Grade 10 Hugh Boyd secondary students Mika Fogelman and Anushka Kurian are in the midst of a crash course on the history and economics of the Czech Republic.
The students were the only Canadians selected to attend the Rotary Model United Nations Program at the University of San Diego this weekend.
While most of the students from Mexico and the United States have had months to prepare for the conference Fogelman and Kurian only recently learned they would be attending after getting sponsorship from the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset.
Students must represent the viewpoints and interests of their assigned nation with regards to three United Nations resolutions that have recently been debated at the real UN headquarters in New York.
"We're doing our best to understand how the UN works, as well as the General Assembly and the Czech Republic," said Kurian.
So before the two knew they were heading to this prestigious event what did they know about the Czech Republic?
"It's capital city is Prague," said Kurian.
Certainly not much to go on but the students are quick learners and excellent communicators, according to teacher Douglas Park, the mentor of the school's Interact Club, to which the students have been members of for the last two years.
"These two kids have demonstrated some of the strongest leadership and problem solving skills," said Park.
"It does get political but that's what's interesting. The majority are Americans but they'll be representing other countries within the model UN, so they have to research the country and figure out the political climate and research the country's stance on an issue and find what would best suit the people," explained Park.
One issue the students will tackle is global cyber security.
"it's a much bigger issue than what we thought it was," said Fogelman.
The two have studied the issue for the past week and have found internet theft and credit card scams are more prevalent than physical thefts. At the United Nations countries are trying to build a framework of basic laws that can be applied globally to curb the problem. Fogelman and Kurian have to represent the Czech republic's stance on the issue during the model conference.
They're learning about how different interests help formulate global policies.
"Every government has their own culture and see things differently. Not everyone looks at everything the same," said Fogelman.
According to the students, with some of the highest internet speeds in the world the Czech Republic has a vested interest in global cyber security on par with any other developed nation. Along with the other participants the students will be asked to draft a policy that works for everyone.
