UN Model International Summit in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg hosted the «UN Model 2006» International Summit from 19th till 26th of November. The organizers were the International Youth Diplomacy League with the support of the International Fund for Support the Culture «Master Class» and the Council of Rectors in St. Petersburg.
During the summit, the delegates played the role of one of the countries, which is included in one or another UN committee. They discussed the problems, which may be on the agenda of the real UN Committee, and took a resolution on the issue. An interesting point is that you can play the role of the state, where you DO NOT live. As a result, this promotes the study of the politics and the interests of the other states. On the whole, the negotiations of three UN Committees were modeled there, and the following topics were discussed:
- The Security Council «Reforming the UN Security Council: the response to the challenges of the new millennium»;
- The Economic and Social Council «Keeping Sustainable Development in the Middle East»;
- The Human Rights Committee «The rights to the developments in different regions».
The experts in the area of the international relations, global economics, international law, the alumni of the University of the Political Science and the young people who are interested in the world politics from 20 different countries arrived to participate in the UN Model. The average age of the participants is 20–30 years old.
The official ceremony of the Summit Opening took place on Monday, November, 20, where the Russian and foreign politics (William Elliott, UK General Consul in St. Petersburg; Nicolas Fay, Vice-Consul of France; Florian Zajc, Vice-Consul of Germany; Sergey Andreev, Chairman of the Committee on Science, Culture and Education of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg) appeared in front of the delegates and guests. The experts came up with the assessment of the contemporary issues of the world politics.
Three resolutions were signed on Friday, November 24th, which reflect the opinion of the youth today on the proposed topics as well as the result of the negotiation and conciliation. The delegates were greeted by Alexey Borisov, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Association of the United Nations at the official closing ceremony of the «UN Model» International Summit. He thanked the International Youth Diplomacy League for the implementation of this project. In his opinion, the UN plays very important role in the modern world and we should involve young people in the organization’s activities, so the realization of the UN Model in St. Petersburg is a very unique event. Two representatives from each committee spoke about the debates. The delegates got into a role successfully. A student from Finland defended the interests of the Russian Federation in the Security Council, appealing to the rich historical experience of our state. The delegate from the UK, who was representing France, continually vetoed by the majority of the proposals. Russia has put forward the idea of appointing a representative of the entire European Union, rather than France and Great Britain. U.S., as always appeared in a coalition with Great Britain, and the delegates from these states repelled successfully during the negotiations.
The signed resolutions were sent to the Research Center of the United Nations.
The press center was working during the conference and collected the information on the meetings and everything what happened with the delegates during this week. The result, the SIMUN Times Newspaper involved the information about the most interesting moments of the UN Model.
The delegates also had the opportunity to get acquainted with our city during the cultural program.
The reception to celebrate the opening of the «UN Model in 2006» International Summit took place in the Palace of Derzhavin on Monday, November 20th at 19.00. It was a social event for real, comparable with the musical evenings, which were held in this Palace in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The world-famous pianist Michal Sellers opened the evening party. Mr. Sellers arrived in St. Petersburg and agreed to give a concert in support of the «UN Model» International Summit. After that the «Black Friday» fashion show took place, executed in black tones with modern and vintage fabrics, created with the participation of the President of the Academy of Design in Munich. The evening ended with the performance of a rising star of Russia — Nataly Orlova. Nataly sang few songs and her own classical romances. Guests were offered refreshments and wine after the program.
International Youth Diplomacy League is grateful for the support of the hotel «Park INN-Pulkovo», the Council of Rectors of St. Petersburg, the International Fund of Culture «MASTER CLASS», as well as our partners — British General Consulate, General Consulate of Germany, General Consulate of France, General Consulate of Poland, the Foundation for Democracy, All-Russian museum of A. S. Pushkin, the Derzhavin Museum and the Russian literature», the UN Association of Russia, the «Gamma» and «Blick» Companies and the RUNNET network.