Eight students from the Office of Student Affairs' Student Leadership Program at American University of Sharjah (AUS) attended the National Model United Nations-New York (NMUN-NY) in New York, April 1-6. AUS was the only university from the Middle East that participated in this prestigious event.

NMUN-NY is the largest collegiate Model UN conference in the world. Under the theme "Hope for Lasting Peace," more than 5,000 delegates from across the world gathered to create practical solutions based on global problems. The conference included 20 committees including the Security Council, along with over 200 universities and MUN international institutions taking part.

"This platform really gave a chance to build alliances with a diverse group of people from all over the world whose thoughts and approach differs from ours and therein truly for me does the beauty of NMUN lie," said accounting major Mudassir Idris. "Additionally, the knowledge we acquired about the task at hand-whether through formal meetings or un-moderated caucuses-will certainly improve our knowledge curve and above all strengthen our skills to think as global citizens," added Idris.

"This was a wonderful experience for our students as they got to be part of a simulation of the UN and debate current world issues. Students were immersed by culture; they practiced their writing and public speaking skills and got a greater sense of global citizenship.  Having the opportunity to visit the United Nations headquarters made this experience a truly memorable one. We believe international experiences as such are healthy and aid in the development of personal and leadership skills," said Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.