Student delegates fill the United Nations General Assembly Hall during the 2016 National High School Model UN.
More than 30 Haverhill High students will travel to New York City in March to participate in the National High School Model United Nations.
HHS has a long and proud tradition with Model UN, having sent delegations to the national convention for 14 years.
Senior Anna Rossi, lead delegate of the school’s Model United Nations Club, said this year’s student group is the largest ever. Thirty-two students will attend in two sessions.
On March 10-13, 12 student delegates will represent Australia in the main committee, Italy in the Security Council and as a judge in the International Court of Justice.
On March 15-18, a group of 20 student delegates will represent Portugal in the main committees, Bahrain in the League of Arab States, Cameroon in the Historical Security Council and as a judge in the Interntaional Court of Justice.
Model UN is a student simulation of the proceedings of the United Nations. Student delegates are assigned a country to represent in committee, with pre-set topics to debate. They research the background of their country, their country’s positions on the topics, then convene at Model UN conferences to debate their assigned topics with students representing the other UN member states.
The convention ends with a special session at the UN Headquarters, where student delegates are seated in the General Assembly Hall that has hosted many prominent heads of state. They debate the final resolutions on the floor of the UN, then take formal votes on whether or not to pass each resolution.
Most student delegations are invited to meet diplomats at the embassy of the countries they represent.
The cost of the conference is roughly $700 per student, which is offset by student fundraising throughout the year. If you live in one of the two voting precincts located at Haverhill High School in November, you likely supported the Model UN Club’s bake sale.
The Hillie Model UN team has created a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the trip.