TAMIU Hosts Laredo Model United Nations Saturday, Feb. 9

A group of nearly 50 students from Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) and the Instituto Tecnológico de Nuevo Laredo (ITNLD) will participate in a simulation of the Model United Nations (UN) Assembly Saturday, Feb. 9 from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at TAMIU’s Western Hemispheric Trade Center.

The Laredo Model United Nations, presented by the Model United Nations Society of South Texas (MUNSST) and Relaciones Exteriores ITNLD, is the first simulated event of its kind to take place at TAMIU, said Lorna Espinoza, orientation and activities coordinator for the Office of Student Orientation, Leadership and Engagement at TAMIU. The event is being organized as a practice debate before 18 TAMIU students travel to Madrid, Spain in March to take part in the Harvard WorldMUN, she added.

During two sessions scheduled throughout Saturday, students at the Laredo Model United Nations will represent a total of 44 countries and collectively work to try to solve two global issues: Immigrant Protection and Drug Trafficking in Latin America. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Laredo Model United Nations gives students a chance to practice before they go onto the bigger conference in Madrid,” Espinoza said, “It’s an opportunity for them to see how they and other students think so that they are able to broaden their opinion and vision.”

TAMIU WorldMUN delegates traveling to Spain include Jorge Jiménez, Javier Salinas, Adalberto Flores, Tabata Rodríguez Talamás, Alma Acosta, Romand Díaz, Cesar Jarero, Daniela Jiménez, Cristal Martínez, Adalberto Placeres, Cesar Villarreal Sánchez, Karina Flores, Ivan González Cantú, Rodrigo Arriaga Leija, Ivan González Ramírez, Raul Zapata Lozano, Valeria Leal and Maria Cardona. They will represent México in debating on topics such as Lethal Autonomous Weapons, Post-Genocide Reconstruction, Immigrant Protection, Secessionist States, Sustainable Development in Least Developed Countries, Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women and Latin American Drug Trafficking.

Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) is the world's most internationally diverse college-level Model UN conference, and the largest outside of the United States and Canada. Every year, 2,000+ currently enrolled university students from over 110 countries attend WorldMUN in a different location around the world. Past locations include Singapore, Puebla (México), Geneva (Switzerland), Beijing (China), Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), Taipei (Taiwan), The Hague (Netherlands), and Panama City (Panama). 

TAMIU students have participated in WorldMUN since 2006, and TAMIU delegations have attended the event worldwide.

WorldMUN provides delegates an understanding of the responsibilities and benefits of global citizenry. This gives students the opportunity to become immersed in a different cultural setting while participating in the world’s most realistic simulation of the United Nations, Espinoza concluded.

For more information, about WorldMUN, visit please contact Espinoza at 956.326.2947, email lorna.espinoza@tamiu.edu or visit tamiu.edu

For more about WorldMUN, visit www.worldmun.org/

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

MUNSST members will participate in the Laredo Model United Nations Saturday.