Earlier this year, the Acadia Alumni Association provided financial aid to help the Acadia Model United Nations Association attend for the first time the Canadian International Model United Nations (CANIMUN) conference in Ottawa, Ontario. We are happy to share with members of our alumni audience a report on their trip and the very kind and gracious response the Association received from the delegation.

From March 14th-17th, 2019, the Acadia Model United Nations Association made its first appearance at the Canadian International Model United Nations (CANIMUN) conference in Ottawa, Ontario.

This is the club’s second appearance at an international conference in two years, including the delegation sent to the National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in March of 2018. 

This year, CANIMUN focused on issues ranging from climate change, to the resettlement of refugees, to the India-Pakistan conflict over the Kashmir region. This conference also featured a unique element called “crisis”. Essentially, all delegates were connected through an app to global developments being sent out in real time to every committee. This created a sense of unity among otherwise separate committees and was by far one of the most engaging aspects of the conference.

Acadia sent six delegates this year and each and every one of us learned a great deal about diplomacy, international issues, and cooperation. Our delegation was also fortunate enough to visit three additional locations: the Czech Republic embassy, CBC National headquarters and the Canadian headquarters of Amnesty International. These three visits allowed our delegation to enhance our negotiations throughout the conference while helping to contextualize the international nature of the United Nations. 

Our club was also the recipient of two awards: the Outstanding Delegate award in the Press Corps committee, and the Honourable Delegate award in the Civil Society Network. These awards recognized exceptional performances by our delegates. Awards aside, we gained valuable experience and ideas that we hope to implement in future club activities. 

We would like to express our gratitude to both the Acadia Alumni Association and the Acadia Students’ Union for their contributions to our trip. Their support was crucial for us to be able to attend, and outgoing and incoming club executives alike would like to extend our sincerest thanks.

We are already starting to plan for another conference next year and look forward to continuing to represent Acadia to the best of our abilities.

Pictured: The Acadia Model United Nations Association Ottawa delegation.