Model United Nations
2023-2024 Model UN Delegation:
The Department of Political Science is proud to announce that the 2024 Saint Mary’s Model UN Delegation won a Distinguished Delegation award in recognition of their work over the course of the one-week National Model United Nations (NMUN) simulation held in New York City, March 23-29. This year, the delegation represented The Bahamas on the UN’s GA1, GA2, GA3, UNEA, and IAEA bodies. The delegation was comprised of ten students from the Faculty of Arts and the Sobey School of Business. Dr. Marc Doucet once again served as the course instructor and faculty advisor.
Front row, left to right: Jack Poirier (Head Delegate); Mae Graham (Head Delegate); Chloe O’Brien.
Back row, left to right: Christopher Nicoll; Tyler Hutchinson; Victoria Cheeseman; Jill Daniels; Wesley Brouse; Usman Muhammad; Shiva Kakkar.
2022-2023 Model UN Delegation:
The 2023 Saint Mary's Model UN delegation won a Distinguished Delegation Award for representing Saint Kitts and Nevis at the 2023 National Model United Nations (NMUN) that took place in New York City on April 1st to April 7th of 2023.
The delegation included nine undergraduate students and one faculty advisor. Two of the delegates, Pyper Lane and Naza Yammine, also won an Outstanding Position Paper award in recognition of their pre-conference research on 1) Youth for Disarmament, Non-Proliferation, and Peace; and 2) Addressing the Illicit Supply of Weapons to Non-State Actors.
From Left to Right: Apoorva, Sorav Sogy, Manav Khera (Head Delegate), Anali Gorozpe, Devin Gallo, Naza Yammine, Kamryn Zboya, Pyper Lane, Ishaan Singh, Marc Doucet (Faculty Advisor).
2021-2022 Model UN Delegation:
The Department of Political Science is proud to announce that the Saint Mary’s Model UN Delegation earned a Distinguished Delegation Award at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York City, April 2-8. Representing Singapore during the week long UN simulation, the delegation comprised of 10 students from Political Science, Criminology, Psychology, Economics, Finance, and Global Business Management competed for awards with over 2000 delegates from some 150 universities. The Saint Mary’s Delegation researched and debated UN related issues ranging from the threat of improvised explosive devices, biological diversity and sustainable development, access to inclusive education to nuclear non-proliferation, and the reduction of maritime pollution. While in at the Conference, the students also had the opportunity to learn more about Singapore’s position at the UN during a mission briefing on April 4th hosted virtually by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Singapore to the UN.
Photo:
Front row, left to right:
Mehak Tekchandani and Natasha Fernandes
Middle row, left to right :
Alexis Keizer, Zixiao Wang (head delegate), Marina Da Motta Alves Barros, Beryl Jobis, and Manav Khera
Back row, left to right:
Kaylin MacNeil, Dr. Marc Doucet (faculty), Augusto Carrijo, and Pyper Lane
2018-2019 Model UN Delegation:
Repeating the success of past, the 2018-2019 Saint Mary's Model UN delegation won a Distinguished Delegation Award in recognition of their work in representing the State of Kuwait at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference, March 24-29, 2019. The delegates served on 10 UN bodies including the General Assembly Committees, UNIDO, the World Food Program, the UN Environment Assembly, the Commission on the Status of Women, the C-34 Committee on Peacekeeping, and for the first time in SMU's history at NMUN the UN Security Council. In addition to the Distinguished Delegation award, two SMU delegates, Hannah Shuttleworth and Yankun Li won an Outstanding Position Paper award for their pre-conference preparations in the CoP UNFCCC.
In the photo:
Front to Back, Left to Right: Deepti Soobarah; Liam Quigg; Bryn de Chastelain; Jazmin Ageeb; Jacob Carey-Paradis; Rebecca Yorke; Alison Horton; Yankun Li; Abby Dooks (Head Delegate); Bethany Smith; Samantha Kieffer; Kenneth Carmichael-MacMullin; Sk. Mahmudur Rahman Shovon; Jillian Taylor; Bahar Tunc; Emily Truesdale; Dr. Marc Doucet (Faculty Advisor); Alyssa Frampton; Hannah Shuttleworth; Laura McGovern; Ali Abdullatif Ali Al-Yahya (Attaché, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, State of Kuwait); Farah Maliha; and Jansher Singh Rehncy.
2017-2018 Model UN Delegation:
In recognition of their year-long hard work and extensive preparation, the Saint Mary’s Model UN delegation was awarded a Distinguished Delegation award at the 2018 National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference in New York, March 29th. Representing Bulgaria on UN committees such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA), the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), students debated important real world topic with other students from around the world during the week long conference.
Front to Back, Left to Right: Abby Dooks; Rawan Qadhi; Alyssa Fudge; Jazmin Ageeb; Allison Hearns; Cassidy Lohnes; Crystal Witter; Saya Toma; Mikyla Bartlett; Kenneth Carmichael-MacMullin; Will Robbins; Emily Truesdale; Marc Doucet (Faculty Advisor); Thomas Martin; Tyler Currie; Connor Lund; Alex Foulger-Fort; Jansher Singh Rehncy; James Ledger; Erika Koss (Head Delegate).
2016-2017 Model UN delegation :
The Saint Mary’s University Model UN Delegation won an Honourable Mention Delegation Award for their work at the 2017 National Model UN (NMUN) Conference. In addition, two delegates, Elinor Hammond and Sara Little, won Outstanding Delegate Awards for their work in UNHCR; and two delegates, Analia Lowe and Jermaine Addo, won an Outstanding Position Paper Award for their pre-conference preparation on the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The 2017 delegation added to the record of success of the Department’s Model UN program.
Front: Sydney Hull (Model UN Administrative Assistant)
Second row, left to right: Robyn Darrington-Chapman; Alicia Archibald; Sara Little; Analia Lowe;
Third row, left to right: Abby Dooks; Kayla Windsor; Katie Davis; Nechelle Nicholas; Eunice Yidana; Jermaine Addo; Alex Foulger-Fort
Fourth row, left to right: Nicole MacPherson; Elinor Hammond; Zhara Dhubow
Fifth row, left to right: Dr. Marc Doucet (Faculty Advisor); Connor Lund; James Ledger; Tommy Lee; Barry Tanner; Thomas Martin.
Model UN 2016
Congratulations to the 2016 Saint Mary's Model UN Delegation!
Once again, Saint Mary’s University’s Model UN delegation won a Distinguished Delegation Award at the 2016 National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference. Some 5,500 students representing over 400 schools debated, negotiated, and drafted resolutions in simulated UN committees during two back-to-back conferences held in New York March 20th to 31st. Representing Switzerland at Conference B, this year’s delegation included 18 students from Saint Mary’s and 4 students from Freiburg University of Education in Germany. The joint delegation, a first for Saint Mary’s, was headed by Dr. Marc Doucet of the Department of Political Science. Saint Mary’s was one of only four Canadian universities to be awarded a Distinguished Delegation Award. In addition, two students, Wesley Wilcox and Thomas Lee, were awarded Outstanding Delegate Awards in recognition of their work in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). While in New York, students also had an opportunity to meet with officials at Switzerland’s Permanent UN Mission in New York to discuss the Swiss position on UN related issues.
The delegation:
First row, from left to right: Alex Isenor, Thomas Lee, and Wes Wilcox
Second row, from left to right: Alicia Archibald, Sydney Hull, Matt Gaul, Zahra Dhubow, Thoko Sithole, and Jermaine Addo
Third row, from left to right: Tariro Dheka, Sarah Gray, Steph Albert, Franziska Storz, and Sandra Möbius
Fourth row, from left to right: Dr. Marc Doucet, Thomas Redden, Thomas Martin, Mike Stone, Aaron Johnston, Justin Mathias, Philipp Steck, Phillip Zur, and John-Paul Nwaezigwe.
Model UN 2015
Representing the Ukraine, the 2014-2015 Saint Mary's Model UN Delegation won an Honourable Delegation Award at the National Model UN (NMUN) Conference in New York. The award was announced in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations. Seventeen Saint Mary's students from the Faculty of Arts participated in this year's conference. With some 2,500 students representing close to 200 universities, the NMUN conference is one of the largest university level UN simulations in the world. Saint Mary's was one of four Canadian universities recognized in the Honourable Delegation category and one of seven Canadian universities recognized overall.
The delegation:
First row, from left to right: Laura Crocker, Sydney Hull, Cassie Hill, Tatiane Camargo, Isalean Philip, Julia Rodgers (Head Delegate), Thokozani Sithole
Second row, from left to right: Yannick Manga, Brandon Hawley, Aaron Johnston, Benjamin Mawdlsey, Emily Prosser, Matt Gaul, Wesley Wilcox, Antoine Dutil, Alexander Isenor, Thomas Redden, Dr. Marc Doucet (Faculty Advisor).
Model UN 2013
Representing the Kingdom of Sweden, the Saint Mary's Model UN delegation won a Distinguished Delegation Award at the 2013 National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference held in New York, March 17-21. Just over 200 universities participated in the 2013 NMUN conference with 20 receiving Outstanding Delegation; 27 earning Distinguished Delegation; and 30 receiving Honourable Mention. Saint Mary's was one of three universities (University of Montreal and University of British Columbia) from Canada earning a Distinguished Delegation Award, and one of only five Canadian universities earning a delegation award. In addition, two members of the Saint Mary's delegation, Jarrad Sitland and Laird Smith, received an Outstanding Delegate Award for their joint performance in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
This award is a peer-to-peer award voted on by delegates representing the 155 countries in the IAEA. Only two other delegations (University of Montreal, Faculty of Law representing China and Universidad San Francisco de Quito representing France) earned this distinction in the IAEA. Finally, the following Saint Mary's Delegates won in the category of Outstanding Position Paper for their preparatory work prior to the conference: Kathleen O'Brien and Kaitlyn Sobey for their contribution to the General Assembly First Committee; Fred Okello for his work in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34); and Jarrad Sitland and Laird Smith for their position paper in the IAEA. With some 5,000 delegates participating in two consecutive conferences, NMUN is one of the largest university level model UN simulations in the world.
The delegation:
Front row, left to right: Vanessa Ferguson; Joanna Fensome; and Julia Rodgers
Second row, left to right: Kathleen O’Brien; Rumbi Chimhanda; Imanga Kayama; Katie Grant (head delegate); Kaitlyn Sobey; Davina Ebbeson; Meagan Symington; and Sarah MacLeoad.
Back row, left to right: Fred Okello; Adam Mattinson; Toby Bechtold-Byrne; Jarrad Sitland; Ross Grant; Kirt Goodridge; Jason Rondon; and Dr. Marc Doucet (faculty advisor)
At the awards ceremony:
The Saint Mary’s University Model UN delegation attended the National Model UN conference (NMUN), April 3-8, 2012. The delegates represented the Principality of Liechtenstein on several UN committees, including the Arms Trade Treaty conference and the Rio +20 conference on sustainable development. The delegation also met with Canada’s representative to the UN, Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski for a briefing which was held at Canada’s permanent mission on Wednesday, April 4th. With over 5,000 students, the NMUN conference is one of the largest university level Model UN simulations.
Front row, left to right:
Jody Brenton, Imanga Kayama, Alison Macdonald, Allie Baldwin, Alanna Taylor, Katie Grant, Vicki Veersteg
Back row left to right:
Dr. Marc Doucet (faculty advisor), Jarrad Sitland, Can Esen, Jason Rondeau, Ashley Dawson (head delegate)
Model UN 2011
The 2010-2011 Saint Mary's Model UN delegation returned from the National Model UN (NMUN) conference held in New York April 17-21 with three awards; one for each category in which awards are presented!
Our delegation won an ‘Outstanding Position Paper' award. Each delegation must submit position papers that detail the position of their assigned country on the topics delegates debate in committee. Our assigned country this year was the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Of the 191 schools represented at the conference, bringing together some 2,500 delegates, only 27 Outstanding Position Paper awards were granted. With this award, our delegation ranked in the top 14%. The only other Canadian university to earn this particular award was the University of Ottawa. Other universities recognized in this category included California State University; University of Bonn; Wichita State University; Wright State University; Ludwig Maximilians University Munich among others.
Our delegation also won a ‘Distinguished Delegation' award. In recognition of the performance of delegations, NMUN grants delegation awards in one of three categories; Outstanding Delegation; Distinguished Delegation; and Honourable Mention. Our delegation was one of only 26 awarded a ‘Distinguished Delegation' award. Other universities recognized in this category included Université Libre de Bruxelles; University of Texas at Dallas; University of California, Santa Barbara; Sciences Po; Pace University, NYC; University of San Diego; University of Colorado at Boulder among others. Eighteen delegations were recognized in the ‘Outstanding Delegation' category, and 24 in the 'Honourable Mention' category.
The Outstanding Position Paper and the Distinguished Delegation awards were recognized publicly during the closing ceremonies of the NMUN conference held in the General Assembly at the United Nations' headquarters on Thursday, April 21.
Finally, two delegates, Isaac Gray and Kristen Herrington, were also recognized in the ‘Outstanding Delegates in Committee' category for their individual efforts in the UN Population Fund Committee. This is a peer-to-peer award that is determined by a majority vote cast by individual delegates in each committee. Isaac and Kristen were two of only six delegates recognized for this award in the UN Population Fund Committee. A total of 72 delegates sat in this committee.
Our delegation of 20 students also had an opportunity to meet with Martijn Dadema, the First Secretary for Political Affairs at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations. The two hour briefing session offered by First Secretary Dadema was very helpful in finalizing the students' preparation prior to the conference.
Bringing together some 5,000 university students in two overlapping model UN conferences each spring, NMUN is one of the largest university level Model UN conference in the world. Other Canadian universities present this year included the University of Waterloo; The Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; Simon Fraser University; Dalhousie University.
UN headquarters:
Front row: Kenneth Butterworth; Lois Punshon; Morgan Zinck; Julie MacDonald; Camaro West (Model UN Assistant and Head Delegate); Shawna-Lynn Brake; Chelsea Wight
Second row: Chris Walker; Jennifer O'Connell; Ana Zbona; Alison MacDonald; Natalie MacDonald; Kristen Herrington; Lauren Baldwin
Third row: Dr. Marc Doucet (Faculty Advisor); Casey Babb; Isaac Gray; Julian Greer; Heather Campbell; Ashley Dawson; Kayla McIntyre; and Nicole Power
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations:
Front row: Camaro West (Model UN Assistant and Head Delegate); Morgan Zinck; Alison MacDonald; Ana Zbona; Kristen Herrington; Julie MacDonald; Shawna-Lynn Brake; Jennifer O'Connell; Chris Walker
Back row: Julian Greer; Isaac Gray; Ashley Dawson; Nicole Power; Natalie MacDonald; Lauren Baldwin; Casey Babb; Heather Campbell; Chelsea Wight; Kayla McIntyre; Kenneth Butterworth; Lois Punshon; and Martijn Dadema, the First Secretary for Political Affairs, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations.