By Jena Carr
St Joseph’s College Geelong has hosted students from schools across the state for a Model United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
Students from 10 Victorian schools debated the issue of modern slavery at the September 13 event, held in conjunction with the United Nations Association of Victoria.
The students acted as ambassadors for different countries and drew on their negotiation and diplomacy skills to present their country’s position on the issue to the general assembly.
St Joseph’s College Geelong students Eamonn O’Dowd, Tavis Hunt, Byron Hunt and Hamish Vautier were given the role of representing the People’s Republic of China during the general assembly.
“All teams had to consider the views, values and political stance of the country they represented, and make changes in accordance with this,” Eamonn said.
“The diversity of thought and standpoints enriched the discussion and made me more aware of how complex and multifaceted global issues like modern slavery can be,” Tavis said.
“This was an eye-opening experience, as we had to understand and represent a country that had political interests different to that of our own,” Byron said.
“The discussions were lively and thought-provoking, covering the important issue of the general assembly, the topic of modern slavery, and the ways the world could overcome it,” Hamish said.
Students from Xavier College, Simonds Catholic College, Saint Ignatius College, Christian College, Genazzano FCJ College, MacKillop College, Iona College, Sacre Coeur, and Geelong Lutheran College also participated in the event.
Former UN official Ian Howie presided over the Geelong event while students interacted with each other and moved amendments to the clauses of a draft UN resolution.
