GLOBAL CLASSROOMS: JOHANNESBURG

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) operates the Global Classrooms programme in Johannesburg, funded by the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) and Merrill Lynch. The programme uses Model United Nations (MUN) simulations of the UN Security Council to teach students research, negotiation, and diplomacy. Students are paired with tutors from the University of the Witwatersrand for four months of preparation before participating in simulated crises. In 2006, the programme involved 75 schools and addressed hypothetical crises including Mediterranean water quality, nuclear proliferation in Zimbabwe, polio containment in Nigeria, piracy in Somalia, and water rights in Lake Victoria.

• The SAIIA Schools Development Programme was established to address a lack of professional expertise in international affairs in South Africa following the end of international isolation in the early 1990s, aiming to increase tertiary enrolment in the discipline.
• The programme focuses on bridging the gap between basic education and practical application by using a one-on-one tutorial system to ensure students from both advantaged and disadvantaged schools can compete equally in simulated debates.
• The Johannesburg iteration of Global Classrooms follows a specific four-phase structure: tutor training, a launch event, five preliminary Security Council sessions resolving hypothetical crises, and a final session for top-performing schools.
• In 2006, the programme reached over 375 learners and their communities in southern Africa, involving 75 selected schools and approximately 100 tutors from the Witwatersrand University Model United Nations Society (WitsMUN).
• The 2006 simulated crises required students to research and negotiate complex global issues, including toxic effluent in the Mediterranean, a hypothetical nuclear deal between Iran and Zimbabwe, a virulent polio mutation in Nigeria, Somali piracy, and a water pipeline dispute between Tanzania and Egypt.
• The programme is funded externally through the UNA-USA's Global Classrooms initiative, which is supported by Merrill Lynch (New York).

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2006). GLOBAL CLASSROOMS: JOHANNESBURG. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Fact-Sheet-SAIIA-Global-Classrooms.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. GLOBAL CLASSROOMS: JOHANNESBURG. 2006. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Fact-Sheet-SAIIA-Global-Classrooms.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=GLOBAL CLASSROOMS: JOHANNESBURG |date=2006 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Fact-Sheet-SAIIA-Global-Classrooms.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2006global, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{GLOBAL CLASSROOMS: JOHANNESBURG}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2006}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Fact-Sheet-SAIIA-Global-Classrooms.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }