After competing online in 2020 due to the pandemic, the University of Montevallo’s Model United Nations team triumphantly returned to in-person competition and won a conference-wide Outstanding Position Paper and a Best Delegate award for the INTERPOL committee at the 2021 Southern Regional Model United Nations conference in Atlanta at the end of November.
Dr. Scott Turner, professor of political science, said the group of seven students represented Ireland at the conference.
Over a three-day weekend, they negotiated issues of global importance, practiced public speaking and cultivated leadership skills. They won the Best Position Paper team award for the second year in a row.
UM also brought home Best Delegate and Outstanding Position Paper awards for the International Criminal Police Organization committee.
“This was one of numerous model UNs that occur around the world,” Turner said. “You start with the existence of the UN itself, which almost every country in the world is a member of, and try to address global issues. The models are designed for colleges and some high schools to simulate what occurs at the UN with different colleges representing different countries.”
“We teach this as a class and we spend our time preparing for participation in the conference which takes place in Atlanta just before Thanksgiving,” Turner said. “Students must do their research and write a position paper from the point of view of the country they’re representing. Awards are given out at the end of the time. We’ve gotten awards for outstanding position papers for the last two years.”
“When we go back this fall with a big group, we’ll be representing Egypt, Syria and South Africa.”
