20 September 2012

Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar and THIMUN Qatar will jointly hold the first ever Qatar MUN and Film Leadership Conference, from September 20-22, 2012. The three-day event is set to attract over 350 high school students and their advisors from across GCC and some as far as USA and Europe. The conference is designed to give participants a chance to develop their leadership skills and to learn the importance of mutual collaboration and support.

Students will take part in various sessions, on the theme of leadership, entitled: “Student engagement in the classroom and beyond,” and “Organization: Peace begins at home.” Dr. Sandra Richards, Director of the Liberal Arts Program at Northwestern University in Qatar will be the keynote speaker at the opening on Thursday, September 20, 2012.Her address will explore the meaning and importance of global citizenship in times of turmoil.

The conference will also focus on film and media studies, focusing on topics such as videography, photography, new technology in film and video and will also include a screening of the award winning movies from the 2012 THIMUN Qatar Northwestern Film Festival.

Ryan Villanueva, the founder and CEO of Best Delegate will be speaking on Friday, September 21st at the session titled: “What should Model UN teach?”. Talking about the conference, he said "This event brings together leading educators from around the world to improve an activity that impacts thousands of students worldwide. This is the Davos of Model UN, and I'm proud to be a part of it." Best Delegate is a company that ‘helps students exceed at Model United Nations and beyond’.

Lisa Martin, the founder of O-MUN, the first and only online MUN program, will be discussing the topic of online debates. Lisa noted, "A conference of this nature provides my online MUN program with an unprecedented opportunity to connect with delegates, network with MUN Directors and promote O-MUN. I am very grateful for the opportunity this conference affords Online Debates."

THIMUN Qatar, a partnership between Qatar Academy and the THIMUN Foundation, supports Model United Nations programs and conferences in schools around the region. Besides the leadership conference, THIMUN Qatar also co-hosts an international film festival with Northwestern University in Qatar. The THIMUN Qatar office works with schools throughout the region to support the development of national programs, to provide leadership training seminars, and access to educational materials.