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ATTENTION STUDENTS / PARENTS / EDUCATORS:

There is still plenty of time to sign up and participate in America's premier leadership development program focusing on the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world during the 2008 school year. Please read on to learn more about this educational opportunity that the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations has offered to American high school and university students since 1983.

Model Arab League is an educational activity similar to Model United Nations, but more limited and targeted in its focus and scope. It deals solely with the 22 Arab countries, not the 192 member-countries in the United Nations. Organized into five to ten-person delegations, student participants engage in debate and discussion with the goal of effectively representing a given country's foreign policy objectives in competition with students representing other Arab countries. By grappling with the foreign affairs challenges and opportunities of real-life Arab diplomats and foreign affairs practitioners, the participants are required to put themselves in the foreign policy shoes of someone from a country other than their own. The student delegates are required to learn their adopted Arab country's modern history, culture, society, economics, national politics, and public policy positions on the most pressing issues confronting Arab governments.

In Model Arab League students engage in the give and take of spirited discussion, debate, resolution-writing, and coalition-building aimed at persuading other delegations to support their positions. In the process, they acquire a range of skills that will be useful no matter what field they enter. Among the skills students learn and practice are critical thinking, chairing meetings, deciding agendas, time management, parliamentary procedure, and oral and writing skills within tight deadlines. At the conclusion of every Model awards are given to the students and delegations that were most outstanding in representing their given country's objectives and views. Model Arab League student and faculty participants are given preferential inclusion in other National Council Study Abroad Programs (for students) and the Malone Fellowship Program (for faculty).

All in all, the experience of preparing for and participating in a Model Arab League conference enables students to learn about the Arab world and its peoples in a more effective way than is possible through academic courses, lectures, films, videos, briefings, blogs, or the Internet. Students who participate in the Models find very quickly that, whatever self doubts they may have had before, they rapidly develop valuable skills in diplomacy, negotiation, analysis, argumentation, and research as well as writing and public speaking.

Model Arab League students cast their ballot for a resolution in the Social Affairs Council.

Students debate the merits of several amendments to a resolution in the Economic Affairs Council.

For University Faculty & Students:

THERE ARE MODEL ARAB LEAGUE CONFERENCES TAKING PLACE
IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS THIS YEAR:

February 20 - 23, 2008: Miami University - Oxford, OH

February 21 -23, 2008: Grand Valley State University - Allendale, MI

February 28 - March 1, 2008: Metro State College - Denver, CO

March 14 - 16, 2008: Converse College - Spartanburg, SC

March 28 - 30, 2008: National Model - Washington, DC

April 4 - 6, 2008: Pomona College - Claremont, CA

April 10 - 12, 2008: Texas Wesleyan University - Fort Worth, TX

April 10 - 12, 2008: University of Montana - Missoula, MT

November 2008: Northeastern University - Boston, MA

For High School Faculty & Students:

THERE ARE MODEL ARAB LEAGUE CONFERENCES TAKING PLACE
IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS THIS YEAR:

January 24-25, 2008: Marist School - Atlanta, GA

February 23, 2008: Regis University - Denver, CO

April 4-5, 2008: National Model - Washington, DC

Dates TBA: Northeastern University - Boston, MA

Dates TBA: Houston, TX

Students work together to draft a resolution in the Palestinian Affairs Council.

Dr. Joe Dunn (bottom left), a National Council Malone Fellow, with his Model Arab League delegation from Converse College as they display their Outstanding Delegate certificates from the National Model in Washington, DC.

FIVE EASY STEPS FOR GETTING INVOLVED
IN THE MODEL ARAB LEAGUE PROGRAM

1. Gather a group of interested students.

Model Arab League is a team activity. At most Model Arab League conferences a minimum of 5 students are needed to represent a country.

Most of the schools who currently participate in the Model Arab League Program have their delegation's organized and led by a member of their faculty, but in numerous cases students have also organized and run successful Model Arab League teams.

Potential Model Arab League participants can come from a wide range of backgrounds. Anyone interested in learning about the history, culture, religion, economics, or politics of the Middle East should be considered a candidate. Successful competitors are not exclusively found in political science or history programs. We gladly welcome people from all backgrounds and experience levels, and we find great strength in having a rich diversity of participants.

2. Register with the National Council.

Registration for Model Arab League is done through the National Council's Model Arab League Web site, and a Program Coordinator from the Council will contact you shortly after your registration has been received. Part of your registration will include submitting your team's preference for which of the 22 Arab League member nations you wish to represent. The final country assignments are made by the National Council.

You can learn specific details about upcoming conferences, including dates and locations, on the Model Arab League Web site:

www.ncusar.org/modelarableague

3. Pay the registration fees & book any travel arrangements.

The National Council collects a nominal participation fee to help offset the cost of running the Model Arab League Program. For our University Models, participation fees are $60 per country assigned and $30 per student. For our High School Models, participation fees are typically $30 per country assigned and $20 per student, though some High School Models have a reduced fee structure.

You will need to make arrangements for your delegation to travel to the Model location. Often time discounted hotel rooms are available adjacent to the conference facilities - simply check the Model Arab League Web site or contact the National Council for details.

4. Research your assigned country's positions and practice using parliamentary procedures.

Before you attend a Model Arab League conference your delegation will want to research your assigned country's views on the topics to be discussed. It is also helpful to run mock council sessions in order to familiarize yourself with the rules of parliamentary procedure. Each conference will debate issues found in the Model Arab League Agenda, which you will find on the Model Arab League Web site. The Model Arab League Web site also contains links that can be helpful in starting your research.

5. Attend the Model Arab League conference.

Model Arab League conferences begin with a Plenary Session, where delegates adopt a Provisional Agenda for the Model's five councils. During Council Sessions delegates draft, debate, and vote on resolutions reflecting their countries' positions. The resolutions that pass through the councils are presented at the Summit Session, a final meeting of all the delegates where resolutions either pass or fail a final review. Awards are given at the conclusion of the Summit Session to both outstanding individuals and delegations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Email: Mark@ncusar.org

or call the National Council at
(202) 293-6466
and talk to Ms. Megan Geissler.

Students from Kennesaw State University visit the Embassy of Lebanon in preparation to represent Lebanon at the National Model Arab League in Washington, DC.

All text, photographs, and graphics are copyrighted by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, 1730 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (202) 293-6466 - Fax: (202) 293-7770

www.ncusar.org