A Collaboration between The Charney Resolution Center and The Leon Charney Diplomacy Program at Florida Atlantic University
My class attendance this semester was not something to be proud of.
A few days after my final IB exams, I got an email from the Charney Resolution Center, calling EMIS students to come forward and apply for a once in a lifetime opportunity to fly out to Florida, and be a part of the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program ran by Dr. Jeffrey Morton at the Florida Atlantic University.
The program takes students of the FAU in Boca Raton, and prepares them for an MUN competition. Diplomacy, negotiation, critical thinking and public speaking are only a few of the skills that students gain by participating the program.
Unfortunately, I could not attend Dr. Morton’s class due to the COVID restrictions. However, I had the honor to discuss with Rishiraj Bandi, Florencia Azcurra, Alice Nesterova and Farantos Carras - four brilliant students of the Florida Atlantic University, who attended the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program (LCDP). Together, they let me into their world, helping me understand what being a part of the LCDP really means.
My name is Aviv Acco, and I am 18 years old from Israel. I am one of the 2021 additions to the CRC Ambassadors program, and a proud EMIS graduate. I take interest in diplomacy because of the great combination it offers of politics and communication, that essentially creates a bridge between countries for the greater cause of global understanding. Although I didn’t get to participate in this year’s LCDP preparation for the NMUN, seeing these students learning and living diplomacy brought me joy.
The four students, who represented Turkey (Farantos & Florencia), Armenia (Alice) and Rishiraj (Israel) shared their thoughtful conclusions on the program and the MUN experience; thoughts which reaffirmed me that the mission of Leon Charney to achieve global understanding through diplomacy is more than possible.
All of the students mentioned that learning about their assigned countries was an enlightening experience as they realized the different challenges country representatives have to overcome, and why coming to international resolutions is so hard to accomplish. Staying in ‘country character’ seemed to be the main challenge for the students, as they had to advocate for causes which didn’t necessarily line up with their own morals, in the most convincing way possible. Staying in ‘country character’ helped the students further immerse themselves into their role as representatives, and really feel as if they are from their assigned countries.
Talking to Rishiraj Bandi, I learned about his valuable experience as the Israeli representative, and empathized with some of the struggles he experienced during the MUN conference. As Rishiraj explained to me, “representing Israel was not an easy challenge due to the controversy it tends to raise – but learning about its policies gave me a great indicator for as to what Israel aims to represent, and what it stands for”. Rishiraj often experienced a hard time coming to resolutions, and felt that it had to do with the fact he represented a small, controversial country. I found familiarity in his words; as an Israeli, I could relate to his experience, and the challenge he experienced with explaining his stand as ‘Israel’.
Thanks to the great tools Rishiraj and his peers gained through the LCDP and Dr. Morton’s classes, the team was able to proudly represent their assigned countries and the Florida Atlantic University with their winning at the NMUN 2021 Competition hosted in Washington DC.
I believe that having students represent a country, and letting them experience the struggles of the country representatives when negotiating global issues in an international setting is an extremely crucial step for achieving a global understanding, thanks to the knowledge and sympathy that they gain through the process.
Making diplomacy accessible is such an important step into achieving a global understanding. The Charney Resolution Center advocates for leadership in the diplomacy field, and supports students who wish to be a part of a global community that works on communicating Leon Charney’s mission – peace.