News Guide

Six hundred middle and high school students from 30 schools in the Miami Dade area are attending the United Nations Association of the USA’s Global Classrooms® Miami Model UN Conference today at Miami Dade College North. Students role-play as representatives from countries, interest groups and nongovernmental organizations in simulations of UN bodies.Global Classrooms Model UN has amazed schools around the globe with its ability to cultivate global literacy, life skills, and attitudes necessary for active citizenship, showing that students deeply care about the world outside their local community.

“The experience and skill sets our students receive are paramount to the future success of our students as they enter a world and compete on the global stage,” said Bob Brazofsky, district supervisor, Curriculum and Instruction, Division of Social Sciences and Life Skills at Miami Dade Public Schools. “Very little in the academic careers of our students can compare to this experience; students thrive in this setting and actually push their teachers to participate in the program.”
Students will be a part of eight diverse committees that discuss situations of local importance such as migration in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as global issues such as issues with the North Korean regime and the rights of indigenous peoples. Volunteers from area colleges and universities are helping the students throughout the day as they work through their issue areas.

“Students’ participation in Model UN today will open doors to their futures and help them forge relationships that can last a lifetime,” said UNA-USA Executive Director Patrick Madden. “At the Miami Conference today, we are seeing tomorrow’s leaders in action, working together to solve global problems.”
Boasting hundreds of student participants from the Miami Dade County Public Schools, Global Classrooms: Miami has grown rapidly since its inception in 2005 thanks to support from the public school system as well as the local community and educators.More information on the Miami Conference can be found at http://www.unausa.org/gcmiamimun.
Watch the Global Classrooms Model UN Documentary “Decorum” at http://www.unausa.org/decorum.

Tweet This: Hundreds of students are in Miami today w/ @GCModelUN to tackle the world's toughest challenges! Learn more: http://bit.ly/zfk5qX.

Media Contact
Joseph Catapano
202.496.6398
jcatapano(at)unausa(dot)org

ABOUT UNA-USA
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), a program of the UN Foundation, is a membership organization dedicated to inform, inspire and mobilize the American people to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations. UNA-USA works to accomplish its mission through its national network of chapters, advocacy efforts, education programs, and public events. UNA-USA and the UN Foundation create the single largest network of advocates and supporters of the United Nations in the world. For more information on UNA-USA, visit http://www.unausa.org.

ABOUT GLOBAL CLASSROOMS
Global Classrooms is UNA-USA’s innovative educational program that engages middle school and high school students in an exploration of current world issues through interactive simulations and curricular materials. Global Classrooms cultivates literacy, life skills and the attitudes necessary for active citizenship. For more information on Global Classrooms, visit http://www.unausa.org/globalclassrooms/.