U of I students tackle global diplomacy

Leika Devi grew up in a city with a population larger than the entire Pacific Northwest.

Dhaka, Indonesia, has 37 million people living on 300 square miles, compared to about 15 million people in the northwestern United States spread across 300,000 square miles.

On the bus ride from Pullman airport to the Moscow campus the open space was astounding, but it was the snow that most impressed her.

“I had never seen snow,” the sophomore majoring in economics and international studies with a minor in statistics said. “All of it was pretty overwhelming.”

Last spring, Devi, along with triple major Mataya Dillon, who hails from Council, and a delegation of other U of I students traveled to New York City to visit the United Nations as part of a two-semester international studies course at University of Idaho’s Martin Institute. The course gives students a foundation in global politics and diplomacy as student envoys wrestle with topics of peace, security and human rights, negotiating treaties and managing international crises.

“I could not pass up the opportunity to visit New York City, and, coupled with the Model U.N., it seemed like a great opportunity,” Devi said.

Students who enroll in the two-course series often have no formal knowledge of how the U.N. works or how it shapes and is shaped by global movements, said Bill Smith, director of The Martin Institute and a professor in the School of Global Studies. The U.N. class in the fall semester is required to join the advanced U.N. studies class that participates in the New York conference.

To prepare, students spend fall semester completing coursework in research, negotiation and policy writing. Student delegates research assigned countries, draft position papers on global issues and develop diplomatic skills through committee simulations, Smith said. Fall class emphasizes national sovereignty, particularly why the United States often resists U.N. initiatives.

Devi had taken part in a Model U.N. program in her English-language high school in Bangladesh and was familiar with the program. She enrolled in U of I’s fall semester course and then opted for the spring trip to the U.N. to apply what she learned.

“I had a rough idea about what the advanced course would look like,” she said. “The university’s Model U.N. is a more formal and accurate simulation of the U.N. than what I had participated in back home.”

The U of I student delegation represented Slovenia and Estonia. Her group was responsible for the economic and financial decisions and policies around the U.N.’s effort to achieve sustainable transportation by 2035. That includes strengthening supply chains for a variety of industries from food production and distribution to medical services. Achieving the goal requires discussions with local authorities, the private sector, civil society and organizations with ties to transportation and sustainability from around the world. All of which was simulated at the four-day conference.

“My key takeaway was learning diplomatic skills,” Devi said. “It was awesome to learn to negotiate with different member states with different priorities and land on the same page to draft a resolution.”

The simulations were held at the Midtown Manhattan Hilton, and students also visited the U.N.’s general assembly where the work was done in earnest.

“We went to the U.N. itself and got a tour. We saw the rooms where history was made,” Levi said. “It was such a privilege; it was a great experience.”

If Levi’s U.N. experience was viewed through the eyes of someone who grew up in a mega-metropolis, Dillon’s perspective was shaped in a rural Idaho community of fewer than 1,000 people.

“Council’s claim to fame is its Fourth of July porcupine race,” she said.

She enrolled at U of I with plans to pursue degrees in Spanish and economics but added international studies after meeting with Smith.

“He sold me on international studies,” she said. “It’s a wonderful bridge between my other two degrees.”

Dillon joined the fall Model U.N. course because it is a requirement for the international studies degree, and she followed up with the spring class because she enjoyed the first semester and wanted to attend the NYC conference.

Her group was tasked with a nuclear nonproliferation treaty review.

“We prepared a mission paper, gathered input and opinions on how other delegations wanted to go forward and spent four days in session to reach a series of informal policy recommendations,” she said. “Our final paper outlined what we recommended, and we voted on it at the end of the conference.”