sunia’s history
SUNIA has been around since 1952, but our program looks a lot different today than it did back then. After two world wars, the United Nations (UN) was founded to promote peace, and SUNIA was established to educate young people about diplomacy, peacemaking, and the UN. Initially called the Banff International Affairs Summer School (BIASS), the program was held at the Banff Centre and hired teachers to run summer classes for youth. BIASS was funded by the United Nations Association of Canada (UNAC) and had several sister programs across Canada.
By 1972, UNAC funding for the summer school model dried up, bringing BIASS to a crossroads. A group of passionate former BIASS attendees took over the Alberta program and began to run it independently as a summer camp. And thus, the Seminar on the United Nations and International Affairs (SUNIA) was born.
Security Council in session, August 1978
SUNIA’s young counsellors recognized that the program needed to adapt. If SUNIA was to fulfill its mission of giving youth the skills to make change and promote peace in their communities, it needed to move beyond simple classroom lectures. Led by Executive Director Jay Herringer, SUNIA adopted a more engaging, hands-on learning philosophy.
Today’s SUNIA bears hardly any resemblance to the BIASS of old. Over the years, teams of young and innovative counsellors have changed the program beyond recognition. Because this continuous innovation was spearheaded by young people, the program has always been able to connect with young people. Other iterations of BIASS across the country did not adjust their programming and eventually folded due to lack of funding and attendance. The result of decades of continuous change is a one-of-a-kind summer camp that blends topics like colonialism and diplomacy with campfires and mountaintop hikes.
And 72 years on, SUNIA is still entirely youth-led. While the organization is overseen by a Board of Directors, the direction and content of the program are determined entirely by SUNIA’s team of volunteer youth counsellors.
The world looks a lot different than it did when SUNIA was founded in 1952. One thing is for certain though: as the world continues to change, SUNIA will be changing with it.
some of our notable alumni:
Don Iveson — former mayor of Edmonton
Beverley McLachlin — first female and longest-serving chief justice, supreme court of canada
Mahmud Jamal — justice, supreme court of canada
Nathan Fillion — actor (Firefly, The Rookie, The Suicide Squad)
Paula Simons — senator, former journalist at the Edmonton Journal
Kevin Taft — former AB leader of the opposition & MLA for edmonton riverview
Sonia Furstenau — leader of the BC green party & MLA for cowichan valley
Janet Dixon — judge, provincial court of alberta
Ranjan Agarwal — judge, superior court of justice of ontario
Victor Cui — former president & CEO of the edmonton elks
Know someone who went to SUNIA who should be on this list? Send an email to director@sunia.ca and we will add them!