UN Ceremony: Secretary of State Kerry
signs Paris Climate Accord.
Kremlin Ceremony: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kerson and Zaporizhia join Russia.
USS Gerald Ford (foreground).
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Whither America? Whither the UN? What leadership is better suited to tackle "soft" global matters, including climate, health and unrest? Dare America enter all the more deeply into a new order of regional blocs? What is the best way to keep the peace vis-a-vis China, Russia, Iran and North Korea?
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How The Conferences Work
Issues The Conferences Address
Certificate Of Achievement
Those who complete one or several of the simulations, including participating at the Conference, receive a beautiful and valuable Certificate Of Achievement! Share this Certificate with college admissions or potential employers.
Compositions Of The Simulated Government(s)
The simulated government(s) consists of:–
* High School Students (Junior Members), 10 per committee.
* College Students (Senior Members), Committee Chairs
* SDI Faculty, Other Faculty (Senior-most Members)
Everyone, including senior and senior-most members, have speaking and voting privileges. Everyone is free to take any position, although senior-most members tend to speak and act in ways meant to stir creativity.
Pre-Conference Briefings
Before the start of a conference, the registered college and high school participants receive highly realistic briefings. These briefings rely heavily upon primary sources. There is a briefing book of several pages, recorded lecture of upwards of 3 hours and live, pre-conference Question Period of 1 to 2 hours. Participants are briefed in a similar way that actual members of government are briefed–or ought to be briefed!
A student could rely on the pre-conference briefings alone, and contribute in the conference and enjoy the experience. If a student undertakes some research on their own in advance of the conference, so much the better! (Furthermore, an individual committee or even the entire conference may go into recess and undertake research, from time to time.)
The conveying of information becomes more and more sophisticated and more and more interactive, as the experience unfolds.
How A Conference Functions In General Terms
The conference is like a study group that is moving toward an incredible finalé. There are debates. There is an attempt to move resolutions this way or that. Yet, the sum of all the interactions builds toward the solution of one or more major problems.
Participants spend most of their time in committee, in part in order to maximize each participants’ speaking time. Plenary sessions occur but are kept brief. There is opportunity to transfer from one committee to another. Caucuses convene from time to time. Suspense builds. The final resolution often takes everyone by surprise!
The conference takes place in three phases. The first phase divides among the pre-conference briefings and the pre-conference, assigned work that individual members of the government undertake. Example. Student X requests to be on a certain committee at the start of the conference. He or she, at their discretion, may undertake some fact-finding prior to the conference and may resolve to recommend a course of action to their assigned committee.
The second phase consists of the work of the committees. Opening speeches are made. Questions are posed. Caucusing may take place. Votes are taken on proposals at the committee level. Ultimately, the essence of each committee’s deliberations are shared with all the other committees.
In the third phase, new committees on organized. The central issue(s) of the conference is tackled.
Opening Speeches
Each participant is asked but not required to submit a speech of no more than 500 words in advance of the conference. This speech addresses the particular problem that was assigned in advance.
Opening speeches divide into two parts. The first part of such a speech presents a proposition about reality and is substantiated. The second part recommends and substantiates a course of action. Opening speeches are heard in committee; proposed actions are discussed and voted upon at the committee level.
A Curriculum Of One Simulation Or Two
Each simulation is designed to stand on its own. The combination of the two simulations provides a panoramic view of much of the major developments on the world stage. Initial assignments are on a first come, first serve basis. As the Conference progresses, positions and roles change, at the participants’ discretions.
High Stakes Climate Policy
This first conference tackles climate change, in broad terms. It addresses the following questions: Is climate change driven more by nature or man? Is it the root cause of pandemics or not? Is it necessary to roll back, in massive fashion, the use of fossil-fuel energy? Is it necessary to alter the atmosphere, in order to cool the earth? Moreover, should the US Senate stand by the Paris Climate Accord or insist that the US withdraw from the Accord?
This Climate-Change Conference begins as SDI’s “new kind of Model UN” and evolves into SDI’s “new kind of Model Congress.” In the first phase, you are assigned a country or UN committee or nongovernmental committee. You gather facts and see things from your assigned point of view and ultimately report to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Later, you switch roles and take your place in the US Senate.
Arc of War
This conference grapples with the geopolitics of Eurasia. It attempts to expedite a responsible end to the Russo-Ukraine War. It tries to keep the peace in the Persian Gulf and to keep Saudia Arabia aligned with the West and not with Communist China. It comes to the defense of Taiwan.
This second conference also begins as SDI’s “new kind of Model UN” and evolves into SDI’s “new kind of Model Congress.” Participants initially take various roles in the governments of the US, Germany, Ukraine, Russia and Communist China and in the hugely influential World Economic Forum. As such, they gather crucial intelligence. Thereafter, we convene the US Senate!
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