United States Congressman Dan Kildee will give a keynote address to kickoff the second annual Kettering University Model United Nations (KUMUN) conference from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, the Campus Center. Brad Jacobsen, who represents the 46th District in the Michigan House of Representatives, will also provide a statement to initiate the conference.

“KUMUN is really a good platform to widen our global views,” said Zhaxi Nima, Public Relations Chair for KUMUN. “I would definitely encourage all college students to join us to shape their leadership skills.”

The conference will be an intense and engaging real-time simulation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Participating groups will represent the United States, Soviet and Cuban Cabinets. More specifically, individual participants will be assigned specific roles such as Central Intelligence Agency Director John McCone or United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

“The Cuban Missile Crisis is the example, the very embodiment, of intense negotiations, high-stakes crisis management, and under-the-gun decision-making,” said Michael Graham, President of KUMUN. “This is precisely why we chose to make it the topic of our conference, and why we are so excited to experience it with our peers at Kettering and other neighboring schools.”

This competition differs from last year’s because it is a real-time crisis simulation with individually assigned roles.

“The decisions each cabinet makes will affect the other cabinets,” Graham said. “Each cabinet will be passing multiple directives through the course of the simulation, ranging from orders to the military, public government statements to future demands.”

Kildee’s keynote will stress the importance of diplomacy, collaboration and political involvement and engagement of students during historic and modern moments of crisis.

The conference is open to area colleges and high school teams. It is free to participate in the conference. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. Email KUMUN2016@gmail.com to sign up for the conference.