On behalf of Dubai International Academy and the entire Conference Secretariat, I am delighted to welcome you to the pioneer session of Model United Nations 2009 (DIAMUN). Model United Nations conferences provide a platform to promote global understanding, and with 73 nationalities enrolled at Dubai International Academy, we have a panoptic approach to Model United Nations.

The theme of DIAMUN 2009 is Empowerment Through Education which is one of the United Nations' millennium development goals is achieving universal primary education, The majority of topics we have chosen for the debates will provide all the delegates with a chance to contribute towards conceiving truly global and multi-faceted solutions.

What you will give to DIAMUN is time, dedication, commitment, and the willingness to compromise in search of viable solutions; however, what you will bring back from the conference are skills, dispositions and friendships that will last you a lifetime.

As William Arthur Ward once said, "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it." I wish you the very best in your preparation