Power, Diplomacy and Influence
International relations and politics were the driving force behind the UNYouthNT Territory Conference 2018. There was impressive representation from Darwin High School students who made up over a third of the total number of delegates.
By Year 12 student Sam Roussos, Year 12
From March 9 -11, I along with 50 or so other students, participated in the UN Youth NT Territory Conference. The theme of the conference was power, diplomacy and influence, and it consisted of workshops over the three days, ending with a Mock General Assembly. The workshops were a great opportunity to explore the ways in which nations utilise power and influence, in order to achieve their goals. On the last day, each student was assigned a country, creating a small version of the United Nations General Assembly. Acting as delegates on behalf of our country, we were provided with resolutions that were debated across the floor to conclude whether to pass or block the proposed resolution. The day required diplomacy and negotiation, to persuade nations to sign your amendments and align themselves with your beliefs. Overall the weekend was extremely enjoyable, and I gained some very useful knowledge, making new friends along the way.
Pictured above: students Andrew Northcote, Braeden Parnell, Arragon Prosser. Pictured below Joel Keith.
Pictured below: Arragon Prosser and Braeden Parnell.
Pictured above: Shaun Thomas. Pictured below: Andrew Northcote
Congratulations to the students listed below for their contributions to the Conference:
Braeden Parnell
Nuhansi Wijesinghe
Andrew Northcote
Evan Keith
Asara Weerasekara
Kimberley Stevens
Samuel Roussos
Ava Wilmore
Julia Abreu
Joel Keith
Jade Lay
Gianne Falsis
Ramanjot Kaur
Shaun Thomas
Francesca Louise Lagman
Kayan Teng
Anjali Menon
Lea Lim
Sharon John
Arragon Prosser
In addition, most of the organizers were recent graduates of DHS, delegates themselves from 2015 – 2017.
Members of the 2018 NT Delegation to the National Conference should be selected in the near future.
In September/October, UNYouthNT runs its second major event for the year: the Evatt Trophy. Once again, delegates represent a country, this time in pairs and before a Mock Security Council. Any students who missed out this time can register for Evatt early in September.