On Sept. 16-18, seven Lincoln Community School (LCS) students participated in the virtual Johannesburg Model United Nations (JoMUN) conference, hosted by the American International School of Johannesburg (South Africa). After preparing policy statements and draft resolutions on a variety of topics related to the theme “Redefining Africa,” the delegates engaged in the usual lobbying and merging of resolutions before debating the issues one by one. Some of the issues debated in committees included preventing an arms race in outer space; the impact of climate change on agriculture in Africa; African migration to Europe; and foreign intervention in Yemen. There was also a historical Security Council that addressed the legacy of Israel’s 2006 intervention in the politics of Lebanon.
Despite the obvious challenges of participating in a conference online, the LCS delegates showed great resilience and courage in the debates. For some, the experience of speaking publicly is daunting in the best of circumstances but almost prohibitively difficult when doing so online. For all, it was a great learning experience and an opportunity to develop their skills in collaboration, research, public speaking, and foreign policy analysis.
