Manchester resident Georgie Linscott, who earned “best delegate” at a recent Model UN conference in Boston. (Courtesy photo)
Acera School student Georgie Linscott of Manchester earned recognition for “Best Delegate” at a recent Model UN Conference hosted by Boston University Academy. The event focused on a variety of global crises, as well as historical and futuristic simulations.
Linscott is an eighth-grader at Winchester-based Acera School, a K-10 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) school founded in 2010.
Linscott was awarded Best Delegate for her representation as part of the Suez Canal JCC committee. The simulation was set in 1956, when Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-70) nationalized the canal, resulting in an attack on Egypt by British, French, and Israeli forces. Linscott acted in the role of Cairo Governor Hamed Bansara.
At Model UN conferences, students are divided into separate committees, with a public speaking coach—a business or legal professional, or a collegiate MUN expert—assigned to each committee. The coach supports students as they write their opening speeches and observe the first committee session and provide feedback on each delegate’s public speaking, negotiation, and persuasion skills.
“Learning to take on a perspective that is not your own and solving problems with a systemic view in mind is exactly what is at the heart of this kind of an event,” said Courtney Dickinson, founder and director of Acera School, a K-10 school founded in 2010 that engages students in project-based learning designed around students’ personal interests and aligned with their abilities. “These are attributes we foster at Acera.”
Model UN is a simulation of the UN General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassador role while debating topics such as gender equality, climate action, global health, and more. The Washington, DC-based organization was founded in 1943 in the aftermath of World War II to build up an organization that could win the peace.
Regionally, the Massachusetts arm of Model UN ("United Nations Association of Greater Boston") runs programs in partnership with universities and colleges. Organizations and middle and high schools opt to participate in the program, with Model UN programs geared toward students age 13 and older.
