2nd Model United Nations promotes debates among students

O 2nd Model United Nations This Friday (3), IMPA Tech’s 2025 class brought together students for a series of debates on diplomacy, politics and global issues. The activity is part of the subject “Construction of Textual Narratives”, taught by Professor Cilene Rodrigues, which teaches students how to deal with formal situations of discussion and problem solving.

“The UN Model is widespread throughout the world and is used to teach students a sense of perspective. People, in general, live very much in defense of their points of view, but in these models it is necessary to put yourself in the other person’s position and learn to dialogue, even when the positions are contrary. This is important because it prepares students to debate and establish dialogues,” explained Professor Cilene.

Divided into classrooms at Port Maravalley, the students represented different country delegations and worked on four topics: Slavery-like Labor; Tariff Implementation Policies in the Contemporary Economy; the Internet Regulatory Framework; and the Implementation of Data Centers in Developing Countries. The topics were chosen by undergraduates and the academic community by analyzing which issues are of greatest public interest.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)The debates were guided by a list of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. International agreements, historical commitments and possible sustainable alternatives to the problems of our time were discussed. Real-life examples were discussed, such as the Trump administration’s tariffs, the General Personal Data Protection Act (LGPD) and the construction of a data center in Rio de Janeiro.

Student Nicole Freire represented the United States in the session on tariff policies. “As it’s an exercise in perspective, I first had to prepare myself mentally to put myself in the other person’s shoes, separating personal opinions from my position in the debate. I read several executive orders on the White House website and organized the information to support my position and take this stance,” she said of preparing for the debate.

The Model United Nations also took place in 2024 and is part of IMPA Tech’s interdisciplinary proposal. “I never imagined that I would have this kind of experience on an exact sciences course, but I found the proposal very interesting, because it teaches us to be more diplomatic. Whether in the job market or in academia, we will need to deal with disagreements and debates, but always with respect and empathy,” added Nicole.

Manuela Ronconi, secretary general of this edition of the model, stressed the importance of interdisciplinarity in real life. “Mathematics is at the heart of UN decisions: in statistical reports on poverty, education and health, in the numerical targets of the SDGs, in carbon emissions calculations, in population growth projections and even in modeling war and peace scenarios. The numbers dictate public policies and connect projects with real needs,” he said.

For the student, exact sciences courses need to be better connected with humanities disciplines in order to train professionals who are ready to deal with the challenges of the future. “Professionals in the exact sciences are seen as alienated from the humanities, but the curriculum needs to unite these areas, especially languages and mathematics. I see this a lot here at IMPA Tech and I believe that we will be complete professionals, with an intersectional background.”

Diplomacy will continue to be worked on throughout this semester in the bachelor’s degree in Mathematics of Technology and Innovation. On October 17, IMPA Tech expects to host consuls from Germany, England, Portugal, Denmark and France for a round table discussion. Also promoted by Professor Cilene, the aim of the meeting is to promote reflections on diplomatic missions and different worldviews.

Read more: Lula signs decree establishing ‘Toda Matemática‘
See also: Students watch the show ‘Mãe Fora da Caixa’, at the Riachuelo Theater