A World Model UN (WorldMUN) meeting co-hosted by National Taiwan University (NTU) and Harvard University will begin in Taipei tomorrow, marking the first time the meeting would be held in Taiwan.
At a press conference in Taipei, Ami Nash, head of the Harvard host team of the event, said a total of 1,800 delegates from more than 200 universities and 50 countries were expected to participate in the simulated UN committee sessions and workshops through Thursday.
“WorldMUN is often called the Olympics of Model United Nations as it brings together the brightest students interested in international affairs from around the globe,” Nash said.
Jason Hou (侯宗成), president of the NTU host team, said participants in this international event would be able to step into the role of foreign diplomats to debate the world’s most urgent issues, including climate change, refugees, the Aboriginal rights, fair trade and government corruption. Each of the 22 simulated UN committees will negotiate and draft a resolution on a relevant agenda through dialogue, Hou said.
“Today’s international affairs headlines are often based on conflicts and we are extremely excited to offer a counterpoint,” Nash said.
The World Model UN was founded by Harvard in 1992 for university students to simulate UN negotiation sessions, although the world’s oldest continuous college model UN conference was founded in 1955.
The meeting is held in a different city each year.
NTU won the bid to co-host the event with Harvard after beating eight other universities around the world last year.
NTU had filed five applications to compete for the right to host the international student event in Taipei since 2000.
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