A delegation of ten Oklahoma Christian University students traveled to Commerce, Texas to participate in the annual Southwest Model Arab League Conference on April 8-11.
The Model Arab League gives students the opportunity to see how diplomacy works in a mock international setting. Students work together with other delegations representing countries in the Arab League to determine the best solutions for their represented country and the league as a whole.
“It is important because it gives you insight to how international organizations like the Arab League work,” freshman Branden Yeates said. “It also gives you insight to how each of the countries approach foreign policy.”
There are five regular councils that students can participate in: political affairs, social affairs, Palestinian affairs, joint defense and economic affairs. The councils spend the conference drafting, debating and passing resolutions aimed at solving problems in a council’s specific area.
“Council sessions are conducted in strict parliamentary procedure so it is a simulated diplomatic environment just like the one that real-life delegates would experience,” Afton Paris, the head delegate, said.
Oklahoma Christian’s delegation represented the country of Kuwait, and the team was divided into two-person delegations for each council. The team included Christina Doncell, Alexis Farrell, Angelica Hickerson, Nicholas Jensen, Megan McKinley, Cody Milner, Tyler Parette, Afton Paris, Jannicke Sletmoe and Branden Yeates.
Senior Nicholas Jensen was on was the council for Social Affairs.
“We discussed topics such as youth involvement in extremism, women’s rights in the Middle East and water conservation,” Jensen said. “It’s just talking about issues that are concentric to the Middle East right now and knowing the country that you are representing well enough that you can express their opinions, rather than your own.”
Oklahoma Christian students prepared for the conference by researching their country’s position on various issues, such as women’s rights. They also practiced parliamentary procedure to know how to debate and get resolutions passed.
“Our delegates were extremely well prepared and did amazingly well at being true to their positions and the character of Kuwait,” Paris said.
The Model Arab League allows students to see the different sides Arab League countries.
“Typically when we think of the Middle East, we hear negative things, we do not hear positive things coming out of it,” Jensen said. “The Model Arab League is a really good way for people who are going to be working in politics and being heavily involved in making legislature, to be exposed to the positive features of the Middle East.”
Since the students are supposed to research their countries well to understand how to emulate the actual Arab League, there were a few bumps in the road, according to Paris.
“I would not change much of our preparation at all,” Paris said. “There were a couple of delegations from other schools that were not accurately representing their country, so it was difficult to deal with that and make sure that everything was still going as it should.”
According to the Model Arab League’s website, the league “helps prepare students to be knowledgeable, well-trained and effective citizens as well as civic and public affairs activists.”
“When you begin to act as a single state in cooperation, or competition with other states, you begin to have an appreciation for their diversity and their interests,” Yeates said.
After months of preparation, the Oklahoma Christian delegation was able to show the Model Arab League how prepared they were.
“All of our delegates did extremely well,” Paris said. “They were debating, making motions for parliamentary procedure, writing most of the resolutions, working with lots of other delegations, debating constantly and networking with all involved.”
Due to a clerical error, delegations do not know their final rank right now, according to Paris.
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