Model Arab League

2017 Model Arab League

This year, our delegates traveled to the University of Nevada at Reno, where we enjoyed excellent Nevada hospitality, as well as an energized conference that focused on many of the contemporary issues in the Middle East.  We had three country assignments this time: Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.  Students had to confront the refugee crisis, the Syrian civil war, the proliferation of small arms as well as the issue of cybersecurity, among other issues.

From left to right, SFSU's delegates were: Sara Loenegard, Rachael Cunningham, Christopher Norman, Frederick Acker, Benjamin Klass, Lucia Volk, Jacquelin Foley, Evan Gothelf, Megan Giovannetti, Shari Garrett.

The Social Affairs Council delegates in unmoderated caucus mode.

The Political Affairs Council delegates debating a draft resolution.

Please note that Model Arab League will not be offered during the 2017-18 academic year.  If you have questions, please contact lvolk@sfsu.edu.

 

2016 Model Arab League - both national and regional

For the first time in 2016, SF State was invited to participate in the National University Model Arab League, held every April at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  We had a challenging assignment: the Comoros Islands!  All 12 delegates dressed in their diplomatic best and headed into their councils for debate and resolution drafting. 

From left to right: Chris Fagioli, Darren Singh, Sergio Torres, Lucia Volk, Julia Spencer, Nouf Aloufi, Jehan Hakim, Fatema Sarwari, Anas Elallame, Sam Walsh, Alexandra von Durak, and Rafik Belhocine.

Before the conference itself, we attended a two-hour policy briefing with Mr. Nail Al-Jubeir, Director of Information at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (4th from the right above) who was quite frank in answering our many questions about Saudi foreign policy.  Photo below: self-timed in the lobby of the embassy.

A week later in April, Team 2016 MAL headed to Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA, where we participated as Saudi Arabia and Somalia in the regional MAL.  Congrats to all the winning delegates, as well as the joint efforts that earned SF State the Overall Distinguished Delegation Award for Saudi Arabia!  Excellent execution of all those parliamentary procedures, everyone!

 

2015 Model Arab League

A delegation of students representing the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon brought home several individual delegate awards for their excellent work on the Joint Defense Council, Political Affairs Council, and Social Affairs Council.  UC Berkeley hosted the event, and 13 delegations participated.   A big congratulations to our MAL diplomats, who caucused and voted like they had been doing this all their lives.  Congratulations!

Photos from different council sessions: Tea Jiang in conversation with a delegate from Bahrain; Brendon Novel, Martin Haldorsen, and Chris Fagioli in the Joint Defense Council; and Jesse Wai and Bryan Gambogi with their Palestinian Affairs Council.

 

 

 

2014 Model Arab League

During the 2014 MAL, our delegates brought home five individual awards and the Overall Outstanding Delegation award -- a huge accomplishment for SFSU students, most of whom attended the event for the very first time.

Photos from different council sessions from the 2014 MAL conference:  Bryan Porte, Dominic Smith and Joshua Clark in the crisis simulation of the joint Palestinian Affairs and Environmental Affairs Councils; Sergio Torres (with a delegate from hosting Santa Rosa JC) in the Joint Defense Council; Masayuki Miyatake and Amina Hakim in the Social Affairs Council.