AGS Hosts Mock International Negotiation Conducted by Université Paris-Sud and AGS Students

Since the beginning of February and through the end of March, the American Graduate School in Paris has been hosting a series of international negotiation simulation exercises on the theme of the migratory crisis, led by its partner Université Paris-Sud.

The negotiation simulations have brought together 35 students from the Master in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiation program, including four dual degree students from AGS, under the direction of Professor Selim El-Sayegh, former Minister of Social Affairs in Lebanon and the director of the Master’s program at UPS.

During the negotiations, each student represents a specific country and defends that country’s stakes and interests during plenary sessions and panels. These exercises will culminate in a two-day international negotiation to be held at Université La Sagesse in Beirut at the end of March, and should lead to the formulation of a legal document addressing political, social and humanitarian issues related to migration, to be forwarded to the European Commission.

This international negotiation simulation exercise has been conducted every year since 1994 by Université Paris-Sud, and since 1997 with AGS students through the two institutions’ dual degree partnership. Previous simulations have been held on such themes as “Environment and sustainable development”, “Crisis management in the European Union”, “Cultural dialogue in the Euromed area”, “The Economic Francophonie”, and “Establishing a social responsibility and intercultural charter for the media”. The final simulation conferences were held in different locations around the world: Alexandria, Egypt; Beirut, Lebanon: Athens, Greece; Rabat, Morocco; Brussels, Belgium; and UNESCO in Paris.