Saturday, approximately 200 sophomores, juniors and seniors from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky high schools attended the fourth annual Model Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in the Great Hall at Tangeman University Center.
The political science department hosted the event in partnership with the Global Center of Greater Cincinnati and National City Bank.
"It is education," said Dinshaw Mistry, director of Asian studies in the political science department, of the Model APEC event. "It is getting students just aware of the global issues a little more deeply than superficially."
According to Garlinn Story, director of the Global Center of Greater Cincinnati, there is no other program like Model APEC in the entire United States.
Every year, the Global Center invites high schools in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas to participate in the open forum.
This year 12 schools attended, including Anderson High, Walnut Hills, St. Henry District, Mt. Notre Dame and Princeton.
The high school students represented 15 countries, including Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Canada, China and Japan. Summit discussion topics ranged from security affairs, social affairs and economic development to science and technology and politics.
About 30 political science students at UC volunteered their time to mediate over the five topics in the morning and afternoon sessions. In the mock summits, high school students assumed the roles of national security advisors, social affairs ministers, economics ministers, science and technology advisors and foreign ministers for their adopted countries.
The high school students showed their interest in the issues as they deliberated on the various topics of terrorism, tackling poverty, business mobility and APEC Nuclear Free Zone with intelligent conversation, often taking time to convene in caucuses to discuss in more detail issues important to their adopted country.
"[I believe my students] will have a better feel for the need for economic cooperation, global awareness to what other countries need, especially like third world countries," said Susan Magnus, advanced placement history teacher at Mt. Notre Dame.
Matt Wahlert, an AP history teacher at St. Henry's District High School in Erlanger, Ky., said he hoped his students would learn to embrace other people's perspectives on different issues. Wahlert's students, who represented Canada in the mock summit, purchased ties with the colors and maple leaf emblem of Canada for the event.
Students with outstanding diplomacy skills received ten awards in recognition of their hard work. Students were awarded $15 Joseph-Beth Bookstore gift certificates and UC wallets. Some of the winners were Canada (St. Henry District High School) for best national security delegation, Indonesia (Mt. Notre Dame) for best foreign affairs and Peru (Moeller) who won for best overall as a team.
Model APEC evolved in early 2000 with the collaboration of the Global Center and Dinshaw Mistry. According to Story, Model APEC resulted from the desire of the Global Center to expand its international education approach in the community and help students understand how the international community, especially Asia Pacific, is connected to all the important issues of today's world.
"Asia is becoming the hottest area [with] economics and everything," Clara Matonhodze, from the Global Center, said. "[Asia Pacific countries] are becoming such an integral partner to the United States that it is just almost imperative that our students know about the Asia Pacific countries because it looks like they are going to be our allies for tomorrow for economics, social terrorism, what have you."
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