Seven Ghanaian Senior High School (SHS) students have received awards for their performance at the just-ended Altitude Model United Nations Conference, 2023 in New York, USA.

Among the seven winners, two received the Secretary General’s Award whiles five received the Best Improvement Award at the conference.

Robert C. Arthur, from Adisadel College and Selorm K. Kumodor, from Presbyterian Boys, Legon (Presec) both delegates representing China received the Secretary General’s Award.

Williet Kofie, delegate of China from Wesley Girls; Obaapa Nyamekye and Lois Ashong Mettle, both delegates of Iran from Christian High; Noella Ayesu, delegate of Croatia from Achimota Senior High and Nana Ama Yeboah, delegate of Croatia from Legacy Girls Senior High school also won the Best Improvement Award at the conference.

These seven students were part of a group of 29 students from Ghana, who participated in the Altitude Model United Nations Conference 2023.

They were assigned countries to represent at the conference in line with UN procedures and debated on various topics during the committee sessions.

The delegates were present on the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee of the UN General Assembly, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) committees.

This gave them the opportunity to share their ideas and solutions to problems such as food insecurity, climate change, and the energy crisis; digital safety in the Metaverse; the social, humanitarian, and cultural consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine among other pressing issues

In an interview, Selorm K. Kumodor, a participating delegate from PRESEC, said “meeting with other delegates from around the world has been exciting and educative, and interacting with diplomats and high-profile personalities was a great inspiration”.

The students were part of the delegation of Life-Link Friendship Schools, pioneers of Model United Nations Conferences in Ghana.

The 2023 Altitude Model United Nations Conference is one of the many international Model UN conferences that Life-Link Friendship Schools has participated in over the past 20 years.

Speaking on the awards, the Executive Director of Life-Link Friendship Schools, Ernest Gyimah- Danquah, said this experience is part of effort to expose young Ghanaian students to United Nations-level diplomacy and to build their public speaking and debate skills while networking with other students from diverse backgrounds in the USA.

The students were from various Senior High Schools including Presbyterian Boys Senior High, Achimota High, Mfansipim High, Wesley Girls High, Adisadel College, Christian High, St. Augustine’s High, Aggrey Memorial High, Legacy Girls College, St Peter’s, St Rose’s, and Accra Academy Senior High School.

As part of their activities, participants got the opportunity to visit the United Nations Headquarters, Ghana’s High Commission in New York, Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty and Times Square in New York City.