Simcoe County District School Board students tackled global warming, debt relief and nuclear proliferation at the annual Model United Nations Simulation.

The event saw students take on the role of delegates from countries around the world to discuss prominent global issues.

Eighty students from eight high schools took part in the event May 13 at the SCDSB Education Centre.

David Brooks, teacher organizer, said the event teaches students the importance of looking at an issue from a variety of perspectives.

“This whole forum and this whole activity is designed to encourage students to recognize that it’s not one way, our way, and to view the world and the issues that threaten the world and humanity.”

There was one student delegate for each U.N. country. Students also took on the role of U.N. president and vice president, and acted as pages delivering messages to the different delegates.

Leading up to the event, each high school was assigned an issue and required to come up with a proposal, from the viewpoint of one country.

For example, Banting Memorial High School could make a proposal on Global Warming from the view point of Germany.

The student delegate from Germany would then present this proposal to the entire assembly. At least three countries weighed in with proposals on each topic often with widely different suggestions and opinions.

Brooks said students have been working on the project for well over a month.

Students had to learn about the government, economics and pretty much everything else about the country they were to represent.

“It’s not good enough for the kid representing Bangladesh to stand up and say, ‘I like the Canadian proposal of slashing all greenhouse gases,’ because Bangladesh can’t really do that right now. They have to know their stuff.”

After each proposal was read, the floor was opened up to all other countries to speak on the issue.

The discussions were followed by a vote on the issue.