Trinity University has launched the Trinity International Model United Nations aimed at equipping students with diplomacy, negotiation and global leadership skills in what the institution described as a major step toward experiential education.
The initiative was formally unveiled on Thursday during an evening of political stage drama titled Summit of Shadows, a production written entirely by a student and staged as part of activities marking the launch of the conference.
University officials said the Model United Nations initiative, known as TiMUN, is expected to become an annual flagship conference attracting students from universities across Nigeria and beyond.
The project was championed by Melody Inyang, former President of the Political Science Students Association.
He said the idea was inspired by the long-running Model United Nations programme at Babcock University.
Inyang said, “The United Nations was not created to take man to heaven, but to save humanity from itself.”
The drama, Summit of Shadows, portrayed a fictional 1990s military coup in Nigeria led by General Ibrahim Amodu against an exiled civilian president, Dr Chukwemeka, resulting in civilian massacres, arrests, and national instability before intervention by the United Nations General Assembly restored democratic rule.
Inyang said the first full TiMUN conference scheduled for later in the year will simulate a United Nations General Assembly session involving students from multiple universities debating and negotiating global issues.
He added that participants would also benefit from internship pathways at the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS and diplomatic missions of major world powers.
“We will provide them with public speaking, diplomacy and everything that happens at the United Nations General Assembly,” he said.
He added that the Director-General of the United States International Affairs Office had expressed interest in hosting TiMUN delegates during a future United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
