Around 250 senior pupils from almost every secondary in North Lanarkshire are participating in their own version of the G8 summit today at the 2007 North Lanarkshire International Conference.
The conference, which has been running for around 12 years, invites student participation in debates on topics that are high on the international agenda. The pupils act as delegates of specific United Nations countries and have the chance to argue for or against agreed motions.
With nuclear weapons, greenhouse gas emissions and freedom and democracy on the agenda, the programme will closely mirror the issues discussed by G8 heads of state at the German Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm earlier this month.
The conference, which links to the modern studies curriculum, provides pupils with practical experience in negotiating, debating and influencing people. To prepare reasoned arguments, the pupils were given an information pack on each of the topics, but had to research their chosen country’s position on each.
