PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Model United Nations team brought home nine awards during the Southern Regional Model United Nations Conference.
The team exceeded the record tally taken at last year’s conference by one and made UNCP the most decorated delegation at the conference, which took place Nov. 16 to 18 in Atlanta.
Included among the awards were two Outstanding Delegation Awards given to Iceland and Norway, an Honorable Delegation Award given to Italy, and six outstanding individual delegate awards given to exceptional students in each of their committees.
The UNCP students also represented Costa Rica at the conference. Seven hundred students from more than 50 universities scattered throughout the Southeast took part in the conference.
“It’s been difficult to contain my extreme pride for the team and what they did in Atlanta,” said faculty advisor Kevin Freeman, of UNCP’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration. “Exceeding our awards count from last year’s Atlanta conference went beyond my expectations. This might be the best team we have ever sent to a conference.”
Model United Nations emphasizes cooperative, hands-on, experiential learning that allows students to confront a range of topics with the perspective of their assigned country or organization.
Through these experiences — during preparation, in committee sessions, and in hallway caucuses — students develop an appreciation of differing viewpoints, experience the challenges of negotiation, see the rewards of cooperation, broaden their world view, and discover the human side of international relations and diplomacy.
The UNCP team will attend the Southern Regional Spring Conference in Charlotte April 12 to 14. The Braves will represent Germany, Belarus, and Egypt.
