This week is exciting for the UW Model Arab League club, as the Rocky Mountain Model Arab League Conference will be taking place this weekend here at UW. The conference is scheduled for February 13-15th with events beginning February 13th at the Opening Ceremony.
Model Arab League is a debate-style conference similar to Model UN in which students from around the world learn about and act as representatives of one of the Arab League’s 22 member states. The conference is held by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) and is part of around 14 Model Arab League conferences each year throughout the United States. It allows students to gain speaking and debating skills while learning about the importance of international relations.
“Students learn how to be diplomats, to read, write, debate et cetera,” said Delaney Leslie, Director of Student Programs at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. “There are around 14 regional conferences around the United States, where these schools attend and prepare for Nationals at the university or high school level.”
The event here at UW is one of the regional preparatory conferences for the national University conference which will take place April 3rd-6th in Washington D.C.
The Model Arab League and Arabic Studies programs provide students with opportunities to gain a broader perspective and use it to fuel their future endeavors.
“It helps students who want to work on the international level, be diplomats, work in politics, or even have a frank discussion about what’s happening in the news and be able to understand the history and the background of it,” Leslie said.
Rowan Kelly, a member of the Model Arab League Club shared why this is important for students.
“It offers a lot of opportunity to students through competitions and travel that classes themselves can’t always offer,” Kelly said. “It’s a very good way to expose students like me to different things that Wyoming doesn’t really offer.”
Arielle d’Arge, Lieutenant General for the conference and treasurer/secretary for the club at UW explained why international education is important, and how the Model Arab League provides it here on campus.
“Our political climate has gotten so divisive and combative and I think having this type of education and learning how to do this type of diplomacy is important so people can learn how to come together and learn how to talk to each other and focus on compromise rather than fighting each other,” d’Arge said.
Hosting the event is important for UW, as it allows the university to display its passion for international education and to recruit students at all levels.
“I think it’s very helpful for people like me in the International Studies department because it brings a wide array of different minds and other students and personalities from different places that normally wouldn’t be here,” Kelly said.
As the only Model Arab League conference in this part of the country, UW plays a special role as the host for the event.
“It brings national and international attention to Wyoming and the University of Wyoming”, d’Arge said. “It lets our students get a bigger picture of global politics and a broader perspective and to learn more about what’s going on in the world.”
