UNSW students win big at UN conference

Debating how to address the issue of mental health in regions of conflict and the prevalence of adolescent smoking in developing nations has won Andrew Shim a prestigious Diplomacy Award at a high profile model United Nations conference.

Andrew, a second-year Medicine student, co-led with third-year Law student Anneke Pol a delegation of 24 UNSW students to participate in this year’s World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) conference in Melbourne, hosted by Harvard University.

Fellow UNSW UN Society members Ashley Breckenridge, Natasha Butorac, Ashna Taneja, Vivien Nguyen and Darren Ou Yong also won Diplomacy Awards, making UNSW the best performing delegation overall.  

“The multiple wins for UNSW was unprecedented. Past winners of the Diplomacy Awards include students from Georgetown [US] and Sciences Po [Paris], so we felt extremely proud of ourselves,” Andrew says.

WorldMUN gives students the opportunity to assume the position of a United Nations delegate and to represent a Member State in committees and forums.

Diplomacy Awards recognise the best performing delegate in each committee, and are conferred at the conclusion of the five-day conference.

Winning a Diplomacy Award, Andrew says, “is like winning the Olympics, it’s highly competitive”.

This year, more than 2000 students from 65 countries participated in the conference, and were given the challenge of researching their respective committee’s topics to engage in high-level debate with their peers.

Representing the World Health Organisation (WHO), Andrew debated how the committee might devise mental health treatment strategies in conflict zones and what role the organisation should play in informing adolescents of the danger of smoking.

“Originally, these conferences were just a hobby. But now I can see myself working at the World Health Organisation. It would be a nice crossover with my studies.

“I enjoy the conferences for the challenges they pose. You step outside your comfort zone and talk about controversial topics, all the while networking and negotiating – skills you’ll need for your future,” he says.

Media Contact: Cassie Chorn, UNSW Media Office |  02 9385 8107