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GENEVA / GLOBAL MODEL UN
STORY: GENEVA / GLOBAL MODEL UN
TRT: 2.08
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 AUGUST 2009, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais de Nations
5 AUGUST 2009, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Wide shot, Kiyotaka Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information seated at panel
4. Close up, Kiyotaka Akasaka
5. Med shot, young delegates listening
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kiyotaka Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information:
"I myself took part in Kyoto forty years ago and that was the beginning of my interest in the United Nations. I’m sure these students will become ambassadors or officials of the UN, or somehow get associated with the work of the UN for the rest of their life and this is the treasure for all of us."
7. Zoom out, Model UN sign to assembly hall
8. Cutaway, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Hannah Moosa, Global Model United Nations Secretary-General:
"For me, Model UN represents an opportunity for youth to learn more about what it really means to be a part of the UN and what the UN actually does in the world. There are a lot of misconceptions around the world about what the UN, their failures in peace and security, and a lot of youth feel disheartened that the UN doesn't serve the purpose that it really should be serving to the international community.”
10. Cutaway, delegates
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Petri Cozma, Global Model United Nations President of the General Assembly:
"To have some of these young people get involved in the NGOs, in the grassroots level work that is done on behalf of the UN, whether it be on the MDGs or whatever it may be. That is in fact the beauty of the United Nations. Whatever your particular field of interest is you’ll find a place to apply yourself here, and as you’ll all no doubt know, the question is communicating this to the youth."
11. Wide shot, press conference
The first-ever “Global” Model United Nations conference opened today (5 August) in Geneva, bringing together nearly 400 students from 57 countries.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka briefed the press in Geneva on the first simulation of the international body’s work for youth that has been organized by the UN itself.
Model UN (MUN) conferences, where students step into the shoes of diplomats in an authentic simulation of the UN General Assembly and other multilateral bodies, have been conducted for decades by local MUN clubs or in classrooms. More than 400,000 middle school, high school and college/university students worldwide participate every year. Many of today's leaders in law, government, business and the arts participated in Model UN during their academic careers.
Akasaka told reporters that the UN has sometimes been asked to support such Model United Nations conferences. He thought that if the UN itself organized a Model UN it would stimulate youngsters and make its organization a model of best practices. The Under-Secretary-General added that he himself had been a “Model UNer” in his teenage years, and had also visited some of the simulations in recent years.
The main theme of the Global MUN are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but other priority issues such as peace and security, disarmament, human rights and economic development will also be addressed.
Global MUN Secretary-General, Hannah Moosa said that it was an honor for her to be serving as the Secretary-General of the first Global Model United Nations Conference. Moosa has participated in Model UN debates for almost a decade, starting as a high school student in South Africa and attending several MUNs around the world.
She said that Model United Nations was an opportunity for youth to learn more about what it really means to be a part of the UN and what the UN is actually doing, adding that there were a lot of misconceptions around the world about the UN.
The President of the Global MUN’s General Assembly, Petri Cozma explained that his involvement with MUN started when he was a boisterous teenager in high school and his history teacher recommended that he direct some of that energy towards Model United Nations and international affairs – one of the best pieces of advice he had ever received, he felt.
Cozma said they had an exceptional group of young leaders present at the conference and that there was an incredible amount of knowledge, of vision and drive. It was important, he said, to get young people involved in non-governmental organizations and have some of that transferred to the grassroots level work on behalf of the United Nations.
The conference runs through Friday (7 August).
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