Model UN inspires Bangladeshi youths
With the aim to make students aware of contemporary global issues, English medium school Scholastica yesterday launched a three-day conference simulating the structure of the United Nations.
About 400 students from different schools and colleges in the capital took part in the event, playing the roles of delegates from different countries and UN specialised organisations.
It was the fifth season of the conference, titled “Model United Nations Conference”. With the theme “Change Begins with You”, the event took place at the senior campus of Scholastica in the city’s Uttara.
The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam was present as chief guest at the inaugural session of the programme, which will end tomorrow.
Speaking at the event, Mahfuz Anam emphasised the significance and contributions of the United Nations, and urged students to follow the UN’s spirits of collaboration and cooperation.
“United Nations has some failures, but there is no other way that sovereign countries can work together. From airspace management to combatting epidemics like Ebola, millions of people are collaborating under the UN,” said The Daily Star editor.
“Despite the flaws, the world would have been far worse off without the UN,” he added.
About the impact of forming the UN, Mahfuz Anam said the fundamental lesson of the United Nations is international cooperation.
“The world has never been as globalised as today,” he said, adding all problems should be solved by mutual discussion, understanding and negotiation -- that is the beauty of the UN.
Terming climate change an existential threat, Mahfuz Anam urged students as well as people of all walks of life to become more conscious about it.
In her speech, Scholastica Principal Farah Sophia Ahmed said they have been organising the conference since 2015 to broaden students’ areas of thinking, and help them understand the present world.
Security analyst and former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain is expected to be present at the closing ceremony of the three-day programme.
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