Local High School Students Ready to Undertake Our World's Challenges

This Friday opens the 24th annual session of the Contra Costa County Model United Nations (UN) Conference at Diablo Valley College.

The two-day competition enhances high school students’ understanding of the United Nations and its role in global issues. Participating students (delegates) each represent a nation and negotiate on that country’s behalf.

Bay Area high school teams participating in this year’s Contra Costa County Model UN are:

Acalanes High (Lafayette),

Athenian High (Danville),

California High (San Ramon),

Campolindo High (Moraga),

Carondelet High (Concord),

De La Salle High (Concord),

Deer Valley High (Antioch),

Dougherty Valley High (San Ramon),

Foothill High (Pleasanton),

Liberty High (Brentwood),

Lycée de Francais San Francisco (San Francisco),

Miramonte High (Orinda),

Northgate High (Walnut Creek),

and Olive Children (Fremont).

This academic event is produced and directed by the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) and coordinated by Kevin Chan, co-founder of Best Delegate,along with members of the Model United Nations Club at U.C. Davis.

During the conference, delegates will debate international issues in 10 committees, including Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), Security Council (UNSC), United Nations Women (UN Women), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Topics discussed will include Child Labor, Access to Water, Use of Drones, and Food Security.

For a full list of committees and topics, visit the CCCOE’s Model UN webpage.

“We are pleased to see so many high school students throughout our county and the Bay Area take advantage of our Model UN program,” says Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Joseph A. Ovick, Ed.D. “Model UN is an excellent opportunity for students to display all the hard work and preparation they have put in, as they successfully discuss, persuade, and work with fellow committee members on real-world problems and complex international relations. The skills they are currently refining with this program will certainly be the very same ones they will use in college and/or in their future careers!”

This academic event also offers students an opportunity to gain substantive knowledge about the cultures, policies and countries they represent. They can learn the mechanisms for peaceful resolution of disputes, while at the same time honing their interpersonal skills. They must practice writing and speaking skills in order to persuade delegates from other attending schools.

Model UN differs from the CCCOE’s Academic Decathlon and Mock Trial academic-event programs, in that it is not so much a competition as it is an event.

Participants are commended for outstanding committee work and trophies are awarded to committee rapporteurs. Individual delegate winners are recognized for their debate, leadership skills, knowledge of the issues, and presentation of key resolutions.

The activity closes with a ceremony that recognizes the outstanding delegates.

Diablo Valley College is at 321 Golf Club Rd. Pleasant Hill.

For additional information about the CCCOE’s Model UN and other academic events, visit their website.

--Information courtesy of Contra Costa County Office of Education