The Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Model United Nations team is pleased to announce that it received an Honorable Mention Delegation Award for the portrayal Zambia at the National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN) in New York City, March 15 to 21, 2013.

The Delegation Award will be presented today March 21, 2013 at United Nations General Assembly Hall.

 

 
In addition, JCCC received two Outstanding Position Paper awards for the Economic Commission for Africa (read paper) regarding the following three topics:
1.Pursuing Socially and Environmentally Sustainable Practices in Mineral Trade

2. Enhancing Good Governance through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development

3. Improving Youths’ Access to Education and Employment Opportunities

 
Economic and Social Council  (read paper) regarding the following three topics:
1. Confronting Family Poverty and Social Exclusion

2. Strengthening Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance and Relief

3. Millennium Development Goal 2 and Increasing Access to Education

 

JCCC students competed against other Universities and Colleges from around the world (i.e., University of Hamburg, University of Madrid, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian China).

 

JCCC was evaluated by the conference on the following criteria for the Distinguished Award: Remaining in Character – defined as advocating your assigned country’s position in a manner consistent with economic, social and geopolitical constraints, Participating in committee – evaluated both during formal and informal (caucusing) sessions, Proper use of the rules of procedure – NMUN uses the rules of procedure to facilitate effective workings of committee and debate.

 

Additionally, Position Paper Awards in recognition of outstanding pre-conference preparation. The following criteria are used by the conference staff to evaluate Position Papers:  Overall quality of writing, proper style, grammar, etc., Citation of relevant resolutions/documents, General consistency with bloc/geopolitical constraints, Consistency with the constraints of the United Nations, and Analysis of issues, rather than reiteration of the Committee Background Guide.

 

Three JCCC Students were chosen by the conference to be both chair and rapporteur’s who assist with the organization of their conference committee.
Aaron Haffey (Overland Park, KS) the General Assembly Second Committee: Economic  “This committee is interesting because it depends on the progress made on Sustainable Development  which also contributes to the maintenance of peace in the world.”

Mayra Ferman Romero, (Kansas City, KS) United Nations Settlements Program “This experience at NMUN has been an educational and eye-opening, allowing the JCCC team to bond together and cooperate to achieve the highest accolades possible.”

 

Joseph Gideon (Overland Park, KS) was chosen to Chair the Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (CPO) “The CPO offers real insight into global perspectives on the roll of peacekeeping in the world.”

 

In addition to the above, the JCCC teams success is attributed to Allie Owens, (Olathe, KS), Tyler Swaggerty (Lawrence, KS ) Daniel Crist (Overland Park, KS), Aaron Haffey (Overland Park, KS), Jon Parton (Overland Park, KS), Sam Zeller (Kansas City, MO), K. Jordan Holmes (Overland Park, KS) Ian Sneid (Leawood, KS) Mayra Daniela Romero Ferman (Kansas City, Kansas), Kaitlyn Sylva (Gardner, KS), Joy Lee, (Daejeon, South Korea), Linda Makau (Nairobi Kenya) and Dr. Brian Wright (team advisor, Warrensburg, MO)

 

“It is a very impressive achievement for JCCC students,” JCCC Model UN faculty advisor and Associate Professor Brian Wright adds that “Please understand how much of an achievement this is for JCCC. The National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference New York City is the world’s largest and most prestigious Model United Nations conference. Participants include major universities from throughout the world, each of which sets the main focus of their program on award recognition at New York. Although the NMUN conference is very large, it has kept its number of awards small and to receive one clearly says to the rest of the Model UN community that JCCC has one of the strongest programs in the world. Receiving these awards are a great experience for our students that will stay with them throughout their lives.”

 

This NMUN award caps eight years of success for JCCC Model UN program, during which the team has received awards at the last 25 conferences they have attended. It also completes a sweep for the school year with this JCCC team having received outstanding awards at the Mid-West Model UN in St. Louis. These conferences are an exceptional educational opportunity for JCCC students and a chance to highlight the school’s academic excellence. JCCC students prepared for the conference through research for position papers, class assignments, and participation at their own MUN simulation. A wide variety of majors are represented on this team, such as Political Science, Business, History, Nursing, Education, English, and Science.

 

“The NMUN conference was an unforgettable experience because of meeting students from fifty different countries. I am proud to be a part of such a successful team” said Tyler Swaggerty (Lawrence, KS). “This conference was an experience I will always value; having had the opportunity to work with great students from around the world.” Model United Nations allows students to understand the international issues at the United Nations while building skills in public speaking and diplomacy. More than 3000 students participated in the conference by proposing resolutions and writing reports dealing with world issues. The conference helps students to further understand global issues and international relations in a forum that allows them to discuss global concerns in an atmosphere that is similar to that of the United Nations.

 

“These awards it would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration between of every member of this team,” said JCCC student” said Kaitlyn Sylva

 

Daniel Crist “When you enter the United Nations General Assembly Hall and witness so many students from around the world working on international issues. Nothing compares to the feeling of everything coming together which spending time at the United Nations. Just imagine what we can accomplish in the future.”

 

Ian Sneid “Learning the international perspective from those who actually hold it was very rewarding.”

 

Aaron Haffey “the conference is an opportunity to interact with students from around the world and solve issues in a learning environment.”

 

Linda Makau “The conference shows how students are working diplomatically to fine solutions to issues of human trafficking by consensus. The hope is that the United Nations can do the same.”

 

Joy Lee “I am glad to have the opportunity to network with future leaders from around the world. This is a wonderful learning opportunity that I will not soon forget. I am particularly proud of the contributions made by my fellow JCCC students.”

 

 

Jordan Holmes “At the NMUN conference we collaborate to find feasible solutions for solving the world’s most critical issues such as responding to hunger in Africa.”

Allie Owens “the hard work by all students at the conference is an accurate representation of diplomacy in action.”

Jon Parton “The conference is exciting experience. I am enjoying the conference and all of the opportunities that comes from the experience. We get to see New York City and the United Nations and to work with an international body of students to reach many goals.”