Students Bring United Nations Conference to New Zealand
A model United Nations conference for tertiary students from the Asia-Pacific will next year be hosted at The University
of Auckland, thanks to the efforts of a group of University students.
The 2007 Asia-Pacific Model United Conference (AMUNC) is regarded as the premiere model UN for university students. It
is hosted by a different university each year. The venue for next July’s event was announced last week. It will be the
first AMUNC to be held outside Australia.
The conference will take place primarily at the University and is expected to attract 500 tertiary students from across
the Asia-Pacific region.
“The conference will offer great opportunities to tertiary students throughout New Zealand and showcase Auckland City to
the wider Asia-Pacific region,” says Mike Asplet, who chaired the student committee responsible for winning the hosting
rights.
Model UN conferences simulate United Nations committees like the Security Council and the General Assembly. Students are
assigned to a country, which they represent in through debate and resolution-building on topics of contemporary global
significance.
Mike describes the experience: “The conference provides an understanding of how the UN works, promoting its values of
cooperation and compromise. The practical simulation builds students’ communication and diplomacy skills and they leave
with networks and friends, a number of whom will be tomorrow’s world leaders.”
Previously the conference has only been attended by Australians and New Zealanders but the Auckland event will raise the
bar. “The 2007 conference will, for the first time see a real ethnic diversity in participants, as we bring together
students from a broader base of countries throughout the Asia Pacific. We already have students from as far as Venezuela
interested in attending.”
Students are already organising next year’s event. “Our team has years of experience in attending and running similar
conferences on an international scale, including model UN conferences for school students” says committee deputy chair
Paul Ryan.
The conference week is provisionally scheduled for 9-13 July in next year. It will include cultural performances and
festivities, with high-profile guests invited to attend.
ENDS