Third annual Auburn Model United Nations Invitational brings more than 200 high school students to campus

Matt Clary | 11/13/2024

A large group of students seated in a conference room, focused on a presentation or discussion taking place.

The Auburn Model United Nations team, sponsored by the Department of Political Science and led by faculty advisor Matthew Clary, hosted its third annual Auburn Model United Nations Invitational (AMUNI) conference on Saturday, Nov. 9. The competition, held in the Mell Classroom Building, brought more than 200 students and teachers from 14 high schools across Alabama and Georgia to campus to simulate different committees of the United Nations system, including the General Assembly Plenary and the UNICEF Executive Board.

Students gathered around a table in a classroom, actively participating in a discussion and exchanging thoughts

Students were assigned to role-play as specific UN member states during the conference and to debate and collaborate on innovative solutions to global problems, such as proactively addressing the potential weaponization of outer space or to combat the exploitation of children in violent extremist groups.

Over the course of several hours, students worked together to develop several resolutions to these problems, which included suggesting new norms and rules for the management of anti-satellite weapons, the collaboration and sharing of space-related technology between developed and developing nations, helping nations cooperate over better monitoring and regulating of extremist content on social media targeted at recruiting youth to extremist groups, and the creation and promotion of media literacy programs to better combat the online recruitment of children to extremist groups.

For more information about the Model UN, contact faculty advisor Matthew Clary.

Tags: Community, Outreach and Engagement Political Science