The Pleasant Valley Model United Nations Club is one of the school’s largest and most successful clubs, amassing over 100 members per year. This year, members will attend the annual Iowa Youth Symposium (IYS) in Des Moines on Nov. 7.
The Iowa Youth Symposium offers a unique opportunity for students to act as delegates from the United States. Students are assigned to one of five different committees, each responsible for debating relevant topics in today’s world. The committees, from smallest to largest, include economics, social, technological, political and science. This year’s delegates will discuss topics ranging from transnational organized crime to sustainable outer space exploration.
At the beginning of October, club members attended a regional meeting to explore and develop their topics with Muscatine High School’s Model UN club. This regional meeting served as preparation for the state-wide conference at the Capitol.
Students who attend the November symposium will be required to write position papers and follow parliamentary procedures, strengthening their knowledge of the real United Nations. PV Model UN executive and social media manager Andrés Bravo commented on these benefits. “The IYS will help MUN members understand the process in which countries develop a position prior to the discussions in the United Nations. This deepens their understanding of global politics while also helping them improve their understanding of position papers.”
Not only does the event offer academic enrichment, but students who participate will become stronger speakers and leaders. “The nature of the IYS and other MUN-related events is to incentivize students to be active and informed world citizens who care about global peace, while also pushing them outside their comfort zone and allowing them to develop both leadership and public speaking skills,” added Bravo.
Other club members appreciate that conferences like the IYS provide the opportunity to make new friends who have the same interests as them. “I’m excited to meet other people from around the state that have the same love as I do,” said vice president Ryan Pottratz. “Model UN is probably close to my favorite activity and seeing and learning from other kids is always my favorite part,” Pottratz continued.
In addition to this fall conference, the club will take another trip to the state-wide MUN meeting at UNI in April. Be sure to follow @pvmodelun on Instagram to keep up with everything the club is doing!
