LePolytechnicien.org

Although the concept is totally unknown in Tunisia, Model United Nations (MUN) would offer an excellent training platform for Tunisian youth. It is never late to jump on the bandwagon though and build on the experience of pioneering countries. Just like flight simulators for pilots in training, Model United Nations is a series of simulation exercises of actual United Nations sessions in different committees. Be it the General Assembly, the Security Council, the UNESCO, The UNICEF to name just a few, “young participants must employ a variety of communication and critical thinking skills in order to represent the policies of their different countries. These skills include for instance background research, public speaking, small group communications, policy analysis, active listening, negotiating, conflict resolution, note taking, and technical writing.”  

Now what single course would offer a student such a cornucopia of skills?

 MUN trains high school and college students a good deal of discipline as well. Subject to strict and multiple procedural rules, the process is confusing at the start and participants are challenged to defend the interests of their nations in an atmosphere of respect while abiding by a set of well known procedures and motions. This practice of democracy through the Double R (Rules & Rhetoric) will train hordes of young people on working in an environment of logic (or lack thereof), will enable them to grasp the necessity of mutual respect even when the hierarchy of values is different and will pave the way towards a truly “politics-literate” society. Not only can those interested in pursuing a career in diplomacy find a large set of skills to acquire but also those aspiring to be leaders in all walks of life from prospective teachers to engineers, business people, journalists, etc.

 The concept is appealing in Tunisia in that it does not require substantial resources…only a nucleus of individuals who can launch a nationwide initiative in high schools and colleges. Such initiative would be ideally implemented in the form of local clubs in high schools and universities with students administering procedures form A to Z and meeting preferably on a weekly basis. Obviously there will be a strong need for supervisors, people with a solid background in International Relations, International Law, Political Sciences and Communication. Since the experience will be brand new, the Ministry of External Affairs as well as the departments of international relations can team up to fund travel/accommodation expenses for selected teams to compete abroad in order to gain sharper skills and to train more people in their turn. Over 90,000 students take part in Model United Nations Conferences in the USA and more than 400 MUN conferences are scheduled worldwide all year long.

As the UN SG is a rotating position between continents, Africa has to wait for a few more decades after having been represented by both Boutros Boutros Ghali and Kofi Anan. Plenty of time to harness this Model United Nations tool and train a generation or two of young aspiring and talented Tunisians out of which someone with the required traits, experience, a bit of luck and a lot of support from here and there can hopefully emerge and “shake” that house of glass again. What better way to raise the profile of the land of Hannibal (a second-to-none war general but also a savvy diplomat himself)? What better way to help bolster foreign investments in the land of Kairouan, an environment of peace and trust and an oasis of moderation and openness. Clearly diplomacy is more than just selecting the color of one’s necktie in the morning.

 A Tunisian UN Secretary General – armed with at least three (Arabic, English and French) out of the six UN official languages (the three others being Spanish, Mandarin and Russian) will definitely be in a well-placed position when pushing negotiations on the West Sahara issue between Algeria and Morocco and even the thorny Middle Eastern peace process. Did Tunisia not host the Palestinian authority back in 1982 after Yasser Arafat was ousted from Beirut on the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon while being at the same time home to several thousands of Tunisian Jews in the island of Djerba where the Synagogue of El-Ghriba is the second holiest place of worship for Jews right after Jerusalem? This land of co-existence has absolutely no conflicts or disputes with any other nation and boasts a decent experience when it comes to organizing regional/International events. Tunisia was home to the Arab league for over a decade and hosted the World Summit for Information Society in 2005 under the auspices of the UN.

Tunisian diplomats, already form a pool of fine diplomats to tap into for the ultimate UN post. They have been proving themselves in very conundrum-like conflict negotiations in places like Cambodia, Haiti and Sudan.

In the footsteps of Mongi Slim, Kamel Marjane and Hédi Annabi, no person should be non grata and for this purpose Model United Nations seem to be the right starting point…so that there will always be a UN in T-UN-ISIA!