The U.N. Dominican Association, Funglode/GFDD and Globalmuners Open the U.N. Model Conference in New York for Latin America and the Caribbean

New York, April 22, 2019 – This past Sunday, April 21, the U.N. Model Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (NYMUNLAC 2019) opened in New York City at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Convention Center. Some 400 students from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Chile and Colombia participated in the opening event, which opened with the national anthems of the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

The U.N. Dominican Association (ANU-RD), the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), its sister institution in the United States – the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) ) and the Mexican civil society association Globalmuners are all supporting the annual event.
For the past decade the ANU-RD Association has the responsibility of closing the event in the United Nations, in the same venue where representatives from the multilateral organization’s Member Nations come together to discuss important world issues.
The event opened with remarks delivered by representatives from the supporting organizations: Aida Montero, ANU-RD Representative; Yamile Eusebio, Director of the GFDD New York Office; Pilar Sandoval, General Director of the Mexican civil society association Globalmuners; Mariana Castro, National Officer of the U.N. Information Center for the Dominican Republic; Ignacio Soriano, ANU-RD General Manager; Luz Andújar González, Counselor of Mexico’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations; Fernando de la Mora Salcedo, Second Secretary of Mexico’s Permanent Mission before the Organization; Bélgica Paredes, President of the U.N. Council of Educators, and Domingo Melenciano, Secretary General of NYMUNLAC 2019.

Domingo Melenciano officially opened the event with motivational remarks where he called on all those present to “Together work to make the NYMUNLAC an historic experience.” He also added: “Let this be the platform to give answers to hope, promote good values, and to begin the construction of a better future for our children and societies.”

At the same time, Aida Montero, representing ANU-RD’s Executive Director Edwin Jackson, Pilar Sandoval and Mariana Castro also delivered remarks highlighting the impact the U.N. Models have had on the life of past and present participants, and on the positive changes the youth sector can generate in today’s world.
During the event the heads of the delegations participating in the U.N. Summit on Climate Change spoke on “Climate Change: A Race that we Can Win.”
Representatives from Africa, Asia and the Pacific nations also spoke during the event. Also, from the European Economic Commission; from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and from the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia.
The event’s agenda was presented and subsequently approved by Gabriel Fernández and Ana Karen Hevia, president and vice president of the NYMUNLAC 2019 General Committee, respectively.
The NYMUNLAC 2019 General Secretary, Domingo Melenciano, officially opened and closed the inaugural event.
Guillermo Sarita, a young attorney and an ANU-RD volunteer was the event’s master of ceremony.