Nine students from Centennial CVI will be participating at the Southern Ontario Model UN Assembly in Toronto at the end of April.
From April 28 - 30, 2025 the CCVI Model UN Club will debate and discuss topics such as children in armed conflict, international cooperation in asset recovery and anti-money laundering efforts, and conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others.
"Students will hopefully get an opportunity to build on their critical thinking and problem solving skills as they will be learning and working on issues as complex as cybersecurity, forces labour, and preventing nuclear war," CCVI World Issues teacher Matthew Mulhern said.
Hosted at the University of Toronto's St. George Campus, the Southern Ontario Model UN Assembly was founded in 1972 and is considered to be the "world's oldest high-school-run Model UN conference and Canada's largest." Their mission is to "develop delegates into mature global citizens."
"This really all came together because a number of young people just wanted it to happen and although we are finding our way in this new endeavor I hope we can build on it in the coming years and grow the club," Mulhern added.
The Model UN Club at CCVI has been in the works for almost a year but only officially began in early March, thanks to the initiative of some students.
"I can say with certainty that as a group, we have already achieved incredible debate, public speaking, and research skills. Even within the couple of weeks we have been practicing, I've noticed that we have made immense progress," a Grade 12 student in the club said.
Registration for next year's Southern Ontario Model UN Assembly opens in December.
