Two HIghlands schools are set to tackle global issues on a national scale.
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Students from Chevalier and Oxley Colleges will join 54 students from schools around Australia at the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) in Canberra from August 17 to 19.
The two Highlands schools qualified for the national competition after competing in the regional MUNA run by combined Rotary Clubs of the Southern Highlands earlier this year.
Oxley College represented Turkey to take out the overall regional prize while Chevalier spoke from the viewpoint of Ireland to secure the Peace Prize.
Each team taking part in the national final will represent a country and debate contemporary global issues in the areas of peace and security, human rights, the environment and development.
MUNA 2018 will mark the 22nd consecutive year in which the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise has organised the event.
Over that time, about 1650 secondary school students have participated in the national MUNA.
The event involves secondary students in a hands-on experience of a UN General Assembly style debate with the aim of increasing international understanding and goodwill.
Students will dress in the national costume of the country they represent.
The event will take place in the historic House of Representatives Chamber of the Old Parliament House, home to the Museum of Australian Democracy.
In addition to the primary debate activities, students will have the opportunity to participate in a tour of Old Parliament House, especially arranged to commemorate the 75th anniversary (on August 21) of the entry of the first Australian women into Federal Parliament.
On Saturday evening, students will join diplomats from some of the countries they represent at the MUNA dinner, jointly hosted by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise and sponsored by the ANU.
The 12 draft resolutions are now available on the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise website - http://www.rotaryclubofcanberrasunrise.org.au/
These cover some of the world’s most significant issues today, including the South China Sea, proliferation of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, international migration issues, the situation in Syria, decolonisation and climate change.
On the Friday evening of MUNA, students will determine which six of these will be debated over the weekend.
The event will be presented on Facebook, including live streaming of much of the debate.
The Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/D9710NationalMuna/ - is also used to provide information in the lead-up to MUNA.