By Nicole Orlofsky, Greenwich High School
This past weekend, members of Greenwich High School’s Model UN team participated in the 10th session of American University’s Model United Nations Conference in Washington, DC. This year, the conference’s unique theme was “The Confluence of Two Seas: Stability in the Indo-Pacific,” and all committees were connected to that topic area. The conference allowed delegates to learn about and experience multiple different topics, from the Malacca Strait to the Uighur Muslim crisis to the global production of computer chips. Delegates at the conference participated in traditional General Assembly committees as well as more specialized Crisis style committees.
Delegates are eligible for three levels of recognition during the conference. These are, in order of prestige: Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, and Honorable Delegate.
The GHS delegation won 9 awards in total, including 3 Best Delegate awards. Nicole Orlofsky, Senior, won Best Delegate; Ziyi Yan, Junior, won Best Delegate; Helena Kennedy, Junior, won Best Delegate; Ela Zielinski, Sophomore, won Outstanding Delegate; Nicolas Sosa, Freshman, won Outstanding Delegate; Jennifer Yin, Sophomore, won Honorable Delegate; Zara Haque, Sophomore, won Honorable Delegate; Charlotte Marcussen, Sophomore, won Honorable Delegate; and Martin Lipp, Freshman, won Honorable Delegate, all in their individual committees.
Contributed photo
“A Model UN trip includes a full weekend of positive learning experiences. Our students learned about subject matter, practiced research, speaking and debate skills, and collaborated to address real world issues. It was a joy seeing our team in action and hearing them laugh throughout the weekend,” said Model UN Club advisor Ian Tiedemann said, adding, “While it is an additional bonus to have our students recognized with awards, we also celebrate the process that is so important regardless of any official recognition.”
The team was proud to bring 34 students to this conference, including multiple 9th-graders for whom this was their first Model UN conference experience.
The team spent most of the weekend in committee sessions on American University’s campus, but made sure to take advantage of their time in DC by making a stop at Congressman Jim Himes’s office on Capitol Hill. After a tour of the United States Capitol Building, the students visited Congressman Himes’s office and got to speak with his staff about Congress and ask lots of questions!
The 10th session of the American University Model United Nations Conference was held from Thursday, February 2, to Sunday, February 5, 2023. More than 900 delegates were in attendance and participated in 37 committees staffed by over 180 American University undergraduates.
In their individual committees, delegates were asked to take on the roles of global policy makers to find solutions to crises in the Indo-Pacific and negotiate with other delegates to solve complicated issues in the region and the world.