ITU-hosted Model UN youth event addresses climate change
550+ students from countries worldwide at ITU to debate innovative
approaches aimed at breaking global stalemate
Geneva, 10 January 2014 – ITU opened its doors to youth
representing 80 nationalities from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North
Africa for the
FerMUN14 Model UN conference organized by the Ferney-Voltaire Lycée
International.
Tackling the theme of climate change, the students from 27 schools around the
world worked over three days to develop Resolutions that offer concrete,
innovative strategies to drive progress in line with the UN spirit of
multilateralism and international cooperation.
The conference was presided over by Juliana Rademaker, a final-year economics
and social sciences student from the Ferney-Voltaire Lycée, who served as this
year’s Secretary-General. She was assisted by Deputy Secretary-General Pauline
Gordon, and President of the General Assembly, Maxime Uzimaki.
In addition to the principal climate change stream, the conference featured a
special committee on Child Online Protection. ITU staff worked closely with
students to provide relevant content and help them frame their discussions. The
FerMUN Model UN programme is one of the world’s only fully bilingual Model UN
conferences, with material and debates conducted in both English and French.
The quality of the debates and outcome texts was so impressive that ITU
Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, speaking to 650 assembled delegates and
teachers at the closing ceremony this afternoon, pledged to transmit the outcome
texts of FerMUN14 to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the forthcoming UN
Climate Summit taking place in New York on 23 September 2014.
Addressing FerMUN students on Wednesday 8 January at the opening ceremony in
the prestigious Human Rights Room at the UN Palais des Nations, Doreen
Bogdan-Martin, Chief of ITU’s Strategic Planning and Membership Department,
emphasized ITU’s commitment to engaging with youth to address pressing global
issues.
“Share with us the ways you think climate change should be tackled. Tell us
how you believe we can leverage information and communication technologies to do
that…we need to leverage your energy, your creativity and your passion,” she
said.
In a special message to FerMUN14 delegates delivered at the closing ceremony,
UN youth ambassador Ahmad Alhendawi said: “The Ferney Lycée International Model
United Nations conference is an invaluable exercise. It is an opportunity to
take an in-depth look at the most pressing challenges of our time, to explore
ways to build collective responses to collective challenges in a continuously
interconnected world… we need you, the youngest generation the world has ever
known, to partner with us in our work; use your power as voters and as
consumers, to lead positive change and build a sustainable and equitable future
for all.”
This is the second time ITU has hosted a FerMUN Model UN conference. In 2013,
around 350 students debated the theme of
ICTs as the way
forward in development, peace, and prosperity.
The structure of the FerMUN14 conference, along with photos, videos, speeches
and the magazine produced onsite by students during the conference can all be
found at:
1f8a81b9b0707b63-19211.webchannel-proxy.scarabresearch.com/en/fermun/2014/Pages/default.aspx.
For more information, or to be part of next year’s conference, please
contact:
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Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Florence Baudry
FerMUN Coordinator
Ferney-Voltaire Lycée International
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About ITU...
About Model UN
Model UN is a global UN programme for senior high school students that gives
young people the chance to organize and participate in a simulated UN
conference. Students choose a theme, research the topic, elect senior conference
officials from among their number, organize their own work programme, and agree
on key resolutions. Before the event, groups of students are assigned a country
they will represent, and prepare their interventions based on that country’s
actual stance on the topic under discussion, which they are expected to research
independently and present in a professional manner. Students participate in
business attire, and manage their own interpretation, documentation,
communications and translation services. The FerMUN Model UN event is one of the
world’s only full bilingual Model UN programmes.