Excitement is mounting for three Narooma High School students who will soon take part in the annual Rotary-sponsored Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) in Canberra, along with students from 27 other schools from the eastern states.
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MUNA provides students with the extraordinary experience of contributing to a United Nations General Assembly style debate in Old Parliament House, the aim being to increase international understanding and goodwill.
Narooma Rotarian Sandra Doyle and teacher Lachlan Reilly have been helping Paris Blessington, Lilly Burgess and Shania Woodard prepare for the MUNA weekend of August 20-21.
“Each school team will represent a different nation and debate contemporary global issues from that country’s point of view,” Mrs Doyle said.
“These issues relate to peace and security, human rights, the environment and development.
“Our Narooma team will represent the Philippines so they’ve been busy gaining an understanding of the Philippines’ history, politics, economics and particular stance on world affairs. They’ve now put together several resolutions ready for the event.”
This is the third time Narooma has fielded a team to MUNA. The students’ experience last year led to a debating club being established at Narooma High.
Other South Coast schools taking part in this year’s MUNA are Batemans Bay and Moruya High Schools, St Peters at Broulee, and Lumen Christi at Pambula Beach.
MUNA is organised by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise with support from the Australian National University (ANU).
Students will visit the ANU while in Canberra and also join diplomats from the countries they represent at a dinner party on Saturday night.
2014 was the first time Narooma had fielded a team to MUNA and a team went last year as well, first representing Brazil and then the UAE. The participation proved such a challenging and rewarding experience for those students, the school was keen to field another team this year.