Fifteen students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to act as diplomats at the Morocco International Model Arab League. 

The Model Arab League is a student leadership development program created by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. It is a simulation of an international organization, the League of Arab States, which represents 22 countries.

The conference will be held Nov. 9-13 at the Université International de Rabat, where UALR students will act as representatives of Somalia, Iraq, and Qatar. They will tackle diplomatic panels on defense, Palestinian affairs, refugees, social issues, and environmental affairs.

Dr. Rebecca Glazier, director of the UALR Model Arab League and associate professor of political science, is leading the trip. Larry Rhodes, learning technology coordinator for the UALR College of Social Sciences and Communications, is chaperoning and documenting the trip.

Thanks to the generosity of the UALR Middle Eastern Studies program and the Université International de Rabat, each student is only paying $700 for the trip, including flights, meals, accommodations, transportation, conference fees, and activities.

“Those two organizations coming together is what really made this trip affordable and accessible to our students,” Glazier said. “For students to have access to short-term study abroad opportunities is amazing.”

In addition to the conference, the UALR students will also enjoy tours of Morocco, including camel rides and camping in the Merzouga Desert.

The students attending the Model Arab League include Alexandra Barnes, Nora Bouzihay, Natasha Burch, Robert Cole, Naty Doris, Andrea Elias, Zachary Glembin, Brian Gregory, Joseph Jones, Brittany Kirtley, Amelia Loken, Miguel Lopez, Emily Powell, Rhett Smith, and Demas Soliman.

The students will be writing a daily blog of their adventures in Morocco that can be viewed on the School of Public Affairs website.

In the upper right photo, Dr. Rebecca Glazier and UALR students gather at the airport to depart on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Morocco International Model Arab League at the Université International de Rabat. Pictured, from left to right, are: Back row: Robert Cole, Joseph Jones, Miguel Lopez, Rhett Smith, Amelia Loken, Dr. Rebecca Glazier, Brian Jones, and Demas Soliman. Front row: Natashia Burch, Andrea Elias, Emily Powell, Alexandria Barnes, and Brittany Kirtley.