February 13, 2012

Hilton High School junior travels to The Hague for 44th Annual International Model United Nations

From Eritrea to Tonga, secondary high school students from around the world convened Jan. 22-27, 2012 at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague, Netherlands, to discuss and debates solutions to world issues.  The event: The Hague International Model United Nations [THIMUN]. 

This year Hilton High School junior Brandon Mcauliff, right, with Superintendent David Dimbleby, was a participant in the prestigious conference.  "Students represented every viewpoint.  It was great to be part of a conference operating at the highest level of international relations for high school students. It was a privilege and an honor to go," said Brandon. "Over 4,000 students were in attendance. The conference was run parliamentary-style. I was able to visit the Anne Frank House as well as the Rijks Museum. We also traveled to The Czech Republic."

For more:  The International Model United Nations.

Brandon traveled with two teacher/advisors and eight other students from upstate New York. The group had been meeting for the past several months to discuss the trip and what would be expected at the THIMUN.  "We worked on policy statements and writing resolutions," he said. "My area was the UN Peacekeeping presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

"I plan to study International Business in college," Brandon said. "When I return, I will be prepared to do presentations on the experience.

THIMUN is a five-day United Nations simulation where students attend the General Assembly, Committees [Economic and Financial, Legal, etc.], the Security Council, Disarmament Commission, Human Rights Commission, Special Conference of Seas and Oceans and more.  Among the topics students will take under consideration are “Financing the UN Mission in Sudan,” “Financing an International Strategy to Cope with Natural and Man-Made Disasters,” “The Question of Syria,” ‘Effects of Dimunition of Fish in Seas and Oceans on the Diets of Those Whose Lives Depend upon Fish,” “Redefinition of Exploration and Exploitation Right and the Protection of Natural Resources in Water, Seabed and Underground,” and “The Law of Trans-Boundary Aquifers.”