For the seventh consecutive year, the UCC Model UN team took Best Large Delegation honours from the prestigious Secondary Schools Model United Nations Symposium in Montreal, hosted by the McGill Students’ International Relations Society.
Their quest to be the best yielded outstanding results in November for the travel team representing UCC’s Model UN club.
“To win just once is amazing; to win seven times in a row is quite an accomplishment,” says Matt Griem, UCC’s economics coordinator and Model UN adviser.
The 24-student team represented China and Uganda during the four-day event, which simulates a United Nations General Assembly and its committee meetings. Drawing on their skills in public speaking, debating and negotiating, UCC’s “delegates” worked tirelessly to have their preferred resolutions passed. In addition to the team honours, 17 of the boys brought home gavels, the top prize for individual performance during the sessions.
“Our team's victory was more satisfying than ever,” says the club presidents and team captains, Gaurav Dogra and Chris Noh. “Not only did we get to continue the legacy from years past and win McGill's conference for the seventh year in a row, but we did it with a team composed of younger and less experienced guys. Being able to overcome these hurdles, and train intensely weeks leading up to the conference, made the victory more meaningful for everyone and instilled a greater sense of confidence and camaraderie.”
The 80-plus students in UCC’s Model UN club try out to be members of the travel team that represents the College at major UN simulations. The travel team will visit Harvard University in January and the University of California Berkeley in March to compete against tough international teams.
Says Griem, “Model UN helps students truly become global citizens, getting to know the people and world around them and having empathy towards their challenges.”
