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Mountains highlighted at Model UN conference

05.05.2017

A Utah Valley University (UVU) delegation was recognized for its advocacy efforts on behalf of mountainous nations and of Kyrgyzstan in particular during the 67th session of the Model United Nations of the Far West (MUNFW) conference in San Francisco, California, United States of America on 24 April 2017. The theme of the 67th MUNFW was “Old Threats, New Threats: Global and Human Security in 2017”.

The United Nations (UN) Charter was signed in San Francisco in 1945, and the first MUNFW was held at Stanford University six years later. Model United Nations (MUN) conferences provide students with UN-level experiences and skills by simulating the activities of such UN bodies as the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and others.

For the first time at an MUN conference, UVU students represented Kyrgyzstan as their chosen country, due to the close ties between UVU and the International University of Kyrgyzstan since 2007, with a focus on the promotion of the sustainable mountain development agenda of the UN. It allowed the UVU delegation to combine MUN, based on simulation of UN bodies, with the experiential learning model, in particular with advocating in practical way for the sustainable mountain agenda.

The students were able to propose and successfully negotiate the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution on mountainous Kyrgyzstan and some of the challenges it experiences, such as water supply, environmental problems and the impacts of climate change. As a result, the conference organizers presented the UVU team with the Slanczka Achievement Certificate. UVU students Jon Downs, Steven Johnson, Taylor Mansfield and Alec Sorenson, and UVU Associate Professor of Political Science and student team advisor Dr Geoffrey Cockerham represented the University in San Francisco.

The UVU MUN Club is a member of the Utah International Mountain Forum, a coalition of student clubs at UVU that advocates for sustainable mountain development in the State of Utah, United States of America, and in North America since 2011.

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News and photo by the Utah International Mountain Forum