the International Model United Nations – New Silk Way Mini Conference

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University jointly with Ban Ki-Moon Institute for Sustainable Development  organized the International Model United Nations – New Silk Way Mini Conference in Almaty on 31 October 2019. This event took take place within the context of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative. The conference was opened with welcome speeches by Vlastimil Samek, the United Nations Department of Global Communications in the Republic of Kazakhstan and prof. M. Burkitbayev, First vice-rector of al-Farabi KazNU.

A special guest at the conference Mr. Bruno Pozzi, Director of the Regional Office for Europe, the UN Environment Programme, highlighted the ways of achieving SDGs through ecosystem improvement principles.

It was also attended by diplomatic corpus representatives such as his excellency the Consulate General of the USA to Kazakhstan Mr. Erik Meyer and Mr. Erlan Iskakov who is the Head of the Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty.

More than sixty students/delegates from different universities in Almaty took an active part in two parallel sessions discussing the most pressing global and regional issues on consequences of the the Aral Sea desiccation (SDG 13) as well as themes related to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (SDG 5). In sum, resolutions were made on above discussed topics and determined speakers were chosen for the upcoming Model United Nations – New Silk Way International Conference – 2020.

It is significant to note that this conference (MUN NSW) is one of the largest Model UN conferences in Central Asia, held in Almaty annually since 2010. Every year it attracts more than 350 participants and 100 volunteers from about 20 countries from Central, South and East Asia including the USA and Europe.