Protecting Child Welfare in Travel and Tourism at the National High School Model United Nations Conference

Kyra Wooden, our Y-ACT Youth Outreach Manager, was invited to speak at the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) Conference hosted by IMUNA, a non-profit educational organization formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications. NHSMUN brings together some of the brightest high school students for four days of debate on the most pressing global issues.

This year, the simulation of the United Nations World Tourism Organization debated the topic of “Protecting Child Welfare in Travel and Tourism.” Kyra offered expertise on the nature of trafficking in the U.S. and abroad leaving a lasting impact, inspiring and preparing students to participate in the world of global affairs. This year’s theme goes hand in hand with ECPAT-USA’s programming that partners with the tourism industry to identify potential victims of trafficking crimes.

Young leaders at the conference were eager to learn from the people who are actually working in the fields that they have been diligently studying for the past few months. Therefore, to guide their debate and their proposed solutions, NHSMUN arranged for special guest speakers in each one of their committee simulations to speak to the students about their specific debate topics. 

Students were given the opportunity to ask questions, directly learning about the work of ECPAT-USA and to understand how they could potentially develop future solutions to the trafficking epidemic. The Committee Speaker Series was held over the course of four days at Hilton Midtown New York and reached over 2500 youth delegates.