NSW | UN Youth Australia

New South Wales Evatt Competition

Expressions of Interest are now OPEN for the 2023 Evatt Competition.

The New South Wales Evatt Competition is the NSW State round of the UN Youth Australia Evatt Competition, Australia’s premier debating and diplomacy competition. Evatt is a Model United Nations Security Council diplomacy competition for students in Years 9-12. It aims to educate young people about Australia’s place in the world and empower them as active citizens by developing public speaking, negotiation, teamwork, research, and diplomatic skills.

The competition takes the form of a mock session of the UN Security Council. Teams of two students debate, amend, and vote on resolutions from the perspective of the country they are assigned. Teams will be allocated one of the fifteen countries that are members of the United Nations Security Council in 2022. The students judged the most effective diplomats proceed to the next round.

The competition is named after the notable Herbert “Doc” Evatt, who was an Australian High Court Justice and a leading Federal politician who became President of the UN General Assembly and helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the course of the debate, students will:

Deliver speeches to the Council to persuade other teams of their country’s point of view;
Lobby and negotiate with other teams in caucus time and in a separate Negotiation chamber;
Amend the resolution to suit their country’s agenda;
Ask questions of other countries like in Parliamentary Question Time;
Vote on the final resolution

Round Structure of the Evatt Competition

The top thirty teams from the preliminary rounds are selected to compete at the State Semi-Final where they will debate more challenging resolutions. From there, the top fifteen teams are selected to compete at the State Grand Final (held at NSW Parliament House!) where even more difficult resolutions will be debated. The top five teams from the State Grand Final will be invited to compete in the UN Youth Australia Evatt National Finals in December.

Important Information

Country allocations and the prepared resolution will be emailed to students one week prior to the date of their Preliminary Round, with an impromptu resolution to be disseminated and debated on the day of the round.

Competitors are strongly encouraged to do preliminary research on their country and the issues covered in the prepared resolution.

Check out the National Evatt page for more details on how debate works. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the 2023 NSW Director of Administration, Patrick Crown-Milliss, at nswevatt@unyouth.org.au.

Our Sponsors

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advises the Australian Government in relation to foreign aid, trade and development policies. DFAT works alongside other government agencies to secure Australia’s presence in the global community, and to aid navigation of the Government’s diplomatic and political interests.

As a public purpose institution, UTS is committed to driving social change within and beyond campus. Our social impact agenda focuses research, education and practice from across the university to benefit people and communities.

The Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion is the gateway by which community organisations, not for profits, social purpose businesses and individuals may engage with the university’s resources and expertise to maximise social impact.

Project Academy is an HSC tutoring company for Year 9 to 12 students, designed to maximise students’ ATAR through structured classes, tutorials and practice examinations. Project Academy is an organisation born from the idea that students should have greater control over their education and their aim is to pioneer the movement of the educational industry into the future.

Sydney Awards & Trophies has been operating under the same family ownership in the Awards sector for over 40 years. They provide quality and value awards for large corporations, sporting associations, clubs, schools, businesses, government departments and individuals across Australia.

FAQ's

Can more than one team from a school compete in the Preliminary Rounds?

Yes – UN Youth NSW encourages schools to send as many teams as possible.

Do teammates have to be in the same grade at school?

No – students do not have to be in the same grade as their teammate. The only requirement is that both students are in Years 9-12 and from the same high school.

How long is each round?

Rounds are approximately three hours long, with two resolutions debated. There will be a break between the first and the second resolution.

When do teams receive their country allocation and resolution?

Teams will receive their country allocation and the prepared resolution via email one week before their preliminary round. Teams that register less than one week before their preliminary round will receive their country allocation and resolution shortly after registration.

When will the results be announced?

Results will not be announced at the conclusion of any Preliminary Round. The teams that have progressed to the second round will be announced after the last Preliminary Round.

What is the dress code for the Evatt Competition?

Students are encouraged to wear school uniform for all rounds of the Evatt Competition.

Additional Information?

Please don’t hesitate to contact the 2022 NSW Evatt Convenor, Patrick Crown-Milliss, at nswevatt@unyouth.org.au for additional information about the Evatt Competition or to have any questions answered.