International Stage

International Stage Performances

During the first evening of the Kentucky United Nations Assembly, students have the opportunity to educate the rest of the conference on something that is unique to the country they are representing or that reflects the culture of that country in a meaningful way.

Delegations at KUNA who choose to do so should take care to ensure participating students understand that their performances are both a teaching tool and a resource for collaborative learning. Because this is the primary goal, it is particularly important that participants do research about their chosen performance piece and have gone to great lengths to understand respectful representations.

All performances should aim to inform and educate, bringing to light relevant cultural themes, resources, and/or current/historical issues of the nation.

Applications are now open and are due January 17th at 11:59 p.m. EST. NEW IN 2024: A video submission showing a rough draft of 20 seconds of the performance must be submitted to vontella@kyymca.org by February 7th, 2024 for your application to be considered complete. The application link will be available below.

International Stage Guidelines

  • Each performance shall not exceed 3 minutes, regardless of number of countries the school represents.
  • Live animals are NOT allowed during performances.
  • Acrobatics, flips, and gymnastic stunts are NOT ALLOWED during performance due to safety concerns. This means that at no time should a performer’s legs go over their head, or be lifted over over someone’s head by another performer. This includes performers getting on one another’s shoulders or backs. If you think your performance might violate these rules, please reach out to vontella@kyymca.org to strategize how to make your performance safer.

International Stage Process

This year spots for International Stage performances will be application-based and reviewed by a panel of external experts from the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana (WAC). International Stage spots are earned solely on an application basis. The WAC will ensure that all selected acts hold educational value, are culturally relevant, demonstrate evidence of research, and are creative and original.

  • Application Officially Opens: Wednesday, November1, 2023
  • Application closes: Wednesday, January 17, 2024
  • Video Submission DUE: Wednesday, February 7, 2024
    • 20-30 seconds in length
    • "Rough Draft" of your performance
    • Show enough for us to be able to understand the written description provided in your application
  • Review by WAC and KY YMCA
  • Notification of accepted performances: Friday, February 9, 2024
  • At conference, there will be an early meeting to review the performance schedule and expectations. At least one representative from each performance is expected to be in attendance.

Looking for inspiration? Check out past International Stage Performances below:

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