By Dr. Cathy Bartch
Associate Director of Latin American and Latinx Studies of the University of Pennsylvania and Board Member of CCATE
The Penn Model Organization of American States (OAS) program won the 2018 Model OAS award in Washington D.C. for its efforts in engaging Philadelphia and Norristown public high school students in the 37th Model OAS General Assembly for High Schools at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. from November 28th to November 30th.
We want to thank our partners — Fox Leadership International, Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, Penn Arts & Sciences, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and Perry World House for making this possible! We also want to thank our community and school partners including Central High School, Bodine High School for International Affairs, and the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación CCATE for all of their support.
The High School Model OAS General Assembly (MOAS) in D.C. is a simulation exercise of the proceedings of the annual regular sessions of the General Assembly of the OAS. During the conference, the high school students engaged in general debate, lobbying, negotiation, and participated in working groups to adopt resolutions that tackled several issues across the Americas such as sustainable development, discrimination against gender identity and sexual orientation, big data initiatives, and corruption.