Every year, 500 St. Louis area middle schoolers get a chance to act as ambassadors to the United Nations at our Model UN General Assembly sessions. Here are some comments we received from students during the 2016-2017 school year.
“I learned new things about a lot of countries.”
“It was more fun than I expected.”
“The problem about clean water in Haiti was caused by the U.N.”
“How the U.N. General Assembly works.
“I was very prepared because of the visits from the Civitas staff.”
“I learned more about how all the countries work together.”
“I was nervous to share my ideas at first, but this atmosphere was not judgmental, which was good.”
“I learned how countries are like people. They all have personalities.”
“I thought (the experience) would be a lot harder and nerve-wrecking.”
“Sometimes governments are broken.”
“I learned there are electrical problems in Ghana.”
“It was more interactive than I expected.”
“I learned a lot about issues I hadn’t known much about.”
“It was challenging to decide on how to vote on all of the resolutions.”
“I learned that making decisions for different countries as a whole is a long process requiring a lot of focus.”
“It was challenging to really listen because I knew close to nothing about politics.”
“I didn’t present but knowing your country helps you vote.”
“Animals have hardly any rights.”
“I learned the number of elephants slaughtered annually.”
“I didn’t know much about Nepal’s problems.”
“A lot of people had their own opinions but learned to bargain.”
“You need to watch and listen carefully.”
“There are a lot of homicides in Honduras.”
“There are way more problems in the world than I expected.”
“I thought it would be more scary, but I enjoyed it.”
“I learned there was a rice crisis in Egypt.”
“I learned about stateless peoples in all countries.”
“Different countries have the same end game.”
“Many countries can benefit from other countries.”
“I learned that child labor is high in sub-Saharan Africa.”
“Lots of different countries have a variety of problems.”
“I learned a lot about child labor.”
“I learned about tsunamis, child labor, the work force, and about other world problems.”
“I learned how money affects world problems.”
“The U.N. is important.”
“I learned there are a lot of things you need to consider when writing a resolution.”
“I learned that even kids can have productive and civilized conversations.”
