Months of preparation resulted in two Distinguished Delegation Awards for the Brock Model United Nations (BMUN) when the student club competed in the annual National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in New York City from March 24 to March 28. BMUN’s 37 team members represented two countries, Türkiye and Azerbaijan, in simulated UN committee sessions that discussed topics such as the relationship between disarmament and development, the eradication of poverty, emergency preparedness measures, and the protection of displaced and refugee children. The delegates were scored based on their representation of their country’s policies, intentions and relationships with other nations.

The Distinguished Delegation Award is comparable to that of a silver medal, with only a handful of delegations receiving this distinction. Further, BMUN had a stellar performance by two delegates in the United Nations Environmental Assembly, Matthew Cancilla and Billy Nicholson, who received an award for their Position Paper on environmental sustainability in fashion industries and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

This year, the delegation at NMUN was made up mostly of new delegates, as 51% of delegates had not attended NMUN previously. The group worked diligently to prepare, and supported one another in the process. Both BMUN and NMUN serve as a strong opportunity for students to develop various skills, including public speaking, policy-writing, research and debate.