This challenging and intellectually stimulating program provides motivated high school students with a unique opportunity to learn about the workings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and to critically analyze international issues from a comprehensive global perspective. Students attend a variety of preparatory sessions and assume the roles of witnesses — portraying senators, cabinet officers, ambassadors, corporate executives, journalists/writers, "think tank" analysts and other experts. On the day of the hearing, students remain in character as their assigned witness roles and work together to develop legislative proposals to address the topic at hand.

This year, we have partnered with the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decision Series and will focus on the following four topics:

• Afghanistan/Pakistan
• Cuba: On the Verge
• Egypt: Key Ally in the Middle East
• Global Food Crisis

Participating in Model Senate

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and the Project on Forward Engagement have created the Model Senate Handbook, designed to help students and teachers prepare for the Council's Model Senate simulation. This handbook is also an introduction to a key component of the Council's Model Senate program: Forward Engagement, a method of policy analysis that emphasizes the importance of considering the longer-range future in making policy. By integrating Forward Engagement into our Model Senate program, we hope to provide students with a deeper understanding of some of the challenges to conducting national and international affairs in a dynamic 21st century global environment.

The Model Senate Handbook was made possible by the generous funding from the Project on Forward Engagement, which in turn is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Forward Engagement is a concept developed by Leon Fuerth, former National Security Adviser to Vice President Al Gore, and Research Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. We encourage teachers to use Forward Engagement's analytical framework in the classroom-both in connection with and independent of a Model Senate simulation.

All schools that plan to participate in our Model Senate must complete the required application prior to the registration deadline.

Model Senate Application

Deadline for registration: Friday, October 23, 2009

Here are the descriptions of the keys roles and assignments for all participants. For those that would like to review their assigned role, this is a good place to look. Role assignments for schools will be posted within a week of receiving program applications.

Briefings from the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decision series are provided below.

• Afghanistan/Pakistan
• Cuba: On the Verge
• Egypt: Key Ally in the Middle East
• Global Food Crisis

In Model Senate, the role of the senator requires leadership skills, commitment of time and effort, and the ability to think critically and globally about the issues involved. All students interested in portraying the role of a senator must attend tryouts at the World Affairs Council. Once selected, the preparation process begins.

• Witness Questions template: due November 12, 2009
• Investigating the topic document: due November 12, 2009
• Proposed Resolution template: due November 19, 2009

The following are two examples of senate resolutions and specific instructions for all senators and subcommittee chairs:

• Sample resolution — U.S.-China
• Sample resolution — U.S.-E.U.
• Guidelines for Senators
• Guidelines for Subcommittee Chairs

All students portraying witness roles must thoroughly research their witness and be prepared to accurately and convincingly role-play that person during the Model Senate Hearings.

How to write an effective witness testimony

Links to useful websites

For more information about our education programs, please contact our Associate Director of Education, Kayla Haidara, at 215-561-4700, ext. 216.