East Mountain High School students win international diplomacy award at UN simulation

NEW YORK — East Mountain High School students Andrew Procter and Alexis Smith won the Award of Merit at the world’s largest high school Model United Nations conference this week.

The duo earned the honor for their outstanding performance in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee while representing Cote d’Ivoire at the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) conference.

Procter and Smith were part of an East Mountain delegation that joined more than 6,000 participants from over 70 countries. During the weeklong simulation of the U.N., students debated and negotiated pressing global issues, including lethal autonomous weapons systems, the global brain drain and the human right to freedom of religion.

The award was the culmination of months of research into the West African nation’s background and policy positions. To prepare for their committee topics, the students met via Zoom with the Diplomatic Mission of Cote d’Ivoire prior to the event.

Organized by the nonprofit IMUNA, NHSMUN has convened thousands of students annually since 1975 to practice U.N. diplomacy, negotiate solutions to international problems and foster global understanding.

Joining the award-winning duo on the trip were teachers- Michael Jamison and Lennon Cuevas and Students- Alex Tulskikh, Malcolm Boyce, Soli Martinez and Aleks Manga.