Greenwood Sends Delegates to the Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly

Be it resolved that this year's Greenwood participation in the Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly (SOMA) was an overwhelming success. SOMA is a multi-day model UN simulation that Greenwood has attended for over 15 years. Student delegates are assigned countries and attend the conference as members of different UN committees, where they have the opportunity to debate and discuss many of the important issues that the world faces today.

The students’ commitment to this club was substantial. In November, MUN Club members wrote an application for acceptance into SOMA. In February, all club members received acceptance into SOMA, and in March they learned of their country assignments. Each student delegate completed a position paper outlining necessary for participation at SOMA. This year, Greenwood represented South Africa, New Zealand, Lebanon, Latvia, and Kazakhstan.

At the assembly, our students had a wonderful opportunity to learn UN protocol, practice the art of diplomacy and interact with other like-minded students from high schools from across the province. Callum Stirton ‘18 has attended SOMA for each of his 4 years while at Greenwood. In his final year as a SOMA delegate, he sat on the UN Security Council as the delegate from New Zealand. An avid debater, Callum notes that his experience at SOMA has allowed him to explore pertinent international issues while developing his skills working collaboratively with, rather than competitively against, other students.  Sean Trotter ‘21 participated in SOMA for the first time this year. As a grade 9 student new to Model UN, Sean enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a simulation with other students who shared his interests, while also allowing him the opportunity to refine his public speaking.

The event was capped off by inspiring talks at the SOMA opening and closing ceremonies, and a dinner and formal dance at the Toronto Hyatt. Greenwood delegates also took in a celebratory team lunch at the Prenup Pub, featuring their famous Croque Monsieur - a perennial favourite!

All told, this year’s delegates did a wonderful job representing Greenwood at SOMA.

Congratulations to all involved!