Te Wai Coulston (Ngāi Tahu ki Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou) recently returned from a four-day New Zealand Model United Nations (UN) held at Victoria University.
Delegates had the chance to step into the shoes of an international diplomat and join 250 students from across the country in discussing issues related to global responsibility.
Committee sessions were designed as they would be at the UN general assembly, covering such issues as, climate change, humanitarian and biological weapons – on some days the sessions ran from 8am until 12pm.
From the delegates who attended, 22 were selected by way of a rigorous application and interview process for the New Zealand delegation to travel to The Hague International Model United Nations. Te Wai was one of the 22 selected, which means he will participate in the International event with 4000 of the world’s brightest young Diplomats. As part of the trip he will travel to the UN headquarters in New York and Geneva and many other European countries meeting people such as Helen Clark.
Prior to the Model UN conference, Te Wai also had a great trip to the University of Auckland with the ‘whaia tē pae tawhiti’ potential Māori students group. Next year, he plans to study political science and international relations at the University of Auckland.
The challenge is now on for Te Wai to raise $8000 to attend this prestigious event. He has plans for some fund raising activities and intends to use some of his savings to raise the necessary finance. If you feel you would like to contribute please follow this link https://givealittle.co.nz/search?q=get+te+wai+to+thimun
Te Wai Coulston.