On April 16 and 17, over 300 students, teachers and administrators from the Sewanhaka Central High School District will participate in the 11th Annual Lee Marcus Invitational Sewanhaka Intra-District Model United Nations Conference (SIDMUN XI). The conference will be conducted at Elmont Memorial High School, the birthplace of SIDMUN and the district's prestigious Model United Nations program. SIDMUN will be attended by students from Elmont Memorial, H. Frank Carey, New Hyde Park Memorial, Floral Park Memorial and Sewanhaka High Schools.

Model United Nations is an internationally renowned program created to give high school and college students an opportunity to experience the role of United Nations ambassadors. They debate serious issues faced by the international community in an attempt to reach effective resolution. Harvard University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Rutgers University, the University of Chicago and many more prominent educational institutions sponsor conferences throughout the year. These conferences engage the best and brightest of the world's students and provide a forum to display and improve their skills. The Sewanhaka District has distinguished itself through its exemplary performance at conferences for the past 25 years; their accomplishments include the "Best Delegation" award at the Hague International Model United Nations Conference, the ultimate symbol of international excellence in Model UN.

SIDMUN was established 11 years ago by Lee Marcus, also the founder and longtime coordinator of Model United Nations in the district. He has coordinated the district teams for the past 25 years, until his retirement in 2003. This year, the SIDMUN staff, which consists of 30 of the top delegates from the district under the guidance of Lee Marcus and with the support of the district administrators, club advisors and school administrations, has been working tirelessly to bring together all the elements that constitute a first-class conference. This year's debate will be entertained in five committees: Security Council, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, the Social Cultural and Humanitarian Committee, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Financial committee. They will be debating pressing issues such as "The Question of Self-determination and "the Post-War Economic Stabilization of Iraq."

Some of the highlights of this year's conference includes a direct address sent by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, the expected visitations from district MUN alumni and a Citation of Distinction from Assemblyman Tom Alfano of the district's five unbeatable teams.