Model United Nations

Model United Nations at the Prague Student Summit in the Czech Republic

Model United Nations in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Turkish International Model United Nations in Istanbul, Turkey

Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation and academic competition in which students learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. MUN involves and teaches research, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities. Usually an extracurricular activity, some schools also offer Model UN as a class.

Participants in Model UN conferences, referred to as delegates, are placed in committees and assigned countries, or occasionally other organizations or political figures, to represent. They are presented with their assignments in advance, along with a topic or topics that their committee will discuss. Delegates conduct research before conferences and formulate positions that they will then debate with their fellow delegates in committee. At the end of a conference, the best-performing delegates in each committee are sometimes recognized with awards.

Model UN participants include students at the middle school, high school, and college/university levels, with most conferences catering to just one of these three levels (high school and college conferences being most common). Delegates usually attend conferences together as delegations sent by their respective schools' or universities' Model UN clubs, though some delegates attend conferences independently.

Most conferences are hosted by high school and college MUN clubs, though organizations such as UNA-USA also host Model UN conferences. As of 2012, there were about 400 MUN conferences worldwide.

History

Model UN began as a series of student-led Model League of Nations simulations. It is believed that the first Model League of Nations conferences were held in the 1920s, before transitioning to Model UN after the formation of the League's successor organization, the United Nations, in 1945. Today, some Model UN conferences include simulations of the League of Nations among their committee offerings.

It is disputed which conference was the first Model UN conference held in the world, with the major claimants being Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN), Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN), and National Model United Nations (NMUN NY). However, it is clear that the first was held some time in the early 1950s.

In recent decades, Model UN has spread to East and South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa, with major conference organizers such as Harvard and THIMUN establishing additional conferences in these regions to meet burgeoning demand.

Conference

Procedures

Delegates negotiating during an unmoderated caucus

In order to maintain decorum, most Model UN committees use parliamentary procedure derived from Robert's Rules of Order. However most crisis committees forgo the formality of parliamentary procedure so as to ensure smoother operation. In addition, recently the United Nations has spearheaded efforts to introduce new Model UN rules of procedure that are more closely aligned with those used by the actual UN. Since there is no governing body for MUNs, each conference differs in the rules of procedure. The following rules of procedure apply to general MUNs but may not apply to every MUN:

MUNs are run by a group of administrators known as the dais. A dais is headed by a Secretary-General. Each committee usually has a chair (also known as moderator), a member of the dais that enforces the rules of procedure. A delegate may request the committee as a whole to perform a particular action; this is known as a motion. Documents aiming to address the issue of the committee are known as resolutions and are voted for ratification.

MUN committees can be divided into three general sessions: formal debate, moderated caucus, and unmoderated caucus. In a formal debate, the staff maintains a list of speakers and the delegates follow the order written on the 'speaker list'. Speakers may be added to the speaker list by raising their placards or sending a note to the chair. During this time, delegates talk to the entire committee. They make speeches, answer questions, and debate on resolutions and amendments. If there are no other motions, the committee goes back to formal debate by default. There is usually a time limit. In a moderated caucus, the committee goes into a recess and the rules of procedure are suspended. Anyone may speak if recognized by the chair. A vote on a motion is necessary to go into a moderated caucus. There is a comparatively shorter time limit per speech. In an unmoderated caucus, the delegates informally meet with other delegates and the staff for discussions

Resolutions are the basis of all debate. They are considered the final results of conversations, writings, and negotiations. Resolutions must go through a draft, approval by the dais, and consequent debate and modification.

Placard for the United Kingdom in Spanish at the International Model United Nations of Buenos Aires (MINUBA) in Argentina

Languages

Traditionally, English has been the official and working language of most conferences, but, as Model UN has become more popular around the world, and as conferences in countries such as the United States have sought to appeal to underrepresented minorities (such as the Spanish-speaking community), committees using languages other than English, or which are bilingual, have become common. It should be noted, however, that this is still not yet a mainstream phenomenon, especially not in the United States, where most bilingual or Spanish language committees are found at conferences hosted in Puerto Rico or the South.

Dress Code

Delegates at Model UN conferences are expected to wear Western Business Attire (WBA).

General Assembly delegates at Model United Nations Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart, Germany

Committees

Committees at Model UN conferences can simulate a variety of bodies. From the more commonly simulated six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Security Council, to corporate executive boards and national cabinets, Model UN committees reflect the diversity of the delegates who participate in them.

• General Assembly committees (such as DISEC and ECOFIN)
• United Nations Security Council
• International Court of Justice
• Regional bodies (such as NATO or the OAS)

Model United Nations committees may be modern, historical, futuristic, or fantastical.

A special committee that does not have a parallel in the actual United Nations which deals with a crisis is known as a 'Crisis Committee.' In this committee, a crisis is given to a team of students and the teams must come up with solutions. The Crisis Committee focuses on a single historical event. The event may be fictional or non-fictional.

Organization

MUNs are usually organized by high school clubs or college clubs. Organizations that coordinate MUNs such as the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) are considered important organizing forces.

The United Nations hosts a site called the UN Cyberschoolbus which contains general information about MUNs such as: advice for researching papers for MUNs, starting MUN conferences, and methods to help finding MUNs. The program also has an international Internet forum in which participants can share information. Organizations such as the Osgood Center for International Studies have aided in the creation of MUNs.

Model UN by region and country

WEMUN Expo in Beijing, China

Although Model United Nations originated in the United States, MUN clubs and conferences are not isolated to that country. Rather, like the actual UN, Model UN is found in countries around the globe. Because Model UN is decentralized and has grown autonomously around the world, there are significant differences in how MUN is done between regions.

North America

United States

Main article: Model United Nations in the United States

Model UN was first developed in the United States and it is where many of the world's most respected conferences are held. The United States has several regional centers of Model UN, including the East Coast (Northeast), the West Coast (California), the Midwest, the South, and Puerto Rico.

Asia-Pacific

India

The first Model United Nations conference in India was the Cathedral Model United Nations (CMUN) hosted by The Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai in 1996. Since then, Model UN has become increasingly popular in India, with an estimated 200 conferences held in the country in 2012 alone, most concentrated in Delhi, Mumbai, and South India. As major conference organizers have sought to expand internationally, India has seen the creation of such conferences as HMUN India, which in August 2011 became the first major conference established by a well-known group from outside India.

Notable participants

• Tom Donilon, former National Security Advisor in the Obama administration
• Rainn Wilson, actor, best known for the character Dwight Schrute on the NBC's [The Office (U.S. TV series|’'the Office]]

In popular culture

Winning London

As Model UN has become more well-known, numerous references to the activity have appeared in popular culture. At times inaccurate, the depiction of the activity in the mainstream media and the entertainment industry shows how Model UN is perceived, while also shaping the perception of the public in the process.

• Winning London: A 2001 film starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Winning London is the only known blockbuster film to center on Model United Nations. As a result, it has become somewhat of a cult classic for Model UN teams around the world.
• "Sixteen Military Wives": A song by The Decemberists released in 2009, the accompanying music video is a caricature of Model UN, intended as a criticism of the Iraq War.
• “Geography of Global Conflict”: A 2011 episode of Community in which the characters form a Model UN team.
• "The Treaty": A 2011 episode of Parks and Recreation in which Leslie Knope runs a simulation of the Security Council.
• "Favors": A 2013 episode of Mad Men in which Sally attends a Model UN conference in Manhattan.
• "Mom and Dad": A 2013 episode of How I Met Your Mother in which Marshall drives Daphne to her daughter's Model UN speech.

See also

• Best Delegate
• Boys State
• Experiential learning
• Global civics
• Global Classrooms
• List of Model United Nations conferences
• Mock trial
• Model Arab League
• Model Congress
• Model Crime Investigations
• Model United States Senate
• Moot court
• United Nations
• United Nations Association of the United States of America

Further reading

• A Guide to Delegate Preparation: A Model United Nations Handbook, edited by Scott A. Leslie, The United Nations Association of the United States of America, 2004 edition (October 2004), softcover, 296 pages, ISBN 1-880632-71-3.

External links

• Best Delegate
• United Nations Cyberschoolbus
• UNA-USA Model UN resources
• The MUN Manifesto Guide to Model United Nations
• Model United Nations Research from UCB Libraries GovPubs