The eighteenth annual Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School Model United Nations Conference (GSMUN XVIII) is slated for Friday, March 20 and 21. Dr. Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, will address the hundreds of students in attendance.
Dr. Bernanke, who served as Fed chief from 2006 to 2014 and is currently with the Brookings Institution, is in Richmond for an evening on stage at the Richmond Forum. Dr. Bernanke graciously accepted an invitation from the student-run GSMUN to speak to the assembly Saturday afternoon.
Professor Ruchira Gupta, founder of Apne Aap Women Worldwide, will also visit Maggie Walker during GSMUN. Every year, the GSMUN affirms its commitment to the international community by selecting a beneficiary charity. Proceeds from the conference, as well as a number of other fundraising efforts, will be given to Apne Aap. The grassroots organization in India is working to end sex trafficking by increasing choices for at-risk girls and women. Apne Aap began as a small non-governmental organization (NGO) in Mumbai, India, that offered a safe haven for girls and women. It has grown to reach over 21,000 women and girls. GSMUN is proud and excited to host two such influential world leaders.
GSMUN brings middle and high school students together from surrounding counties and cities to debate important international issues and to foster diplomacy in the next generation of world leaders. More than 500 delegates from 30 schools in Virginia and beyond will discuss, debate, and find solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing our world today.
Delegates will discuss a variety of issues over the weekend in committees led by Governor’s School students, which include historical committees such as the French National Assembly as well as a simulation of Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
The Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies is a selective, regional public school that serves students throughout the metropolitan Richmond area. The participating school divisions are Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell, King and Queen, New Kent, Petersburg, Powhatan, Prince George, and Richmond.
Climbing on the Newsweek/Daily Beast list of America’s best public high schools from 16th in 2012 to 12th in 2014, MLWGS serves 746 high ability learners.
