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Internships > A Model for All: Nicaragua's First Ever Model United Nations On Friday, October 22nd, 2004, 151 students from ten universities across the country took part in Nicaragua's first ever Model United Nations. Excitement abounded as several high-profile officials participated. During the opening ceremonies, speeches were given by Jorge L. Chediek, Nicaragua's representative to the United Nations, Carlos Noguera, President of the National Assembly, and Normán Caldera, Nicaragua's Foreign Minister (standing right to left in photo below). Several national and international leaders were in attendance, including the representative of the World Food Programme, Krystyna Bednarska, and the representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization, Loy Van Crowder, as well as several ambassadors to Nicaragua, representatives from the national government, and members of the press. The day focused on three resolutions relating to the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals: primary education and good governance, maternal and reproductive health, and the creation of an international association for development. The Model United Nations lasted only one day but represented over six months of preparation. Tatiana San Millan del Valle, of the United Nations Development Programme, was responsible for coordinating the event. Together with a steering committee made up of representatives from various United Nations' organizations, the event was organized from scratch. Sabrina Quezada, committee member from the World Food Programme, explained that the preparatory process was especially challenging since most people involved had never attended such an event. Despite inexperience, the students enthusiastically prepared for the event by attending training programmes in their own universities on such subjects as public speaking and conflict resolution. At the Central Bank, students met in regional blocs to prepare resolutions. In the preparatory stages, students held meetings in various locations, such as Masaya and Estelí, to accommodate students from universities farther away from the capital city of Managua. On the whole, students learned much from the Model UN process, although they were not necessarily thrilled with everything they learned. From the perspective of a United Nations Association in Canada intern, the fact that Canada's absence was noted in the first ever Model United Nations in Nicaragua is comforting. Undoubtedly, in years to come, this event will grow to include more countries and students from even more diverse backgrounds and universities. One can feel confident that the longstanding tradition of Model UN in Canada has been initiated successfully here in Nicaragua. *The author is a UNA-Canada Junior Professional Consultant placed with the World Food Programme in Managua, Nicaragua. She thanks Carlos Roberto Fonseca of the United Nations Development Programme for the kind use of his photos. |
The 151 students represented 41 countries from around the world. While the debate initially focused on less significant semantic concerns, as the day progressed, students began to examine more comprehensive questions related to the Millennium Development Goals. Some countries presented ideas in isolation while others preferred to achieve consensus in regional blocs before bringing their ideas to the table.
Camilo Cuélla Meza, representing Rwanda and the Central American University (UCA) said he felt disillusioned in the beginning as he learned about the workings of the UN Security Council and the disproportionate power the United Status holds in terms of budgetary might. He said he "had not realized the five members of the Security Council were the winners of the Second World War." He went on to say that the best part about the process had been meeting and debating with students from such diverse disciplines and parts of the country: "A certain understanding, or even friendship, existed between us [participating students], even though we had never met before, and this allowed us to debate together freely." Fernanda Cuadra, representing Cambodia, said she enjoyed the event but also wished that more countries could be incorporated so that opposing opinions could be better represented: "Palestine was included this year but not Israel; the United States but not Canada." When asked why Canada should be included, Fernanda replied, "Canada is geographically close to the United States but has distinct political positions. These need to be represented."