By Mary-Katherine Ream
Staff Writer
Washington — Hundreds of college students, including delegations from Belgium, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom, recently gathered in Washington to tackle international challenges like the strategic transition of Afghanistan and nuclear nonproliferation.
Their efforts were part of the 27th annual Model NATO Conference at Howard University. Students from more than 20 schools and different majors participated, including a pre-med student and a former interior designer along with the traditional international relations and political science majors.
“It’s important for college students to participate because you don’t realize the life-changing impact these organizations have until you’re involved,” said Caitlin Handerhan, a junior at Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania.
Student delegations represented 30 countries across five commission sessions. To ensure the accuracy of their positions, students were able to meet with their countries’ embassies before the mock conference. The conference addressed major NATO concerns like missile defense cooperation with Russia, relations with the European Union (EU) and current operations in the Mediterranean.
After just one day of negotiations, the students were interrupted by “breaking news.” An internal memo warned of an escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Students had to swiftly shift priorities to meet the demands of the developing crisis.
Simulating NATO summits and real-world events provides these students with a better understanding of how NATO operates and its role in the international arena. Many students said they prefer participating in Model NATO events over Model United Nations (UN) events for the challenge; NATO, they said, requires more diplomacy and problem-solving skills because it functions as an alliance. Furthermore, the smaller conference size allows for greater engagement and more meaningful contributions.
Beyond broadening students’ perspective of the world, these conferences encourage personal confidence and professional development. “I gain new skills every time I come,” said Ahlam Ismail of Tiffin University in Ohio.
“Students should participate in these conferences because they’re fun, you get to meet a lot of people, network, and it looks nice on your résumé,” added Kyle Beers of Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.
And while many are questioning the relevance of a military alliance in the post–Cold War era, these students believe NATO is flexible enough to meet modern demands. “Everyone’s interested in security, whether it comes from access to resources or protection of human rights,” said Lindsay Murch of the University of Birmingham in England.
All the participants stressed the importance of youth involvement in these simulations and international relations.
“A lot of kids my age don’t care about politics, and it bothers me so much. Politics decide the future of our country and, as the young adults of our nation, we are the future; we will become the politicians, the doctors, the lawyers of America,” said Ellie (Eleanor) Roddy from Lakeland Community College in Ohio. Roddy is 18 years old and has already participated in four Model NATO conferences.
The event simulated the NATO Summit that will take place in Chicago this May.
More information about the delegations to the 2012 Model NATO Conference is available on the event’s website.
