Elk Grove Teens Host International Debate Conference

More than 40 students from seven high schools gathered at Franklin High School in Elk Grove on April 1 for a Model United Nations conference organized by teenagers, not a university or national nonprofit. The event was run by the Sacramento Valley Model UN Conference, or SVMUNC, a student-led group founded in 2025 to bring debate over international issues closer to local campuses. Elk Grove Citizen reported that Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen spoke at the conference and urged students to stay engaged in civic life. The organization’s founder, Franklin High School junior Anoushka Vyas, said the project grew out of a practical problem: students in Elk Grove had limited access to nearby Model UN events. Vyas told Elk Grove Citizen that regional opportunities existed in Northern California, but distance and participation costs made them harder for some students to reach. She said SVMUNC was designed to recreate the conference experience at no cost by using school gyms and event halls and drawing on support from college groups including UC Davis Model United Nations. (egcitizen.com) ### How did a local student end up building a conference instead of just joining one? Anoushka Vyas said she first tried to expand access by starting a Model UN club at her school. Elk Grove Citizen reported that she later concluded an on-campus club alone would not solve the travel and cost barriers facing students who wanted to attend larger regional conferences. (egcitizen.com) In a quote published by the paper, Vyas said she founded the Sacramento Valley Model UN Conference to provide “accessible, no-cost opportunities for Elk Grove youth to learn about current events, diplomacy and global policymaking.” The group says on its website that it focuses on affordability, inclusivity and student leadership across public high schools in the Sacramento Valley region. (egcitizen.com) ### What actually happened at the April 1 event in Elk Grove? The April 1 conference brought students together to represent countries as delegates in a simulated United Nations setting, according to Elk Grove Citizen. The paper described the event as part of a broader student effort to strengthen public speaking skills and create more chances to debate international issues on local campuses. (egcitizen.com) Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen appeared as a guest speaker at the conference, the paper said. Elk Grove Citizen reported that she encouraged participants to stay involved in civic life and shared her perspective on local leadership. ### Who else is helping run it? A photo caption and report in Elk Grove Citizen identified student officers including Emila Steta, Ruby Mathew and Alice Hu alongside Vyas at the April 1 event. (egcitizen.com) The paper said the organization has support from student officers across the Elk Grove Unified School District. UC Davis Model United Nations is one of the outside groups cited by SVMUNC as a source of guidance. (egcitizen.com) The UC Davis organization describes itself as a student-led program focused on public speaking, debate and diplomacy, and it runs its own annual high school conference on the Davis campus. ### Why are local students trying to build their own Model UN circuit? (egcitizen.com) SVMUNC says on its website that Model UN is common nationally but remains underrepresented in Elk Grove-area public high schools. The group says politically focused extracurricular programs are often less visible locally, leaving many students with limited exposure to diplomacy and policy debate. Elk Grove Citizen reported that the student organizers are trying to expand through social media, school-based clubs and a student newsletter. (egcitizen.com) The group’s website also frames the effort as regional rather than one-campus only, with events meant for students across the Sacramento Valley. ### What comes next after the first conference? Sacramento Valley MUNC’s resources page lists additional conferences at Franklin High on October 1 and at Laguna Creek on November 19. (sacramentovalleymunc.com) The site says the events are open to students of all experience levels. (sacramentovalleymunc.com) (egcitizen.com)