The 2023 UWindsor team at the Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C. Kayla Jakobszen, Jana Jandal Alrifai, Sona Regonda, Anastasia Kulaga, and Tim Brunet.
A team of UWindsor students who will represent Bangladesh at a Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C. this November is seeking guidance from citizens of that country attending or working at the University.
The students, drawn from participants in the UWill Discover Sustainable Futures Project, will join nearly 2,000 delegates from around the world to learn about the United Nations, human development, and diplomacy through mock sessions of the General Assembly, Human Rights Council, International Organization for Migration, United Nations Children’s Fund, and United Nations Environment Assembly.
Tim Brunet, chair of the UWill Discover project, says he is delighted with the 10 talented members of the team.
“Our students have lived experiences in four of six continents and come from faculties across campus,” he notes.
The delegates are:
- Anastasia Kulaga, history and political science
- Eric Joshi, political science
- Faadel Asfari, business
- Femi Soluade, political science
- Jana Jandal Alrifai, environmental studies
- Kennedy Murray, education
- Linda Nguyen, integrative biology
- Malaka Asfari, sociology and criminology
- Sona Regonda, integrative biology
- Yoha Llacza Chavez, business
In portraying the delegation from Bangladesh, the team must represent the positions of that nation’s government in discussions. To that end, members hope to hear the perspectives of local Bangladeshis.
To provide some thoughts, contact Dr. Brunet at tbrunet@uwindsor.ca.
The team will also host an event at the Faculty of Law on Nov. 2. Students who participate in UWill Discover activities can compete to be on the team next year. Registration will begin in September. Find further information about the project on its website.
Biology major Sona Regonda, the 2024 head delegate, also participated in last year’s conference.
“Preparing boils down to researching to understand a country’s values and goals,” Regonda says. “I am excited to engage our diverse UWindsor community and learn from different perspectives and experiences: the real purpose of Model United Nations.”