Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

High school students from around the world will meet in Doha this January to debate current global issues and gain insight into the world of international politics and policy-making. The 2008 Model United Nations conference, organized by the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar), will offer select high school students the opportunity to build practical experience in international diplomacy.

During the Model United Nations, students assume the roles of member countries on international governing bodies such as the UN Security Council, the African Union, NATO, and the Arab League. This allows students from local, regional and international high schools to discuss pressing political and social issues of global concern. "The whole idea behind organizing the MUN conference is giving students a hands on experience in diplomacy," said Kathryn King, the conference’s coordinator. Participants must study the foreign policy of the country they are representing in order to understand and accurately represent the views of their member nation.

This year, students will discuss a variety of newsworthy topics including: the Israeli/Palestine Peace Process, Iran’s place on the international stage, US policy on torture, AIDS as a global health crisis, governmental response to global warming, and NATO's mission in Afghanistan.

According to Mehran Kamrava, the Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown, it is valuable for students to engage with such complex matters. “The issues these students are discussing are the same issues that are confronting our governments’ leaders today,” Kamrava said. “As future world leaders, it is important for them to learn that it is possible for common solutions to be found among people of different backgrounds.”

The organizers are expecting more than 325 students from around the world to participate in the conference which runs from the 24th to 27th of January. In addition to schools from Qatar, students from Africa, the GCC, the Middle East, Europe and South America will be attending. The students will spend much time honing their debating skills, but they will also have the opportunity to see the sights of Doha as well as visit Education City, the home of Qatar Foundation and the branch campuses of Virginia Commonwealth, Weill Cornell, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Northwestern.