After five years, this girl is going back to Europe!
Over
Thanksgiving break, I’ll be traveling with more than 30 students to
Olomouc, Czech Republic, for the Model United Nations conference. The
conference is exactly like it sounds. Students are given a state to
represent, and during the conference, we are divided into UN committees
to discuss important issues the world is facing today.
I know,
I’m a nerd, but I’m really looking forward to using the skills I’ve
learned in my international relations major and gaining tangible
experience in diplomacy in case I ever decide to go that route
professionally.
Along with my parter John, I will be representing
Sweden in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Together we will be researching Sweden’s efforts to
protect World Heritage sites in conflict zones and the importance of
education, science, culture, communication and information in the
post-2015 development agenda.
As a journalist, I’m really excited
about the work Sweden is doing to provide open information by
protecting journalists from attacks and supporting the creation of
independent media around the world. Although I never considered
journalism a dangerous profession, more than 1,100 journalists have been
killed since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. I
consider myself very lucky to be able to research and speak about a
topic I’m passionate about.
There’s a lot of work on the front end
of this conference, but I’ll have plenty of time to relax and explore
the Czech Republic before the conference begins. I’m flying into Prague
two days before the conference, and I’m really excited to explore what
I’ve heard is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
If you follow me on Pinterest, you probably already know how excited I am based on the
number of Prague posts I’ve pinned lately. I’ll go ahead and apologize
now for inundating your feed.
The conference is also taking
delegates on a day trip to Auschwitz, which as a history nerd, I’m super
excited about. My last stop before flying home will be in Berlin to
visit the lovely Nga Agn, whom I haven’t seen since high school. I’m
looking forward to catching up with old friends and exploring another
great European city.
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Read more from Jaime at http://jaimed03.tumblr.com/
Learn more about past Model United Nations conferences at http://waltonblog.uark.edu/2015/01/26/national-model-united-nations-rome/
