Manitoba Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba

The Honourable Anita R. Neville, P.C., O.M.

Rotary International Model United Nations General Assembly

Remarks by

The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Canadian Mennonite University

Friday, May 3, 2024, 8:55 a.m.

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Students, teachers, delegates to the Rotary International Model UN – it’s a pleasure to join you in this exploration of global citizenship.

As you prepare for the discussions and debates that have brought you here, from across four provinces, we acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty One land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis.

We are determined that Manitoba, as the present-day and ancestral home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Red River Metis peoples, must be a healthy, just and equitable province for all the people who call this place home.

Learning to listen and to share ideas and information with others is essential for building a better community, a better country and a better world.

As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I’m proud that our province has been the site of this Model United Nations General Assembly since 1957.Generations of young people have gathered here to discuss global concerns of war and peace, sickness and health, threats and opportunities.

This year, as you focus on the theme of Challenges, Change and Security, you’ll consider the views of United Nations members on natural resources, climate change, natural disasters, food insecurity and more. And you’ll also consider how the development of artificial intelligence offers the potential for great innovation as well as alarming economic, social and other threats.

In preparing for this Model UN and in these two days of debate and discussion, you’ll learn a great deal about these specific issues and about the countries you represent. And of course you’ll learn about how the United Nations works, along with making new friends and connections.

But the lasting legacy for you all is likely to be a greater ability to consider the views and perspectives of other people. You’ll learn to find common ground. You’ll learn to assess complex issues from many directions.

Those are lessons that will benefit not just each of you, but the world you inherit, the world in which you will take leadership positions.

None of this would be possible without the teachers and volunteers who support this learning experience. And certainly we would not be here year after year for this Model UN General Assembly without the dedication and support of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg.

To all who made this possible and to all who believe in the importance of global discussion, thank you for your dedication to addressing Challenges, Change and Security.

Enjoy this unique educational opportunity and, to those who have travelled from beyond our province, welcome to Manitoba.

Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom.