The DLSU contingent that represented Gabon to the 2015 National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference held in New York City, USA bagged the honorable mention delegation award. The award was lauded during the closing ceremonies held on April 2 at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters.
The NMUN is one of the largest of its kind, with over 3,000 participants from all over the globe this year. During the conference, held from March 29 to April 2, the delegates served as ambassadors of their representative countries to the UN in different committees such as the General Assembly, Economic Commission for Africa, Commission on Population and Development, Human Rights Council, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, among others. The delegates engaged in debates over pressing global affairs within their committees and gained expertise in the UN system over the course of the NMUN.
DLSU delegates, representing Gabon and the United Republic of Tanzania, discussed several pressing issues in a simulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa during the 2015 NMUN-NY. Photo courtesy of the National Model United Nations Facebook page.
The DLSU delegation represented the countries Gabon and United Republic of Tanzania in NMUN. Over forty students comprising the delegation participated in the conference, along with faculty advisers Allen Surla and Emma Delgado of the Political Science and International Studies Department, respectively.
The training and development team behind the delegation, led by DLSU College of Law students Vincent Matthew Naval and John Carlo Pajo, extended their commendation to both teams for showing exemplary performance in the conference. Naval and Pajo were aided by other students Charmaine Ramos and Neil Soria, both veterans of the NMUN, in training the delegation.
“I am very happy with the results. I am proud of my delegates,” shared Naval, who participated in the 2009 NMUN-New York. “This is a good start for La Salle. Our [organization], the International Law Society, will continue to lead DLSU’s participation in various [Model United Nations] conferences around the world.”
“The award is for everyone regardless which team had achieved such,” Pajo, who participated in NMUN-New York in 2012 and 2013, expressed. “The award is for every delegate of DLSU, for us, for the University, and for the country.”