One-Hundred Students, Twenty Teachers Participate in Emirati Model United Nations Training Program

​The Ministry of Education (MoE) has organized an opening meeting for the Model United Nations summer training program, to mark the International Youth Day that falls on 12 August each year. Representatives from the Care and Capacity Building Sector and Advanced Future Skills Department have attended the meeting, which has been an opportunity to introduce the topic of solidarity of generations and the relationship between the Model United Nations and the International Youth Day. The meeting has also been an opportunity to celebrate the efforts exerted by the MoE to empower the students.

The MoE has worked to qualify the students during the “Diplomacy Track” of the National Ambassadors Program “estedad,” which has been carried out in collaboration with leading universities in the country. It had also encouraged them to participate in the National Virtual Conference for Model United Nations in 2021 to take part in this training program, in order to have an active role in diplomacy.

The training program aims to raise the capabilities of 100 public and private school students from different emirates in the field of leadership, diplomacy, and achieving global competence. Twenty male and female teachers, moreover, have participated in the training program, where students have been encouraged to participate in and apply for the Young Delegates Program to represent the UAE and work with the country's mission to the United Nations.

The training program includes developing the students’ global competency, building their understanding of international peace and security and the challenges of climate change, and raising their awareness of the international event hosted by the country next year; “The Twenty-Eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” COP 28, and the sustainable development goals. It is regarded as one of the most prominent global leadership activities for students.

The MoE has organized five training workshops from 16 to 20 August. Two training workshops have been dedicated to simulate the Model United Nations, targeting 50 students with the first experience in the diplomacy track, two advanced training workshops for 50 leader students in the Model United Nations, and an advanced training workshop for male and female teachers supervising the Model United Nations Program and Clubs.

The program included students from grades 9 to 12, who had participated in the previous Virtual National Conference for the Model United Nations, beneficiaries of the “Diplomacy Track” readiness program, as well as teachers interested in the Model United Nations program.

The students’ training included learning diplomatic skills, leadership skills, diplomacy, negotiation, and making proposals, in addition to teacher programs, to facilitate the Model United Nations during the next National Conference or related activities.

The students experienced an educational simulation of the Model United Nations and its various committees, to learn about diplomacy, international relations, and current global issues, and understand the role of the UN.

Such programs also help the students perceive the Model United Nations as an educational opportunity to sustain tolerance, openness to the world, and development of personal skills; enable them double such activity; and play a leading role in the next National Conference for the Model United Nations, educational institutions, and international events held in the country.

The MoE’s interest in such training programs comes within the framework of supporting the state’s priorities, objectives, and collaborative work. This will be achieved through strategic partnerships with effective international organizations for the sustainability and quality of education, adopting international best practices to build specialized, future skills, laying the foundations for innovation and knowledge, spreading the spirit of leadership and excellence among students, and preparing generations qualified to lead progress and development efficiently during the next 50 years.

It is worth mentioning that the UAE has been one of the main sponsors of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution to designate June 24 of each year as the International Day of Women in Diplomacy and has supported the equal participation of women with men to achieve sustainable development. This comes in line with its vision that places women and students at the forefront of its strategic and educational objectives.