Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay
太阳城网赌平台(Boston College)的本科生有机会就特朗普总统让美国退出世界卫生组织(World Health organization)这一有争议的决定发表意见，就好像他们身处冲突的前线一样.
这59名学生扮演了来自美国的代表, 13 other countries, 在世卫组织应对COVID-19和机构改革特别会议之前，他们对特朗普的声明表示担忧, as directed by the World Health Assembly, WHO’s governing body.
David Wirth (Suzi Camarata)
It wasn’t an excursion into virtual reality, 而是今年秋天全球公共卫生法课程的模拟课程, taught by BC Law Professor David Wirth, Professor of the Practice Mary Ann Chirba, and graduate teaching assistant Joseph Manning, a third-year BC Law student. Chirba acted as World Health Assembly co-chair, as did Wirth, who also was foreign minister and CEO, while Manning portrayed the secretariat.
学生们被分成四人代表团，分别代表从巴西到南非的各个国家，而教师联合主席们则在围绕真正的坟墓展开的谈判中表现得极其严肃, global issues that surround the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Health Regulations, or IHRs, that govern nations’ pandemic response, and the United States’ withdrawal from WHO.
全球公共卫生法是该大学18学分的全球公共卫生和共同利益辅修课程中的三门必修课程之一, 这是不列颠哥伦比亚省席勒科学与社会综合太阳城官网所的第一个倡议. 这门辅修课程的特色在于其对伦理道德的强调, moral, and legal foundations of global public health, and its highly interdisciplinary faculty, drawn from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Connell School of Nursing, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, School of Theology and Ministry, BC School of Social Work, and Carroll School of Management, as well as BC Law.
“This simulated, 多边谈判为我们的学生提供了一个绝佳的机会，让他们沉浸在我们这个时代最严重的突发公共卫生事件中,” said Philip J. Landrigan, M.D.他是全球公共卫生和共同利益项目的主任. “It allows them to experience, under the tutelage of internationally respected experts, the complex, 但这是一个至关重要的国际谈判过程. 它还使我们的学生认识到，这些看似抽象的思考在现实世界中具有生死攸关的影响.”
Mary Ann Chirba (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)
“我们的学生了解到手术器械的细节对公众健康有着广泛的影响, both domestically and globally,” added Chirba, who is the John C. Ford, S.J., Distinguished Scholar. “他们也通过艰难的方式了解到，无论文本的变化多么小, it most likely resulted from a great deal of ‘heavy lifting.’”
At the outset of the simulation, wirth以联合主席的身份解释说，讨论的目标是在更详细地制定《太阳城官网》文本之前确立“基本原则”, and described the negotiation process: three rounds of formal sessions over four weeks; communication between delegations “is encouraged,” he said, 特别是在有共同地理或政治关切的国家之间，“在这些国家结成联盟将是明智的。.”
学生代表领会了沃斯心照不宣的意思:你们的国家处于危险之中. You need to determine what positions you should you take, 以及贵国代表团应提出哪些全球卫生政策改革建议，以保护本国公民免受COVID-19和其他大流行病的侵害.
沃斯对国际会议和外交语言并不陌生, having attended the 2018 Conference of the Parties to the U.N. 作为波兰气候变化框架公约的正式学术观察员. In the next phase of the simulation, he invited delegates to make opening statements, 每一个都是基于学生的太阳城官网，旨在反映各自国家的实际状况和关注.
和沃斯一样，学生们必须以国际谈判的风格和形式发言. Lynch School junior Ginny Alex, one of the delegates representing Antigua and Barbuda, proclaimed deep concern over the U.S. withdrawal, “and sincerely hope that the U.S. 是否会重新考虑其立场……特别是考虑到我们的经济和流行病应对措施[得到]富裕国家的证实.”
Alex’s fellow delegate, Morrissey College senior Julia Cardwell, 她说，她和她的同事们希望代表“一个由处境相似、志同道合的加勒比国家组成的联盟”, and as such, 我们希望能够阐明一些立场，否则这些立场在这个过程中可能没有什么发言权.”
Closing the delegation’s remarks, 康奈尔学院(Connell School)的高年级学生艾米丽·亚伦斯(Emily Aarons)敦促，谈判应“尊重所有成员国的能力”，同时成功地“减少未来任何引起国际关注的突发公共卫生事件对全球贸易的影响”, travel, and the spread of infectious disease.”
“This simulated, 多边谈判为我们的学生提供了一个绝佳的机会，让他们沉浸在我们这个时代最严重的突发公共卫生事件中. It allows them to experience, under the tutelage of internationally respected experts, the complex, 但这是一个至关重要的国际谈判过程...并意识到这些看似抽象的思考在现实世界中会产生生死攸关的后果.”
在其他12个代表团和两个非政府组织的代表之后, Doctors Without Borders and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, each made their statements, Wirth welcomed amendments to the IHRs, edited in real time. 这为未来几周将进行的另外两轮谈判奠定了基础. 而课堂则转向其他国内和全球公共卫生话题——包括疫苗, opioids, 以及《太阳城网赌平台》(Affordable Care Act)在重组后的最高法院面前的命运——模拟在课堂外继续进行:各代表团继续相互协商, engaged with other groups, 并会见了主席和秘书处，他们寻求妥协的共识.
In an interview, 沃斯赞扬了全班同学的工作:“完成这个练习后, 我们的学生准备走出去，为国务院或其他外交部谈判. 他们至少在实际的多边实践中做得一样好，甚至可能更好!”
“We have an ambitious agenda,” said Chirba, 他补充说，在全球大流行期间太阳城官网公共卫生问题是一项特殊的挑战. Through the simulation, 她指出，这给了本科生一个“非常宝贵的机会”一起工作, “our students develop professional skills, deepen personal insight, and realize firsthand that with persistence, mutual respect, and commonality of purpose, we truly can solve complex problems.”
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | December 2020