More than 500 university students from 57 countries will attend the first annual Global Model UN Conference in Geneva next week.
The conference beginning August 5 is being organised by the UN Department of Public Information.
In an open welcome letter to the delegates, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked them for their commitment to the Organisation's objectives and ideals –- and said that without young peoples' idealism "we would have a far more difficult time imagining and building a better world."
The event will bring together the best university-level students from Model United Nations programmes around the world to discuss the priority United Nations issues. In future years, the Conference will rotate among other UN duty stations in various regions. This year's conference is partially funded by a contribution from the Swiss Government.
At the inaugural Conference, the students will take on the challenging theme: "The Millennium Developments Goals: Lifting the Bottom Billion out of Poverty".
They will simulate four of the Main Committees of the General Assembly: First (Disarmament and International Security), Second (Economic and Financial), Third (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), and Fourth (Special Political and Decolonisation).
{{/usCountry}}They will simulate four of the Main Committees of the General Assembly: First (Disarmament and International Security), Second (Economic and Financial), Third (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), and Fourth (Special Political and Decolonisation).
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