Global Studies student wins diplomacy award

Rebecca Sangster-Kelly knows about the power of persuasion and backroom deals.

She won third place for Best Diplomat at a Model United Nations (UN) conference organized by the University of British Columbia's International  Relations student organization.

“I represented Tuvalu on the World Bank Committee,” said Sangster-Kelly, a third-year Global Studies student at Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo. “Tuvalu is part of a group of nine islands in the Pacific, halfway between Australia and Hawaii, with a population of under 12,000.”

The annual Model United Nations conference brings together 300 high school and post-secondary students from Western Canada and the United States who represent various countries on committees replicating United Nations multilateral forums. Student diplomats debate and negotiate world issues ranging from illegal invasions of countries, to Aids, to sex trafficking. 

Eight Malaspina students, most from the Global Studies program, took part in the diplomatic exercise.

“We learned how an international body like the United Nations operates, and what it takes to be a diplomat,” said Sangster-Kelly. “There’s a lot of backroom dealing that goes on.”

Late at night in her hotel room, Sangster-Kelly wrote a resolution on a particular issue. She got up early Sunday morning and approached delegates en route to breakfast to solicit their support. “I got 20 countries on side with the resolution,” she said. “That’s how diplomacy works. It doesn’t always take place in meeting rooms.”

Sangster-Kelly “absolutely loved” attending the Model United Nations conference “especially debating world issues, lobbying, networking and getting things accomplished. “This experience definitely helped me form decisions about my future career path,” she said, adding that she may consider a career in international relations.

Global Studies Student Association President Emily Harrison and Vice-President Jeffery Vance organized the Malaspina group’s attendance at the Model UN conference, and took part themselves. Harrison said students spent hours of free time over the Christmas break preparing for their roles at the conference, writing background papers on world issues and researching countries they were assigned to represent.

Vance represented Italy as a member of the international media. “I attended all committee sessions and learned a lot about world issues and how international diplomacy works,” he said. “It was a great experience."

Dr. Schittecatte thinks that Model United Nations conferences are a valuable complement to her classroom material. “Model United Nations conferences definitely provide a different learning experience that enriches students’ understanding of world politics, and engages their interest in particular issues,” said Schittecatte. “It can be a life-changing experience for students. I always encourage my students to attend conferences such as this. It provides an opportunity to show them that what we study in International Relations and Global Studies can be applied in the real world and lead to interesting careers.”