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They may only be college students, but they brought their youthful ideals, enthusiasm and bright ideas to impassioned debates at a mock United Nations conference this week.

 

Guo Zhengxi, a freshman from Nanjing University, was one such budding diplomat.

 

Guo has proposed motions to enhance HIV/AIDS education among women and children, especially in Islamic countries, in a simulation of the UN Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee.

 

"I'll be very excited to see that my motion gains approval by the majority," said Guo, who is still working hard with her coalitions in writing a draft resolution for the AIDS topic.

 

"We hope to make our draft resolution successfully pass, but it's hard to say right now because at least 3 other blocs are competing with us."

 

Moreover, she joined a bloc with some 30 students representing European countries to win their support. "I even tried to lobby those students representing Islamic countries to join our bloc and support my ideas," she said.

 

Guo was among more than 1,400 college students from 38 countries attending the Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) 2006 at Peking University in Beijing, which ends today.

 

For five days, the students have simulated meetings of some 19 committees of the UN and other international organizations and discussed hot topics, ranging from nuclear weapons and public healthcare infrastructure to pension reform and biomedical research.

 

Special representatives

 

Guo has taken the role of the Irish representative at the UN for the past few days, trying her best to learn how to raise her own motions, to participate in a debate and to think about whether to vote for or against a motion raised by other representatives.

 

Everything had been novel for Guo, but it is tough for a Chinese student to catch up with the Western-style, fast-paced procedures, which are different from the Chinese way.

 

As a non-native English speaker, Guo felt it hard to fully understand European and American students who comprise the majority of the conference. "They speak very fast, and they are very active in expressing their ideas," said Guo. "They nearly dominate the conference."

 

However, like the other 133 Chinese mainland student delegates, Guo has worked hard to adapt herself to the new situation.

 

Guo, who started her preparation to join the WorldMUN in January, did a lot of research on the Internet to learn about Ireland. She also visited the embassy of Ireland in Beijing and talked with staff members there.

 

The UN Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee event focused on two topics, HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention, and Humanitarian Intervention. Student-delegates on behalf of 123 countries proposed motions related to information infrastructure building, attitude toward homosexuals, sexual discrimination and sex education.

 

"The magic of Model UN is that we never let you represent the country where you come from," said Victor Bicalho, a Brazilian senior from Harvard University, who is also secretary-general of WorldMUN, which is an offshoot of Model UN.

 

"For just one week, you play yourself in a position of someone who comes from that country who really cares about that problem," Bicalho added. "You have to force yourself to learn about the country that you might never have considered before."

 

By the end of the conference, the committees have passed about 19 resolutions. According to Bicalho, the resolutions will be sent to the United Nations Association, an arm of the UN, which deals with Model UN activities. They also will be posted on the Internet for public reference.

 

After participating in this conference, Guo told China Daily that she learned a lot from it.

 

"It makes me familiar with the UN meeting procedures and enriches my understanding of a specific country like Ireland," said Guo.

 

"Moreover, I have the opportunity to interact with capable students from different cultures, of whom some future diplomats will be born."

 

History of WorldMUN

 

That is exactly what WorldMUN tries to accomplish.

 

From Poland in 1992 to China in 2006, WorldMUN has traveled around the world. University students from about 38 countries have participated in the exercise in multicultural diversity and world diplomacy.

 

The program is an offshoot of Model UN, which originated in the US some 50 years ago and has attracted two million high school and university students from more than 50 countries since then.

 

Among some 400 Model UN activities of different types held every year in the world, Harvard WorldMUN stands out. A student-run organization for international students at Harvard University, it was founded in 1992 by a student from the Philippines named Geraldine Acuna.

 

That was in addition to two other similar events held in Boston mostly for American students. One was for high school students and the other for college majors.

 

In addition, WorldMUN goes around the world for conferences and partnerships with host universities, said Victor Bicalho.

 

This was the first time WorldMUN was held in Asia. Bicalho said Beijing was selected as the venue for the 2006 event nine months ago. Since then, 27 students at Harvard had been working hand in hand with 120 students at Peking University to put together the entire conference.

 

"It was hard work," recalled Bicalho. "Every day, there were e-mails and phone calls going back and forth during the nine months."

 

To ensure the diversity of student backgrounds, WorldMUN offered over 150 fee waivers this time worth a total of US$13,500.

 

Merrill Lynch contributed US$30,000 sponsorship to Beijing WorldMUN, and it only accounts for some 20 percent of the overall conference costs. The other 80 percent comes from the delegate fees with US$90 per delegate, said Bicalho, who hopes to attract students from 100 different countries in the future.

 

(China Daily March 31, 2006)