Weekend in Qatar

This weekend, I took 6 students to a Model United Nations conference in Doha, Qatar.  If you are unfamiliar with Model United Nations, students simulate a United Nations meeting where each student represents a different country and discuss an issue and try to determine what the UN should do about the issue. Issues range from human rights issues such as migrant workers to security issues such as the crisis between North and South Korea.

At this particular conference, students from all over Europe, Africa and Asia attended, with one school even coming from the US.   It's great because the kids get to meet and interact with a wide variety of cultures and perspectives.

One of the best things about MUN is that the students need to represent their country from that country's perspective.  For instance, it is difficult for a student from a Persian (Iranian) background to speak from the United Kingdom's perspective regarding nuclear weapons!

A conference like the one in Doha is great for a couple reasons.  First, the students spend multiple days in their respective committees debating and negotiating with other delegates.  It's great to see them persevering over the long haul.  Second, because the conference is multiple days long, I get to float between the various committee sessions, listen to the debates, and get a good chunk of reading done!  Really, it's a lot of sitting around, but I'm a-ok with that.  Third, we stayed at a four star hotel (with cable!) and great restaurants.  The breakfast buffets were fantastic.

All in all, a great time.  The students were challenged, got to see Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Qatar (the hosts of the conference) and have a generally fun weekend away from home!