RPT: Chinese, U.S. students try out special program to learn about diplomacy at UN Headquarters

More than 100 high school students from China and the United States on Saturday gathered in the UN Headquarters in New York City to get a closer look at the organization through participating in an event known as Model United Nations.

Model United Nations, also known as MUN, is an educational simulation in which students role-play delegates to the UN and simulate UN committees in order to learn about diplomacy and the organization.

The students put on a debate over two heated-discussed UN topics -- post-2015 development agenda and protection of intangible cultural heritage -- during the two-day event by role- playing delegates from countries like China, India, Yemen, France.

"Through the activity, I've learned more about what is happening in the world nowadays, and I felt a strong sense of responsibility for those causes," said Gu Yizhen, a 15-year-old girl from a foreign language school in Jiangsu Province, east China.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of UN's founding, the Model United Nations efforts do carry a special significance this year, said Haoliang Xu, assistant administrator of the UN Development Program and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.

The ultimate goal for the MUN is to encourage the youth to think about major world issues and develop their potential to find innovative solutions, said one of the organizers, Wen Xuejun, who works for the UN and is the president of UN Staff Recreational Council Chinese Book Club.

"Through debate, these students can get a deeper understanding of this issues and possibly come up with better ideas to address them," said Wen. Enditem