Model EU Reflection: The Benefits of a (Virtual) Simulation
Jake Girardi studies Anthropology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Jake participated in Pittsburgh’s Model EU, representing Hungary.
It was a sunny late February weekend when I and perhaps 30 other delegates from around the country signed into a Microsoft Teams link to begin a fully virtual Model EU conference. The temptation to go outside on one of our first nice days in Chapel Hill was great, but my excitement for the simulation was greater. I will admit one of the luxuries of an online conference was the way I was able to sit in my chair at my desk in a button-down, a tie, and my favorite gray sweatpants. Some things were not stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic, rather transformed and modified to fit our continued need for learning and connection.
This was my experience attending the Pittsburgh Model European Union simulation earlier this year. Once everyone was signed into Microsoft Teams, we soon began discussing the parameters of this conference. It was many of our first times doing model EU at all, I later found out, and certainly an interesting way to be exposed to it in a fully virtual format. I smirked at my computer screen as I found even an online conference had the same set of characters as my in-person Model UN conferences had: the pragmatist (“I’ve started some draft language, is anyone interested?”), the delegate-in-beta (“How does this thing work?”), the comedian (“heyyyy guys!”). After some initial awkwardness and stumbling through how to use our online application, business as usual proceeded. My chat box became filled with messages from other delegates, each begging that Hungary join their various blocs.
One of the most refreshing things about the conference was the chance to work with my co-delegate, Kay, making a great connection even during an odd, fully-online first year at University. As we were texting frantically back and forth about various issues in committee along with being on several google docs and in countless Microsoft Teams chat windows, I was pushed to do well and work collaboratively with other delegates, something I was so grateful for.
The European Union, though not a particularly complex political structure, is still one with which only a relatively small number of Americans are intimately familiar. Studying the EU can be confusing for students with little exposure to governments other than that of the US, and its supranationalism is multilayered. One of the best ways to learn about the EU is learning by doing. Governmental simulations help young people to become immersed inside the world of a particular governmental organ and comprehend thoroughly how the EU works. More can be learned from actually playing the part of various ministers and member states than can be gleaned simply from a textbook or webpage.
My Model EU experience was important because it helped me to learn in depth about the institutions of the European Union, something invaluable to living as a global citizen.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of UNC, Pitt, and FIU, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
