The 20th annual State Department Model United Nations (UN) conference will take place on April 29 at the Department of State. This event is scheduled in collaboration with the UN Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA). Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Elizabeth M. Allen will provide keynote remarks. For the past 20 years, we have welcomed more than 500 students from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to this conference each year. The students will spend the day representing UN member states and debate important issues, including human rights, food security, climate change, economic development, and peace and security.
We believe the young people who participate in Model UN are tomorrow’s leaders. Many of those serving in government right now, in the United States and abroad, participated in Model UN where they practiced key skills, including writing, researching, public speaking, negotiation, and advocacy while debating and representing countries in the UN. We applaud the interest and initiative of these students, who have the potential to become tomorrow’s diplomats.