For the past 19 years, the Model Organization of American States (MOAS) has gathered in a general assembly each fall to give university students a crash course in international policy making. This year was the first time the University of New Mexico participated and the results were rewarding.
The UNM team was made up of seven students from the World Affairs Delegation and the Special Office for Latin American Initiatives, including: Mikal Davis, Phillip Kay, Julio Acosta, Jesica Andrews, Alyssa Rivera, Sofia Ledesma and Alexandra Pelayo attended the MOAS representing the delegation of Guatemala.
The group participated in five different committees pertaining to human rights, juridical and political affairs, hemispheric security, and migration issues and walked away with two awards. Davis was presented the Outstanding Delegate Award on Hemispheric Security and Kay won the Distinguished Delegate Award on Committee for Juridical and Political Affairs.
Led by head delegate Pelayo, the group began meeting over a month ago to prepare, research and perform simulations in order to gear up for the event, and even took advantage of a parliamentary workshop offered by Baylor University in Waco, Texas, to ensure they were ready.
MOAS events began with a plenary session of the general assembly, where the UNM group presented a Guatemala position paper, followed by committee sessions where each delegate presented with the intent of getting their resolutions passed to the general assembly for acceptance. The events capped off with keynote addresses from the President and Secretary General of the MOAS and the President of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio and the Ambassador and Ambassador-in-Residence of the University of Texas, Austin.
MOAS is working to change attitudes among citizens of North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean by providing a program in which cultural sensibility and curriculum enhancement are realized. By representing member states of the OAS, students in each delegation gain a broader and clearer understanding of the capabilities and constraints that shape the foreign policy of each member state.
This year, with the encouragement of President David J. Schmidly, Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, vice president for Student Affairs and Juan de Dios Pineda, director of the Special Office of Latin American Initiatives, the University of New Mexico participated in the MOAS for the first time.
For more information visit: MOAS.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu