Model Arab League team earns more awards at regional conference
SHREVEPORT – Centenary’s Model Arab League (MAL) participated in the Southeast Regional Model Arab League (SERMAL) Conference at Converse University in Spartanburg, South Carolina March 18-20. The Centenary MAL team, representing Bahrain, won 3rd place overall.
Centenary had four delegates representing three councils: LA Easley on Political Affairs, Jo Bennett and Milla Reddick on Social Affairs, and Nia Passman on Environmental Affairs. Easley, Bennett, and Reddick were all named Outstanding Delegates/1st place for their respective councils.
“SERMAL had nine college/university-level teams and one high-school-level team participating and most had 15 or more students on their team,” explained head delegate LA Easley. “Having only four delegates representing three councils put Centenary at a large disadvantage for the overall awards as we could only represent 3 out of 8 councils, but Centenary's MAL team was still able to secure a 3rd place overall win.”
The councils at SERMAL included Joint-Defense Council, Council on Palestinian Affairs, Council on Political Affairs, Council of Arab Social Affairs Ministers, Council of Arab Environmental Affairs Ministers, Council of Arab Economic Affairs Ministers, Summit of Arab Heads of State, and the Special Council.
The Model Arab League (MAL) was established in 1983 by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations as an opportunity for primarily American, but also Arab and other international students, to put themselves in the shoes of real-life Arab diplomats and foreign affairs professionals. MAL participants are judged on their ability to represent the needs, concerns, interests, and foreign policy objectives of their assigned country. In the process, they deepen their understanding of the Arab world; develop valuable analytical organizational, writing, and public speaking skills; and prepare themselves for knowledgeable and effective engagement in the public sphere in their chosen fields. More than 2,000 students participate in MAL programs annually.
Centenary’s MAL team was also recently awarded Overall Outstanding Delegation at the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce Regional Conference, held February 11-13 in Houston.