The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

56 APRIL 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Engaging High School Students: Model UN Conference On Feb. 11, AFSA Presi- dent Ambassador Barbara Stephenson delivered the keynote address at the open- ing session of the 53rd annual North American Invitational Model United Nations confer- ence. More than 3,700 high school students from across the United States and 18 countries were in the audi- ence. One of AFSA’s strategic goals is to increase outreach to high school and college students; this conference is an ideal opportunity for such engagement. For the third year in a row, AFSA helped sponsor the event, which every year gathers thousands of young people who are interested in and knowledge- able about the world. During her speech, Amb. Stephenson urged attendees to remain engaged in interna- tional affairs and diplomacy. She explained how the skills they learn through Model UN would prepare them to become the Foreign Service of the future—a calling that will require them to excel at bringing together actors from across society to forge consensus on issues such as climate change, migration and corruption. Amb. Stephenson argued that the Foreign Service of the 21st century must benefit from more than just “tradi- tional” diversity; it also needs a diversity of skills. The For- eign Service will always have room for those with what we might call the traditional educational backgrounds: political science, economics, history, communications, international relations, law. But it will increasingly need people who are comfort- able talking about science, technology, engineering, medicine, transportation, AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson delivers the keynote address at the 53rd annual North American Invitational Model United Nations conference. NAIMUN participants were eager to speak with Amb. Stephenson (center) about their aspirations to join the Foreign Service. More than 3,700 high school students from across the United States and 18 countries heard Stephenson’s vision of how a diverse Foreign Service will address a new set of global challenges. AFSA/SHAWNDORMAN AFSA/ÁSGEIRSIGFÚSSON AFSA/SHAWNDORMAN