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ABOUT THE MODEL ARAB LEAGUE PROGRAM
• Brief History of the Model Arab League Program
• Profile, Vision, and Mission of the National Counil on U.S.-Arab Relations
• Teaching Islamic and Middle East Politics: The Model Arab League as a Learning Venue, Journal of Political Science (.pdf)
• Model Arab League in the News
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MODEL ARAB LEAGUE
In 1983, student delegations representing 20 schools gathered at Georgetown
University in Washington, D.C. to participate in what they assumed would be a
one-time simulation. Little did they know then that, over the next 27 years,
the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations' Model Arab League (MAL) would grow
to the point where 14 Models would be held annually throughout grassroots
America. These January-through-September events include approximately 2,000
students, 200 universities and secondary schools, hundreds of faculty advisers,
and are held in 11 cities each year. Since that first year, over 28,000 students have
participated in MAL.
The Models have no peer as a proven effective way to discover and promote
excellence among America's leaders of tomorrow. They offer students an
unsurpassed opportunity to acquire and develop practical leadership skills
directly related to the United States and one of the world's most vital regions.
In the process, students learn about the most important social, economic,
cultural, and political issues facing Arab leaders and ordinary citizens.
Representing one of the Arab League's 22 member-states, student delegates work
to achieve consensus on questions with which real-life diplomats wrestle daily. They
write, debate, and pass resolutions that seek to resolve some of the Arab
countries' most difficult challenges. The dynamics and interactive nature of the
role-playing among the students stimulate critical thinking, heighten
creativity, expand knowledge, and cultivate understanding as no book, video, or
coursework ever could.
Participation in a Model is of value to all students regardless of their
academic major. It matters little if at all whether their school has an academic
course offering on the Arab countries, the Middle East, or the Islamic world.
Students gain invaluable firsthand leadership experience and hands-on training.
They acquire this through the Model's constant challenges and interaction in
the course of public discussion, the application of time management skills, the
use of parliamentary procedure, and the dynamics of debating, writing, and
editing. All this occurs under pressure and tight deadlines that mirror the
actual realities and tensions inherent in the give-and-take that comes with
activism in public affairs.
In experiencing how a resolution they have prepared succeeds or fails on the
basis of whether their fellow delegates find its rationale sufficiently
persuasive, student delegates also refine their interpersonal skills. At the
final session, adult judges with experience in international relations announce
the names of individual students and delegations whose performance has earned
them highly coveted awards. These and other student participants are provided
priority consideration for partial scholarships in the National Council's
language and area studies academic programs in the Arab world.
At the end of any Model, all delegates come away having practiced and improved
considerably the kinds of skills that will serve them well all their life in any
field they pursue. This one-of-a-kind practical experience brings students and
their faculty advisers back year after year.
Model Arab League is the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations' gateway to other university
and high school leadership development programs, including study abroad programs at the Yemen Language Center and Lebanese-American University in Beirut, and summer and academic year internships in Washington, DC.
MODEL ARAB LEAGUE IN THE NEWS
2010
Newslines Newsletter - Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations, May 22, 2010
Girls participate in 2010 National High School Model Arab League - The Madeira School News, April 19, 2010
Campus Group Participates in Model League - Daily Nexus (University of California, Santa Barbara), April 16, 2010
Hood Present at the National Model Arab League Conference - Blue and Grey Today (Hood College), April 15, 2010
Model Arab League places first in nation - The Huntington News (Northeastern University), April 15, 2010
Cal State San Bernardino's Model Arab League team earns top award at conference - Cal State San Bernardino News, April 14, 2010
LU students take first in Model Arab League conference - Lamar University News, April 12, 2010
Army Excellence Newsletter - United States Military Academy at West Point, April 9, 2010 (.pdf)
Students represent YCP at National University Model Arab League - York College of Pennsylvania, April 8, 2010
Students celebrate 10th year of winning 'Outstanding Delegation Award' during Model Arab League Program - University of Michigan - Dearborn News, April 2, 2010
Adrian College Makes National Model Arab League Conference - Adrian College News, March 18, 2010
Students Work to Resolve Conflicts in the Arab World - The Metropolitan (Metro State College of Denver), February 25, 2010
Students travel to Grand Valley State University to discuss politics - The College World (Adrian College), February 25, 2010
Morocco's ambassador to the United States to speak at GSU - Georgia State University News, February 24, 2010
Model Arab League opens minds of participants to culture and politics - The Lariat (Baylor University), January 26, 2010
Redden Reports on the National Model Arab League - DosCentavos.net, January 4, 2010
2009
Aggies Celebrate Year Two at the Model Arab League - International Focus, Texas A&M University, December 21, 2009
A Voice for the Middle East at Hood College - Blue and Grey Today (Hood College), December 11, 2009
Students Renew Tradition at Model Arab League - University of Massachusetts Lowell eNews, November 27, 2009
Professor hopes to spread knowledge of Middle East to students, community - The Frederick News-Post, October 31, 2009
Change Through Debate - Inside Higher Ed, October 5, 2009
The world as classroom - news @ Northeastern University, August 17, 2009
Students Recognized during Model Arab League Simulation - Oklahoma Baptist University Press Release, June 15, 2009
Miami Grad Receives Fulbright Study Grant - Archbold Buckeye, June 10, 2009
Converse scholar overcame tragedy to become a leader - GoUpstate.com, May 16, 2009
Newslines Newsletter - Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations, May 15, 2009
Marshall Model UN Club Wins Top Honors - McLean Connection, April 29, 2009
Model Arab League lets students run Middle East -- for a weekend - The Frederick News-Post, April 9, 2009
Mercer's Model Arab League Delegation Wins National Championship - Mercer University News, April 7, 2009
Model Arab League program offers college students political debate opportunities - The Daily Telegram, April 4, 2009
Model Arab League team gets lesson in diplomacy - The Gardner-Webb University Pilot, March 25, 2009
Model Arab League wins as Bahrain - The Michigan Journal, March 24, 2009
Hope Students Participate in Model Arab League - Hope College Press Release, February 25, 2009
Bouquets and Brickbats - The Beaumont Enterprise, February 20, 2009
2008
Model UN and Model Arab League teams excel at regional conference (.pdf) - Georgia State University Press Release, November 25, 2008
Lamar students explore Arab diplomatic strategies - Lamar University News, April 10, 2008
Converse tops model Arab league - Spartanburg Herald Journal, April 3, 2008
Students participate in Model Arab League - The Echo Online (Mount St. Mary's University), April 1, 2008
Students represent Kuwait, Libya at Model Arab League - The Crusader (Spring Arbor University), February 28, 2008
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