Malaka AsfariUWindsor delegate Malaka Asfari won an award for Outstanding Position Paper at the National Model United Nations conference in Washington, Nov. 8 to 10.

Model United Nations team shines in Washington

The University of Windsor's UWill Discover team of 10 enjoyed success at the National Model United Nations conference, Nov. 8 to 10 in Washington, D.C. in competition with more than 900 representatives of schools from across North America and beyond.

Representing Bangladesh, the group won a Distinguished Delegates award, and criminology mater’s student Malaka Asfari won an award for Outstanding Position Paper at the International Organization for Migration meeting.

“I am proud that our delegates entered the experience with action-based listening strategies geared toward collaborative innovations,” says faculty advisor Tim Brunet.

He said head delegate Sona Regonda demonstrated exceptional leadership in setting and executing the team’s performance based on her experiences from last year’s conference.

“National Model United Nations is the best experiential learning opportunity I’ve seen for leadership training,” says Dr. Brunet. “It involves research, public speaking, writing, collaborating, diplomacy, adjusting listening positions, and having honest conversations about globally complex targets.”

The UWindsor team comprises undergraduate and graduate students who have lived on four continents. That geopolitical and academic diversity proved advantageous when proposing policy solutions to global human development challenges.

Besides Regonda and Asfari, the team included:

  • Anastasia Kulaga (history and political science)
  • Eric Joshi (political science)
  • Faadel Asfari (business)
  • Femi Rufino Soluade (political science)
  • Jana Jandal Alrifai (environmental studies)
  • Kennedy Murray (master of education)
  • Linda Nguyen (integrative biology)
  • Yohana Llacza Chavez (master of management)

Some members have been invited to vie for internship positions with the National Model United Nations organization.