2026 Mo Winograd Memorial Special Competition
Teen Mental Health Crisis
How Southwest Florida Can Show the Way to Help Combat the Global Teen Mental Health Crisis
This is your chance to work and compete as a team, think outside the box, and earn some money for your school’s Model U.N. Program. Please read the details below carefully and contact us if you have any questions.
The winners of the Mo Winograd Special Competition will be announced at the SWFLMUN Awards Ceremony on March 3, 2026. They will also be invited to showcase their presentation to Naples Council of World Affairs in advance of a lecture in April 2026.
Background:
The topic of Student Mental Health is receiving increased focus and urgency in today’s tumultuous and unstable world. The literature tells us that globally, one out of every five teenagers is suffering from some form of mental illness.
To promote a culture that values mental health as much as physical health, we are asking MUN students deploy their critical thinking skills to tackle the problem of student mental health for the upcoming 2026 Mo Winograd Model UN Special Competition.
Your assignment:
Propose a well thought through strategy to address and handle mental illness of teenagers in Southwest Florida. The strategy should involve local and state governments and residents and have potential for national implementation. As mental heal knows no boundaries, the strategy should be a blueprint which could be adapted by governments and non-governmental organizations abroad, including through the United Nations.
Your Approach:
In connection with your team’s submission, please address the following:
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Develop a program to educate students and teachers about the different types of mental illness, particularly as they relate to students, and how to identify students with mental health issues and suggest mechanisms that could encourage troubled teenagers to self-identify.
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Propose one or more diagnostic strategies (which may involve funding by government or by private organizations) – locally, nationally, and internationally.
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Consider the global application of your recommendations.
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Consider parental involvement in your recommendations.
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Consider the privacy issues and other factors associated with your recommendations.
Submission format:
Your submission needs to be digital, but you are encouraged to be as creative as possible! PowerPoint, YouTube video, screenshots, Instagram and other formats that will reach a large audience. Work as a team to come up with the idea, and then tell us and show us how this would work – and capture peoples’ imagination locally, nationally, and around the world.
Due date:
Your submission is due Friday, February 20 by midnight to Beth Foss at specialproject@swflmun.org. If you do not have an email acknowledgement by Sunday the 22nd please send Beth an email so we can make sure it's not lost in cyberspace.
Awards:
Monetary awards and SWFLMUN Special Recognition Medals at various levels will be presented to the MUN clubs of the winning schools in amounts and levels to be announced soon.