“Jij bent Suriname.  Jij bent de Verenigde de Naties.  Jij bent de lieders van morgen.”  - UNDP Resident Representative, a.i. inspires participants of Suriname’s Model United Nations.

Scores of young people gathered at the Anton de Kom University Suriname, for the first Model United Nations that was held on Saturday April 27th.  Dubbed SUMUN (Suriname Model UN), the whole-day event was the brainchild of the Rotary Club of Paramaribo.  Two moot sessions reflecting the UN’s General Assembly and the Human Rights Council exposed participants to debates on migrants and refugees – two of the worlds most pertinent development concerns. 

Participants for the Model UN were selected from applicants between the ages of 16 and 21.  Students from the Anton de Kom University, who last year attended The European International Model UN (TEIMUN) in The Hague, conducted six training sessions to prepare the delegates for the grand event. The weekly training sessions which started on March 2nd, exposed the delegates to the migrants and refugees topic, the role of the United Nations and rules and procedures for the SUMUN.  In the final analysis, the SUMUN was convened as a forum of 32 countries with two young people serving as diplomatic representatives per country to present the position of their selected countries and to vote on the resolution. 

During the opening Ceremony, UNDP Resident Representative, ai. encouraged the delegates to consider their participation as more than just an opportunity to engage in a theoretical exercise.  “…engage in today's debate as if you were indeed standing within the hallowed walls of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.”  Read the RR’s full address here.