Virginia Tech Model EU pilot program unveiled at Tallwood HS

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A pilot Model European Union program run by the Virginia Tech Center for European and Transatlantic Studies was unveiled at Tallwood High School Wednesday.

After running a successful Model EU program in the Blacksburg area, Virginia Tech decided to do a pilot run in Virginia Beach, with Tallwood’s Global Studies and World Languages Academy hosting it.

Both Tallwood and Ocean Lakes high schools participated in the event, in which students collaborated, negotiated and created their own resolutions on the use of artificial intelligence across the European Union, as well as a solid immigration policy as they role-played the 27 countries in the EU.

The event opened with Belgian ambassador to the United States, Jean-Arthur Régibeau, giving remarks via Zoom, encouraging students to continue with their interest in politics.

Virginia Tech’s Model EU program was developed in 2019, and it runs a large two-day debate event on the university’s Blacksburg campus each spring for secondary school students in the New River Valley and Roanoke Valley regions in southwestern Virginia.

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It began with just 70 high school students from a large school in its first year and has since expanded to five schools and 130 students in 2023. Teachers meet in the fall of each academic year, and led by Center for European and Transatlantic Studies (CEUTTSS) staff, coordinate the spring event that is held in March.

The program expanded this year to southeastern Virginia, where an additional CEUTTSS affiliated educator helped the center’s staff coordinate a spring conference for regional schools in this area.

Next year, the center plans to expand the event, and also plans to expand further to the Richmond and central capital area of Virginia.

The center’s medium-term expansion goal after 2025 is to hold a fourth regional conference at Virginia Tech’s campus in northern Virginia, and a culminating debate event in which the top schools in all four regions would compete in a final EU Council debate.

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