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1st Annual Jr. Model UN

January 21 and 22, 2006
held at John Carroll University

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs gratefully acknowledges the support of Jr. Model UN sponsor John Carroll University, especially its Center for Global Education.

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs' first annual Junior Model United Nations was held at John Carroll University on January 21 and 22, 2006. During the opening ceremony, Dr. Theron (Thea) N. Ford (John Carroll) was the keynote speaker. Student ambassadors from middle schools around Cleveland formed committees of delegates to debate, negoriate, and attempt to resolve Committee topics based on the UN's Millennium Development Goals. Students researched topics, gained knowledge about their countries' stands on issues, and used critical thinking and oral and written skills to form resolutions, recommendations based on the issues debated. Once a resolution is formed, delegates vote on whether it should be passed as a UN Mandate. Students read their resolutions during the closing ceremony and received awards.

Abstract of Keynote Speech by Dr. Theron (Thea) N. Ford (John Carroll University)
Dr. Ford, an experienced educator and university administrator, spent a year in Malawi at the Ministry of Education, acting as a lead teacher and supervisor through the auspices of the International Foundation for Education and Self Help. There, she conducted a countrywide evaluation and assessment of programs for disabled students, developed curriculum and resources, and conducted professional development for teachers.

In Dr. Ford’s talk, she shared her personal experiences in Malawi that were directly related to the themes of the Millennium Development Goals. She found a country with extremes of wealth/poverty and ugliness/beauty. Her photo presentation demonstrated the beauty of the country, but the poverty of the schools where as many as 90 students shared only one teacher, but without any books. Students walk to school or rode a donkey. Much of Malawi's beauty is being destroyed through deforestation, and the need to grow crops is helping to destroy the ecosystem. Dr. Ford has focused her entire career on social justice. She urged the young students attending the Jr. MUN to commit themselves to actively work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. She impressed on the students that they will have opportunities in their lives to achieve those Goals. "The future is in your hands," she said, "and you are in a position to make a life-long commitment to social activism."

Some challenges she faced while in Malawi were related to resources, language, travel, safety, health and sanitation concerns. The rewards from her experience were learning the language, embracing the culture, providing information to and teaching those with special needs, living with a family, and helping to improve people’s lives. Students' questions varied from those about foods, to how she was treated as a foreigner, to how Malawian men and women interact. Students inquired about the healthcare systems and precautions Dr. Ford needed to take while visiting Malawi.

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