The Model UN Conferences

 Model United Nations is the epitome of a successful educational program. Success is measured via public speaking, leadership, written assignments and conference awards. In the last ten years the JCCC Model United Nations has received awards at all thirty consecutive conferences they have attended. Most notable are the awards received at the National Model United Nations Conference held at the United Nations in New York City. In spring 2017 the team received an Outstanding Delegation Award for portrayal of Denmark. Received a Distinguished Delegation award at the 2016 National Model United Nations conference for their representation of the Kenya. JCCC along with co-team Northwestern Polytechnical University received Distinguished Delegation award at the 2015 National Model United Nations Conference for their representation of the United Kingdom. 2014 the team received an Outstanding Delegation Aware for portrayal of Niger. In spring 2012 the team received Distinguished Delegation Award for the portrayal Kenya. In 2011 it received an Outstanding Delegation award at the National Model United Nations and has received outstanding position paper awards in 2012, 2009, 2008, 2007, & 2006 as well as Outstanding Delegation awards in 2007, 2008 & 2009 at this conference. These conferences are an exceptional educational opportunity for JCCC students and a chance to highlight the school’s academic excellence. JCCC students prepare for the conference through research for writing policy position papers & resolutions on the issues, speaking assignments, and participation at their own MUN simulation. A wide variety of majors are represented, such as Political Science, Business, History, Economics, Nursing, Education, English, and Science. The program also attracts students from professional programs such as Hospitality, Nursing, and Automotive Technology. Students finishing the Model UN program have obtained jobs at leading area businesses such as GM, Kansas City Kansas, and Harley-Davidson.

The JCCC Model United Nations program includes student participation at three intercollegiate conferences,

 

 

 

 

 

The Model United Nations conferences that the team attends are intercollegiate competitions attended by some of the top schools in the country. The JCCC Model UN provides JCCC an opportunity to highlight its academic excellence by promoting global awareness through expanding curricular and extracurricular offerings. It provides the students with an out of the classroom opportunity to expand their knowledge and to broaden their perspective on the world. The Metro Kansas City Model UN (MKCMUN) is service to the community that JCCC needs to recognize and support. JCCC Model UN students take their knowledge obtained at intercollegiate conferences and are able to share it with area high school students via the MKCMUN.

 

Model UN is not a program just for International Affairs or Political Science students. The broad nature of the skills learned cut across nearly all majors and it is valuable for any major if the student has an interest in the functions of international negotiation and policy-making. Former Secretary-General Daj Hammarskjold stated: “everything will be all right when people stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction and see it as a drawing they made themselves.”

(Childers, p. 8 ) A first step in the process of understanding that will lead to a clearer understanding of the UN is education. Childers, Erskine. “The UN at 50: Midlife Crisis.” The London Review of Books.Aug. 18, 1994, pp 8-11.Patrons of the program are JCCC students, area high schools, leading area businesses, regional organizations such as the International Relations Council, Sister Cities, and UNA USA Kansas City, transfer Colleges and Universities. Phillips and Muldoon present a rationale and a step-by-step approach to incorporating Model United Nations (MUN) simulations into undergraduate education. “MUN is an effective mechanism for providing undergraduate business students with the international and multicultural experiences they need to function in a global environment. Moreover, through participation in MUNs, students develop and enhance personal and technical skills, including written and oral communications, research, caucusing, negotiating, and consensus building.” Phillips, Mary Jones; Muldoon Jr., John P.  THE MODEL UNITED NATIONS: A STRATEGY FOR ENHANCING GLOBAL BUSINESS EDUCATIONJournal of Education for Business Jan/Feb 96, Vol. 71 Issue 3, pp. 142-152.

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