Right: Vietnam delegate Annie Brookes addresses a mock United Nations General Assembly at
DANDENONG tertiary students were transformed into United Nations delegates as part of a mock debate over international humanitarian issues last week.
Students from the Dandenong Chisholm Institute of TAFE’s Community Development and Welfare courses participated in their own UN General Assembly on Tuesday, 16 May.
Students were allocated a UN country and assumed roles as official delegates as they debated the topic titled Living Between the Margins: Rights, Courage and Refugees.
The delegates retained the meeting formalities usually seen in General Assemblies as they learned about and debated Australian migration law, off-shore refugee processing, and other migration matters related to the UN refugee convention.
Guest speakers to assist the students included Pamela Curr of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and Justice and International Mission Unit acting director Mark Zirnsak.
Diploma of Community Development student and Uganda delegate Francis Nimaya said the conference gave his fellow students an insight as to what was happening in other countries.
“I came here from Sudan where the same political things were happening as they are now,” he said.
“I am a permanent resident now, and I feel happy to be participating in the conference as it is a way for others to discover what is going on.”
