TAMPA, FL – Close to 1,000 students from area counties are attending the
United Nations Association of the USA’s (UNA-USA) Global Classrooms® Tampa Bay Model UN Conference today at the University of South Florida. In Model UN, students role-play as representatives from countries, interest groups, and nongovernmental organizations in simulations of UN bodies.
Global Classrooms Model UN has amazed schools around the globe with its ability to cultivate global literacy, life skills, and attitudes necessary for active citizenship, showing that students deeply care about the world outside their local communities.
“My students have been participating in the Global Classrooms Model UN program for the last ten years, and the experience has been unparalleled,” said Dr. Kelly Miliziano, a social studies teacher at Steinbrenner High School in Tampa. “The academic, emotional, and social growth inherent in the process helps them continue to develop as global leaders.”
Awards recognizing Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties for their decade of partnership with Global Classrooms will be given out at the conference’s Opening Ceremonies at USF’s Marshall Center. This will be followed by a luncheon hosted by the UNA-USA Tampa Bay Chapter, where UN Foundation Senior Advisor and National Advocate Gillian Sorensen will give a talk on the United States’ role in the United Nations.
“Students’ participation in Model UN today will open doors to their futures and help them forge relationships that can last a lifetime,” said UNA-USA Executive Director Patrick Madden. “At the Tampa Bay Conference today, we are seeing tomorrow’s leaders in action, working together to solve global problems.”
Now in its 10th year, Global Classrooms Tampa Bay has more than 75 instructors teaching the curriculum to more than 3,500 students in 89 schools. Prior to this time, only four high schools participated in Model UN, and only as an extra-curricular activity.
Watch the Global Classrooms Model UN Documentary “Decorum” at http://www.unausa.org/decorum.
Tweet This: Hundreds of students are in Tampa today w/ @GCModelUN to tackle the world's toughest challenges! Learn more: http://bit.ly/zfk5qX.
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Media Contacts:
Joseph Catapano
202.496.6398
jcatapano@unausa.org
ABOUT UNA-USA
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), a program of the UN Foundation, is a membership organization dedicated to inform, inspire and mobilize the American people to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations. UNA-USA works to accomplish its mission through its national network of chapters, advocacy efforts, education programs, and public events. UNA-USA and the UN Foundation create the single largest network of advocates and supporters of the United Nations in the world. For more information on UNA-USA, visit www.unausa.org.
ABOUT GLOBAL CLASSROOMS
Global Classrooms is UNA-USA’s innovative educational program that engages middle school and high school students in an exploration of current world issues through interactive simulations and curricular materials. Global Classrooms cultivates literacy, life skills and the attitudes necessary for active citizenship. For more information on Global Classrooms, visit www.unausa.org/globalclassrooms.
ABOUT THE UN FOUNDATION
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.
