Model U.N. students return from Europe, head to Virginia

Andrew Wainer

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A group of about 20 juniors from Edison High School

headed off to Virginia this week to participate in a Model United Nations

conference at Old Dominion.

The trip comes about a week after Edison’s Model United Nations team

returned from Europe, where they represented the Huntington Beach school

at the world’s largest Model United Nations conference.

History teacher and Model United Nations club advisor Ken Ammann led the

delegation to The Hague, Netherlands, earlier this month, where the

weeklong conference took place.

“There were 3,600 kids from 91 countries,” Ammann said. “The conference

was divided into 15 committees that dealt with a variety of international

issues.”

Students were assigned to focus groups that worked together to make

recommendations on pressing international issues, such as land mines,

women’s rights and environmental concerns.

Ammann, who has been the club’s advisor for 17 years, said the exercise

in international diplomacy is good practice for students.

“You have to do college-level research,” he said. “You have to make an

oral presentation in front of thousands of people, and you have to learn

your country’s policy.”

The Edison delegation represented Finland at the conference. Although

there were no awards given at the conference, Ammann said Edison did

well.

Edison’s Model United Nations club is one of the largest in the county,

with about 300 students.

“It’s double the size when I started in 1983,” he said.

The trips to The Hague and Old Dominion are two of about 18 events he

sends club members to every year.