Be It Resolved: Greenwood’s 2019 Delegation Had a Banner Year at SOMA!

5/29/2019

Written by Mark Auger and Charles Jennings

Over 20 Greenwood students spent three days attending the Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly (SOMA) at the end of April. SOMA is one of the oldest and largest Model UN conferences in North America, attended annually by over 600 delegates.

Over the past 15 years, Greenwood has built a strong reputation at SOMA, and this year’s participants continued in this tradition. Most participants this year were new to the Model United Nations format but this did not deter them from rising to the challenge!

Students represented 5 countries:

France (Sean Trotter ‘21, Marinah Farah ‘20, Caitlin Barnett ‘19, Andrew Poltoranos ‘20, Madison Gordon ‘20, Jonah Greenhut ‘21, Zachary Halpern ‘20)
Mali (Abby Holmen ‘21, Gabrielle Posehn ‘19, Molly Ahmed ‘21, Jackson Cowie ‘20)
Ireland (Bridget Neal ‘20, Nicole Moskovitch ‘20, Sydney Acton ‘20)
Iraq (Nev Gowland ‘20, Georgia Hogarth-Rosmus ‘20)
Gabon (Andrew Simpson ‘20).

Greenwood delegates worked in a variety of simulated UN committees with students from other schools toward passing resolutions that addressed a variety of world issues up for debate.

Three students also took on the added challenge of participating in specialized committees. Lisa Fireman ‘22 played the role of Albrecht von Roon in the Joint Crisis Committee, which simulated German Unification in 1871. Justin Nashman ‘20 played the role of Prussia in the Historical Crisis focusing on the Industrial Revolution. Daniel Navarro-Degiorgio ‘21 played the role of Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf in the NBA special committee.

The students prepared position papers on various global issues of international consequence and practiced their analytical and debating skills, while also learning the delicate art of negotiation and compromise when discussing those issues at the conference. The students worked hard during a busy time of the year, and should be congratulated for taking on this extra-curricular project.

Teacher supervisors Mr. Jennings and Mr. Auger were both proud of and impressed by the effort by all of this year’s delegates. Be it resolved: Greenwood was well-represented this year and it is safe to say that there is considerable promise for the future!

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We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and as settlers, we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.