Birzeit University Team Wins Two Prizes for Best Representation at Model Arab League

For the third year in a row, Birzeit University students competing in the Cairo International Model Arab League earned two awards for the best representation at the conference held on November 15-19, 2016 at the American University in Cairo.

Supervised by political science professor and the Director of Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute for International Studies at Birzeit University Lord Habash, students Roxana Salameh, Mariam Abu Laban and Mai Al Saghir represented the University in three different councils; the Council of Arab-Iranian Affairs, the Council of Joint Defense, and the Council on Counter-Terrorism.

Students who participated in the conference were assigned in committees and topics for discussion before the event, so extensive research and preparation were key for winning. “They did a very good job preparing themselves,” Habash said. "The students showed brilliant leadership skills. They left the conference as well-rounded individuals who are more than capable of discussing a political, economic or social use in a diplomatic and objective manner."

The students said that they have learnt how to be open to wide array of opinions and accept them regardless of how much they may vary from our own.

The Cairo International Model Arab League takes place every fall and is currently the largest student-run conference at AUC. It was held for the first time in 1990, during the period leading up to the Gulf war. It aims to make students familiar with the activities of the League of Arab States and helps them develop an understanding of the regional and international factors that affect the determination of Arab foreign policy. CIMAL is a valuable venue for intercultural exchange among youth interested in Arab affairs.