Model OAS

Background and Summary

Universities: Model OAS General Assembly

The Model OAS General Assembly for Universities is a separate exercise from the simulations in which high school students engage.

The Model OAS General Assembly for Universities and the Model General Assembly for High Schools began more than 20 years ago as purely U.S. based events, and have since grown into hemispheric convocations involving more than two hundred high school and university participants. The MOAS is a credited academic course through which students develop international public policies on issues affecting the Americas and apply theory learned in the classroom. By interacting in a variety of contexts from small regional working groups to the Model OAS General Assembly itself, students learn about parliamentary procedures for debate and caucusing, the functioning of the OAS, the strengths and weaknesses of multilateral diplomacy, and the role of their delegation on a large and a small scale. They are also exposed to key economic, social, educational, political, and security issues facing the Americas. Briefings about regional dynamics by representatives of various Missions contribute to the professional atmosphere of the event and provide participants with a perspective on hemispheric issues unattainable through textbooks and classrooms, as does the presence of prominent figures in Inter-American politics.

The central purpose of the MOAS is to strengthen and accelerate the diffusion of knowledge about the OAS and its functions among the general public. By representing member states of the OAS, students in each delegation gain a broader understanding of the capabilities and constraints shaping the foreign policy of each state, as well as perceiving the patterns of conflict and cooperation that characterize inter-American diplomacy. The MOAS also strives to change attitudes among citizens of North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean by providing a program in which cultural awareness and curriculum enhancement are realized.

MOAS DECLARATION

The Model Assembly is a crash course in international policy making, and a lot more. Students develop skills that can only be acquired outside the classroom: diplomacy on an international level, reaching consensus on complex international issues, and understanding the important role of these issues in the future of the Americas.

Some accomplishments of the MOAS:

• OAS topics have been incorporated into the formal curricula of several hemispheric academic institutions.
• The MOAS Coordination Office has negotiated with several participating universities in member states on developing Latin American and Caribbean studies programs.
• The MOAS Coordination Office has negotiated with the boards of directors of participating universities to create OAS depository libraries containing OAS documents and papers written by graduates on the inter-American system.
• Since 1994, MOAS General Assemblies have been held in member states such as Ecuador, Honduras, Argentina and Canada.
• The MOAS Inter-American Studies Foundation was created and incorporated in 1996.

For more information, please contact:
Bernadine George
Secretariat for Conferences and Meetings
Organization of American States
17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington D.C., 20006
Tel. (202) 458-6891
E-mail: bgeorge@oas.org
http://www.oas.org/main/main.asp?sLang=E&sLink;=../../documents/eng/outreach.asp