STRETFORD resident and talented student debater Suleman Shabbir shone in the spotlight of a high-pressure United Nations summit where students from five top Greater Manchester schools were locked in talks over the global issue of food security.

Suleman. 17, who studies at Abbey College, Manchester, took centre stage in the model United Nations event, which saw teams from North West schools re-created the high-pressure environment of a UN General Assembly in the model UN event.

Hosted by leading city-centre independent school Abbey College Manchester and organised by the Geographical Association of Manchester, each team of student ‘diplomats’ debated the global issue and concept of how to feed the global billions without damaging the planet.

During the event, at the Unitarian Chapel on Cross Street, students were asked to represent the views of ‘their’ country, reflecting that country’s national interests rather than their own personal opinions on an issue.

The assembled delegates were locked in talks on the international epidemic of undernourished people, causes of hunger, family farming, and managing natural resources in a sustainable way.

The purpose of the popular annual debate was to develop students’ leadership, research, team-work, public-speaking and communication skills as well confidence and awareness of world issues.

The challenge for students was to get as much as possible for their particular country in the negotiations and the eventual resolution. A prize of £15 was given to each member of the winning team based on how realistically they played the role of ‘their’ country, how well they knew about the issue of global hunger and how capable they were of standing up and speaking about the issue in public.

Suleman said: “I really enjoyed taking part in the Model UN event, it was fascinating to see how passionate all the teams got about their countries and all the various debates they put together. I was really impressed with the speeches and their tactics, as everyone had really put in the effort to learn a lot about their opposition, as well as their own country. Eventually though, we negotiated, struck some deals, and a final resolution was made.”