How would you form your future city? High school students in the “Human Migration in the 21st Century” expedition course joined over 200 other students from around the globe to grapple with this question as part of this year’s Model G20 Summit.
The Model G20 Summit, held virtually again this year, focused on the theme, Smart Cities: Adapting Urban Life to Our Needs. Participating students were assigned to represent various countries around the world. In their country groups, they established the role they would play based on their interests, expertise, and experience. Students were asked to research topics including smart technologies, urban planning and sustainability, and economic development and growth from the perspective of their assigned country and role. They then worked in country groups and negotiated between countries to develop policies and treaties. Watershed students represented Australia, Canada, China, EU, France, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey and assumed the following roles: Head of State(3), Minister of Business and Development(1), Minister of City Revenue and Finance(2), Minister of Education(1), Minister of Industry(1), Minister of Science and New Technologies(1), Deciding Committee(1).
The experience then culminated in a weekend-long, virtual press conference during which countries pitched their policies, bilateral and multilateral agreements. In each situation, heads of state provided an overview of the policies and treaties and ministers went into specifics.
This year’s Model G20 fit seamlessly into this year’s “Human Migration in the 21st Century” expedition course. The Model G20’s focus was on how countries will deal with the predicted growth of city populations over the next 30 years as people continue to migrate from rural areas to urban areas and climate change displaces large populations of people around the world. The domestic and international policies that G20 delegates proposed demonstrated how long-term urban planning could be a viable solution to the increasing migration of people around the world.
This is the second year that Watershed has sent delegates to the Model G20 virtual conference. It requires significant work from our students and also provides them with a platform on which they truly shine! A special shout-out to this year’s award recipients: Lee '23 (Exceptional Ministerial Delegate), Dani '24 (Most Outstanding Country Delegation) and to students selected as Heads of State for their country's delegation: Sawana '25 (Japan), Abby '23 (Canada), and Keira '22 (EU). Joshua '23, a Model G20 veteran from last year, served as a member of the "Deciding Committee" where he provided advice/support, answered questions, and helped judge the competitions.
You can learn more about Knovva Academy’s Model G20 here.
