Accra, June 3, GNA - The Ghana Office of the United Nations Informat= ion Centre (UNIC) has extended the closing date for submission of applications for participation in this year's Global Model United Nations Conference (GMUN) from May 31, to June 14.

The extension is to enable more qualified people to apply. The GMUN is an annual event organised by the United Nations for the youth between 18-26 years, to bring together youth delegates from all UN Member Countries across the globe. It seeks to educate the participants about the UN, listens and amplifies their views and engages them in global issues. This year's edition would be held in Incheon, South Korea, in August= .. Delegates would get the chance to interact with international and national staff of the UN and understand and appreciate the diversity of UN projects and programmes in each region annually. Speaking at the programme in Accra on Friday, Mrs Evelyn Sarpong, Officer-in-Charge, UNIC Ghana, said every year, approximately 1,000 university level students between 16-26 years at the time of the conference were chosen to represent their countries.

"No country has been given a quota as to the number of delegates to bring and as far as we are concerned Ghana could present as many as possibl= e delegates to the conference," she explained. She noted that for the selection of delegates, GMUN guidelines called for a transparent and inclusive process that provided for gender balance an= d an equal chance for participation from students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Mrs Sarpong noted that the conference rotated annually among all regions of the world, to enrich the experience of GMUN delegates. She noted that the programme was fully sponsored by the UN and urged those qualified to apply to visit the programme's website, which is www.un.org/gmun "The basic criteria are to fall within the age range and be a tertia= ry student and appreciate what the UN is all about," she added.