Malta will be hosting its first Model United Nations Conference for local and foreign university students next month.

The Malta Model United Nations Society and the Junior Chamber of Advocates are organising the conference with the support of the Office of the President of Malta, the US Embassy and the Valletta 2018 Foundation. The theme chosen is ‘Lives adrift: fighting the exploitation of irregular migrants’.

MaltMUN Society president Cristina Cefai said that even though the theme had a lot of significance on the home front, it must also be discussed from an international viewpoint.

“Combating the exploitation of some of the most vulnerable people in our societies should be a global priority and a moral duty for all of us in a position to affect change – young people and students, volunteers, policymakers, those who draft and make laws and those who strive to defend them – as well as a moral duty for every single person who envisages a peaceful and just community, for themselves and for their children.”

Rosette Fenech, spokeswoman for the Office of the President, said it was vital to deliberate how people in peril should be protected and their human rights upheld.

The conference, which is open to higher education students aged between 18 and 30, will be held in Valletta from September 18 to 20.