Legal Committee) – Mihaela Lekova, 11/4

·       Environmental Commission – Lora Dimitrova, 10/6

·       Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC) – Christo Simov, 10/6

·       Security Council – Nikola Michaylov, 11/3

·       World Health Organization (WHO) – Joana Nikolova, 10/6

The discussed topics varied from the territorial integrity of former Soviet States, the protection of cultural heritage in times of conflict, and determining, facilitating and upholding the right of terrorists to a free trial, to prohibition of the dumping of radioactive wastes, reformation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the regulation of genetic testing. Our delegates had prepared well, actively debated on behalf of France, and were recognized by their committees as a valuable part of the MUN simulation, even though they were all novices among some students from other schools with in some cases 7 to 11 conferences under their belts. Nona Kadieva received an Honorable Mentioning which ranked her among the 20 best delegates.  

Last but not least, we would like to express our admiration for the organizing team of 11 students from ACG and their MUN advisors, Ms. Sherri Moshman and Ms. Christina Katsouli, who made us feel at home at ACG which is a sister school of ACS, being founded in 1875 by American missionaries in Smyrna, the Ottoman Empire. The ACG administration and the organizing team had invested enormous effort in the preparation of a conference which, in the opinion of the participants, was among the best examples of MUN simulations in Europe.