By CANDICE MADSEN
BYU students are using their classroom experience to lobby at special U.N. conferences.
After participating in BYU’s Model United Nations program, law school student Bill Perry, 25, had the opportunity to lobby at a real U.N. conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
“Honestly there is not that much difference. As a student you do not feel the weight or seriousness like you do when you are at the real thing, but the same dynamics come into play,” Perry said.
In 1996 BYU law professor Richard Wilkins was told about a U.N. conference in Istanbul which threatened to devalue status of the family. Participants at the conference proposed adopting legal norms in such areas as abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriages.
Through a series of miraculous events Wilkins said he was able to address the session and change some very important language in the agenda.
“I came back with a very profound realization that the Proclamation on the Family to the World is really modern day scripture and comes at a time when it is sorely in need. People no longer believe in the sanctity of the family,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins said he proposed taking the resources of the university to create an organization that would not only try to teach the importance of the family, but also get involved in the policy debate.
Aware of BYU’s Model United Nations program, Wilkins contacted the director, Cory Leonard.
MUN teaches students skills of diplomacy, research, writing, public speaking and resolution writing, and prepares them to compete in a national UN mock session held in New York City.
Leonard and Wilkins collaborated to create NGO Family Voice.
NGO Family voice is a non-governmental organization which lobbies for traditional family values at U.N. conferences all over the world. The group has already attended conferences in Geneva, Switzerland; Nairobi, Kenya; and New York City.
So far NGO Family Voice has inserted and maintained pro-family language and continues promising negotiations with Eastern European, Asian and Arab countries for new ways to protect the traditional family in society and at the U.N.
Leonard, who has been involved with MUN for the eight years, said he always assumed there was a correlation between the program and what was actually done at the U.N., but after attending his first conference in Kenya he was amazed at the direct correlation.
“Our students learn skills that are more intense and more polished than some of the delegates at the U.N.,” Leonard said.
Leonard said his experience has changed the way he teaches the class because now he knows how the theory and practice fit together.
“It has taken us to a new level because we are at the real level. Our students are preparing for Nationals and then for U.N. conferences,” Leonard said.
Desmond Eppel, 23, majoring in English, is preparing to attend the last two weeks of the Convention on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.
Eppel said he had always dreamed of becoming involved in international relations on an abstract level and planned on doing something “real” in the future.
“I’ve been amazed through MUN and now through NGO Family Voice to realize how directly the theory is and how well prepared we really are,” Eppel said.
NGO Family voice recently hosted Romanian Ambassador Pavel Suian. Suian told the MUN delegation representing Romania at nationals that determination is a key attribute of any diplomat.
Meeting with Suian was a great opportunity for Romanian student Bogdan Banu, 22, an international studies major, who plans on entering the same career.
At first Bogdan did not believe the team would really be representing Romania, but is excited by the opportunity.
After talking with Suian, Bogdan said he gained a lot of insight on how real politics and the back stage of the U.N. works.
“Even politicians can be real people,” Bogdan said.
Both Wilkins and Leonard are amazed at the success they have had, but they said there is an urgent need for the work to continue.
Wilkins said that the work the NGO Family Voice is doing is crucial, and many people can and should get involved.
“I am convinced more and more each day that we have to re-invigorate and revitalize the world’s families,” Wilkins said.
NGO Family Voice continues to monitor, lobby and represent its views at U.N. conferences and meetings.
The MUN team leaves Friday for New York City to compete at the National MUN Conference.
