700 High School students explore the power of diplomacy

700 Student at DIAMUN 2013 Dubai

Dubai International Academy Model United Nations (DIAMUN 2013) is a prestigious internationally accredited Model United Nations (MUN) conference that will be held from March 20 to 23, 2013 at Dubai International Academy (DIA), Emirates Hills. DIAMUN has received international recognition by receiving an official affiliation to The Hague International Model United Nations.

Now in its fifth year, DIAMUN 2013, will see participation of more than 700 students from 42 schools, from the UAE, the GCC and Thailand, Zimbabwe, India, Turkey, South Africa to name a few. MUN is an academic simulation of the United Nations, whereby high school students’ debate, deliberate, and resolve global problems on international issues ranging from International security, human rights, Arab affairs, and global economics.

The theme for DIAMUN 2013 is Education for the 21st Century, which aims to look at global issues such as human rights, women’s rights and Arab economic development through the perspective of education – a powerful tool to bring positive change in the world.

Student delegates will debate in nine different committees – each committee espousing different issues, for e.g., Security Council, League of Arab States, World Economic Forum, General Assembly over four days of the conference. Some samples of the topics that will be debated and resolved include:

1. Developing checks and balances on arms sales to areas of political unrest
2. The situation in Syria
3. Re-evaluating measures to implement collective Arab security
4. Encouraging entrepreneurship through innovative education
5. Redefining the mandate and capacity of the institutions of the Arab League

At the conference, students will negotiate and produce resolutions (similar to the legal documentation produced at the UN) on the complex topics, thereby creating a very high level of student produced work modelling the work of real diplomats and leaders in today’s world. One of the standouts at DIAMUN is the focus on issues facing the Middle East and the region.

The League of Arab States will be a key committee where student delegates will discuss issues relating to Arab welfare, security, and regional stability. Another standout committee at DIAMUN is the World Economic Forum, which discusses economic issues and will look at improving the current dismal economic scenario.

DIAMUN is one of the largest and oldest Model United Nations Conferences in the Middle East and the conference is entirely student led. This showcases the extent to which DIAMUN provides a platform for young people at high school level in the region and across the world to find solutions for tomorrow’s problems today, thereby creating responsible and well aware global citizens.

DIAMUN focuses on providing students with essential future skills including debating, legal writing and thinking about global problems from multiple perspectives. The most invigorating aspect of the conference is to see high school students from various backgrounds and holding different cultural perspectives work together on compromising and creating solutions.