Report from Alan Russell.
It was wonderful to be able to attend the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) organised by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise in August.
The weekend of debating on UN resolutions was held in the House of Representatives debating chamber in Old Parliament House.
The three Eurobodalla Rotary Clubs (Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma) each supported a high school team to attend the three-day event.
Batemans Bay Rotary sponsored a three-person team from St Peter’s Anglican College, and they represented Sweden.
The team put in a great deal of preparation before MUNA and made contact with the Swedish Embassy which saw them being invited to visit the Embassy in Canberra on the Friday before the event commenced.
It was most generous of Carroll College to host the teams to a planning session before they headed to Canberra. This is always most valuable as our teams have direct entry while others have had to win the right to attend. So, a rehearsal does help students to be aware of what is going to happen and what the ‘Secretary General’ will be expecting and accepting.
All teams dress so to represent their nation. This always add some colour to the surroundings and make students feel part of the nations they are arguing for.
The team did well over the weekend and won the Totenhofer Peace prize. This prize is judged separately from the main debating and recognises teams who promote world peace through negotiation behind the scenes and during the debates on the motions. Congratulations to the students and it is nice to see the Peace Prize back at St Peter’s again. Congratulations to Jesse who was also invited to speak at the MUNA dinner on the Saturday night. This is a great honour and I am sure he was pleased to receive the recognition of his efforts during the weekend.