Rationale for the Contest
The annual United Nations Contest
sponsored by the West Triangle Chapter of the United Nations
Association is designed primarily to encourage local high school
students to create original projects which deal with an issue or
problems relevant to the mission of the United Nations. The works
may come from any discipline and may take a variety of forms:
essays, videos, posters, musical selections or compositions,
multi-media works, etc. Projects created by teams of students are
encouraged.
2010 Award
Winners
This
year there were ten Contest entries from fourteen students –
eight individual entries and two entries by three person
teams.
Due to differences in computer
and browser capabilities, the top three presentations may be
viewed as either PowerPoint Slide Shows or as PDF files.
First
place: "Israel/Palestine," by Bradli Crump, Carrboro
High School. Her PowerPoint presentation demonstrated the
student's mastery of the complex history of the conflict.
She used a tri-fold poster board that summarized her
two-state solution which included imaginative proposals for
changing the UN to make it more effectively involved in
resolving the conflict.
To
see her PowerPoint Slide Show, click here.
To view as a PDF, click here.
Second
Place: "Cyprus: (un)Divided" by David McDonogh, East
Chapel Hill High School. Mr. McDonogh’s PowerPoint
presentation showed his extensive knowledge of the conflicts
in Cyprus and incorporated well designed proposals for
UN-based solutions.
To see his PowerPoint
Slide Show, click here.
To
view as a PDF, click here.
Third
place (tie): "A UN Approach to Eliminating Child Labor," by
Claire Johnson, Cedar Ridge High School,
Hillsborough. Ms. Johnson used a PowerPoint with many
visuals and included detailed proposals for UN-based
solutions.
To see her presentation as a PowerPoint Slide Show, click here.
To view as a PDF, click here.
Third
place (tie): "Yemen: A Failing State," by Reade Paterno,
Sam Stargel, and Jordan Thomas, Carrboro High
School. The team's PowerPoint proposed getting the UN more
effectively involved in Yemen than it has been in the past.
The team also produced a video on how extreme poverty
exacerbates the problems in Yemen.
Honorable Mention: Sofia Haley, Cedar Ridge High
School, Hillsborough. Her topic was the effects of
rainforest depletion. She read her essay on it and commented
on the painting she created to dramatize the problem.
To see her essay and a photo of her painting as a PDF file, click here.
Honorable Mention: Katelyn Whittingham, Cedar Ridge
High School, Hillsborough. Ms Whittingham’s project was on
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its children hurt
by war. She read her essay on the topic as well as a short
story she wrote illustrating the plight of a single child
raped in the Congo.
Honorable Mention: Rachel Hainline, Marsha Sugana,
and Young-Eun Hyun, East Chapel Hill High School.
Environmental refugees was the topic chosen by the team.
Their PowerPoint included visuals to illustrate such things
as global climate change.
2009 Award Winners
First place
was awarded to a team from East Chapel Hill High School,
Suchin Gurangan and
Niel and
Kiron Lebeck for
their project “The Kashmir Conflict: U.N. Solutions.” The
Contest Judging Committee thought the team’s Power Point
presentation was an imaginative and extremely well thought out
proposal for getting the United Nations more involved in this
conflict than it has been in the past. The Committee was also
very impressed with the close collaboration among team members
in researching the project and their professional approach in
presenting their conclusions.
Click here to
view their PowerPoint presentation (14.6 m)
Second place
was awarded to another team from East Chapel Hill High School,
Rachel Hainline,
Young-Eun Hyun,
and Marsha Sugana,
for their project “Encoraging Nuclear Non-Proliferation.” The
Contest Judging Committee was impressed by the extensive
background team members acquired about the topic and the
effective way they worked together in developing their
PowerPoint presentation.
Click here to view their PowerPoint presentation.
(.8m)
Honorable
Mention was awarded to Stephanie Krasnov
of
Chapel Hill High School for her sculpture “2010:
Celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity”. The Contest
Judging Committee was delighted with the clever way Ms. Krasnov
decorated the ceramic letters 2010 with diverse flora and fauna.
Click here to see a photo of her sculpture
and background information on the International Year for
Biodiversity.