Brock University’s Model United Nations team recently left New York City with a cherished souvenir: an Outstanding Delegation honour that filled the group with pride.

Thirty-three Brock students headed to the Big Apple to participate in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) New York conference from April 3 to 7, the first in-person edition of the event in three years.

The biggest model UN conference of its kind, the large-scale simulation welcomes about 2,000 students from around the world to engage in meaningful discussions on global issues and international politics. Speaking from the point of view of the respective nation they’ve been chosen to represent, delegations attempt to find solutions to global issues.

Representing Germany this year, Brock’s delegation impressed judges throughout the conference and earned the group an Outstanding Delegation award. The honour was received by 28 schools out of hundreds that participated in the conference.

“I think I’m not alone in saying this is a lifechanging event,” said Xavier Alexy, who along with Andrea Lepage acted as head delegate and oversaw the group at the conference.

“NMUN takes a lot of the work that we do in the academics of our undergraduate studies and really applies it,” said Alexy, a fourth-year Political Science student. “It puts gravity to the research skills we develop during our undergrad and gives us an opportunity to apply them in a way that we feel is meaningful, something tangible.”

In addition to the Outstanding Delegation nod, team representatives won an Outstanding Delegate honour for committee work related to gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as an Outstanding Position Papers award related to the United Nations Development Program.

The recognition received by the group “helps to show that the research and hard work you’ve put in has paid off,” Alexy said. “That’s a huge confidence builder.”

First held in 1927, the NMUN conference has only experienced two years where it hasn’t run consecutively — in 1939 due to the Second World War and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With 2020’s conference cancelled and 2021’s held virtually, the excitement among Brock’s representatives for this year’s event was palpable, Alexy said.

“The students attending this year were very engaged and excited about the work that was being done,” he said. “On the previous trips I’ve been on, people normally sleep on the bus down to New York City, but there was no sleep on the bus ride in this time.”

Alexy, who is in his final year with Brock Model UN as he prepares to begin his master’s at Brock in the fall, said the club is always recruiting new members and holds open meetings throughout the year with weekly simulations.

“We have a little community we’re fostering as part of the Brock community and we really want to make it as inclusive and welcoming as possible,” he said. “I’m super excited to see what the upcoming team does with the club.”

For more information, visit the Brock Model UN website.