17 May 2012

Mock UN general assembly in Tonga crucial for teaching democracy - educator

4:33 am on 17 May 2012

An educator in Tonga hopes a mock United Nations general assembly being held over the next two days helps to educate young people about how democracy works.

The mock UN meeting will involve 80 students chosen from tertiary and secondary institutions.

The dean of academic studies at Tupou Tertiary, Dr 'Ungatea Kata, who is also chair of the United Nations Tonga Association, says they will debate key issues such as climate change and terrorism.

She says programmes like this are crucial for teaching people about democracy.

"Because that is something that is, I would say, is fairly new to Tonga because we have just had the political changes since 2010 and the thinking about the new system - we really need to educate our young people about how best to engage in such a system."