Teams from the two school were the winners of the key prizes in the Southern Highlands regional Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) debate.

The May 12 debate was an initiative of combined Rotary Clubs of the Southern Highlands and held in the Wingecarriebee Shire Council Chambers.

The debate also involved teams made up of Year 10 and 11 students from Frensham, Bowral High and Southern Highlands Christian School.

Each was designated a country to represent and required to debate a wide range of topics based from the viewpoint and position of their respective countiries.

Countries included Argentina, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, South Korea, Turkey and USA. 

The aim of the MUNA, now in its fourth year in the Southern Highlands, is to provide students with unique debating opportunities while they learn about other countries from that country’s perspective, gain new friends, tackle international topics, develop empathy for other cultures and boost their confidence and self-esteem.

Chevalier College assistant principal, learning and teaching Chris Bounds sung the praises of the MUNA and the work of rotary.

“On behalf of Chevalier College and our teams, I want to express how valuable an event this is and how much the students enjoyed participating,” he said.

“To see our students interacting socially, and as part of the competition, with other students was a great exercise in community building, and I believe every student left having learned more about the world and about how young people can work to build a better one.

“I hope this event continues and I am sure that Chev will continue to benefit from it.”

This year’s overall winner was Oxley College representing Turkey with the Peace Prize going to the Chevalier College team which represented Ireland. 

Both teams have advanced to the National Model United Nations Assembly competition to be held at The Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra August 17-19.