Founded by the International School of Geneva, the Students’ League of Nations (SLN) is a realistic simulation of the United Nations’ General Assembly by young people aged 16-20 from schools throughout the world.
It is the successor to the Students’ United Nations (SUN), founded in 1953 - at the initiative of Robert Leach, a historian who had a long and distinguished career at the school - and has been taken as a model by other schools worldwide.
SUN was renamed SLN in 1983 in honour of the League of Nations, the world’s first comprehensive attempt to settle differences peacefully rather than through brute force.
During this realistic simulation exercise, students take on the roles of delegates. In so doing they become mindful of what's at stake globally and conscious of the importance of dialogue in conflict resolution.
The rules stipulate that each delegation is composed of two students who may not represent their own country. After a selection process and registration, the students have a couple of months in which to propose resolutions, four of which will be debated during the Assembly.
Past debate themes have included nuclear arms, women’s rights, artificial intelligence, environmental issues, the refugee crisis, freedom of speech, endangered species, unemployment, the role of the UN peacekeeping troops and many other topical and pressing global issues.
During the December 2014 session, we were fortunate to capture the attention of France 3 TV channel!
20 December 2014 - France 3, "Alpexpress" TV programme