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Your passport to global affairs

Model United Nations at NCWA

In 1989, as part of its educational outreach, the Naples Council on World Affairs developed a program of academic enhancement in global issues for area high school students, including a Model United Nations program. 

Simulating the actual working of the United Nations, Model UN programs (MUNs) have four purposes:

  • To teach negotiating, bargaining and communication skills,
  • To represent a foreign perspective in a disciplined forum,
  • To enhance awareness and inform students on critical global issues, and
  • To acquaint students with the workings of the United Nations.

    
Model UN: negotiating, bargaining and communication skills


Initially, NCWA underwrote a Model UN program in partnership with the Collier County Board of Education, enabling Collier County high school students to participate in a new program in Miami sponsored by the Dade County Public School system and Florida International University.

In 1994, NCWA sponsored and coordinated the first Southwest Florida Model United Nations Conference (SWFLMUN). Florida International University conducted the academic portion of the program in coordination with NCWA. Public and private high schools in Lee, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and Collier counties were invited to the first conference. Ten high school teams – a total of 80 students - from Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties participated.

The number of participants has grown to more than 250 students from 18 schools competing in a program hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University each March in partnership with NCWA.

Schools and students register as Model UN delegates in the fall, select countries to represent and begin preparations months in advance, assisted in their research by teacher coaches. Students prepare position papers for review. Issues to be addressed (determining the agenda of the conference) by the respective committees (student teams) are selected by the FGCU MUN Club under the supervision of faculty advisor Dr. Richard Coughlin and are based on current global concerns. Volunteer judges evaluate delegates' performance, and awards with cash are presented. The program fosters students' global awareness, public speaking, and diplomatic skills. Many alumni of past Model UN conferences return each year to assist in presenting the program.

For more information about 2025 SWFLMUN, click here, or go to www.swflmun.org, or contact Model UN Coordinator Beth Foss at swflmun@comcast.net.

Nicole Stanco

Model UN: A Solid Foundation
For NCWA Program Alumna

When Naples student Nicole Stanco began to compete in NCWA's Southwest Florida Model UN in high school, little did she realize the many influences it would have on her journey towards an exciting and fulfilling work life.

Click here to read an in-depth interview about the role that Model UN experiences have played as she describes the early stages of her career and offers advice for others following in her footsteps.

To view a video about what participating in the Model UN experience
has meant to area students, click on the NCWA logo below:


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