ArmRadio -- Some thirty young people discussed the issue of “Opening the Borders: Reassessment of Armenian-Turkish Relations” during a Model United Nations Conference today.

Model UN Conferences are being organized around the world and hundreds of young people take part in them. This UN Model Conference is a simulation of the UN General Assembly where the participants play roles of delegates of the UN member states and bring their own solutions to the issue through passed Resolutions.

The objective of the Conference was to disseminate UN values and principles and to educate youth in Armenia on diplomacy, international relations, conflict resolution and development strategies.

Dafina Gercheva, the UN Resident Coordinator said - “UN Office in Armenia is pleased to support this traditional UN Model Conference, which gives a great chance for youth not only to learn more about the UN and its values, sensitivity of negotiations and complexity of Armenian-Turkish relations, but also to improve their communication and diplomatic skills.”

Armine Podosyan, Armenian UN Association President said. “You, future leaders of Armenia, who have spent more than a month on research and trainings, have obtained the necessary asset of the diplomatic skills and negotiation cleverness to debate such a sensitive issue which is of high importance to our country. I am confident that this discussion of Armenian-Turkish relations from the point of the international community will strengthen you with more constructive and common undertaking sense of solutions to be the drivers of the youth in Armenia.”

The Conference was organized by the Armenian UN Association in cooperation and with support of the UN Department of Public Information (UN DPI), International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and the US Department of State.