About MUN
MUN stands for Model United Nations, and is an activity that takes place at schools and universities worldwide. It is a sort of role play, where students take on the role as delegates (ambassadors) for nations in different UN bodies.
The delegates come together to simulate a session in an organ of the United Nations, for example the General Assembly, the World Health Organisation, UNDP or the Security Council. The sessions have a set topic. Each delegate represents a nation’s government and negotiates on the issue as if he or she were in fact that government.
Model United Nations is an extraordinary opportunity for students from all subjects to engage in world affairs. The variety of committees allows delegates to discuss topics that interest them and that are relevant to their studies. In addition, they will learn a lot about diplomacy, negotiations and international relations.
For example, a student may represent Iceland in the World Health Organisation, and discuss the topic of eradicating malaria. In that case, the student will find out what Iceland’s position is on the issue, and along with other delegates, which represent other nations (say, Ghana, India and Mexico) discuss the topic, and try to reach a consensus on the topic, written down in a resolution stating what principles they base their action on, what they wish to achieve and how it would be achieved.
Taking part in MUN allows you to work on a lot of skills:
Research
Researching the topic on debate is the most important thing you can do before any conference. Knowing and understanding your nation’s beliefs allow you to negotiate, speak on the issue, convince others that your position is correct and hopefully result in your (re)solution to the issue being chosen.
Negotiation, cooperation and compromise
Negotiating is the most basic skill of the diplomat, and you, as a delegate must practice this at all times during your MUN conference. You will come to know, and promote, your nation’s policy and become able to explain in plain terms how your nation’s position is the solution. It doesn’t matter whether you or some other delegate wrote the resolution you are debating, just be clear about what you want, and present it well.
Public Speaking
Closely related to the first point, the skill of public speaking is a second that you will improve upon by partaking in MUN. Though, if you are an excellent negotiator, you might not have to speak in public at all, as other nations will put forth your views for you, but don’t count on it!
Argumentation
Closely related to public speaking, the ability to construct a coherent argument is fundamental to any good delegate. Which is why research is so important. You need to be able to justify your country’s position, supporting it with different types of evidence.
Resolution Writing
A resolution is an official paper stating the UN organ’s position on a certain issue. Basically, a resolution is an attempt to give a unified response to an issue in writing. As you may well understand, a resolution is entirely dependent on your other skills. Writing a resolution is the hardest thing a delegate does, as the differences between stances come out much more clearly when you debate something in writing. However, practicing to write resolutions will also teach you a lot about presentation and clarity, and is very useful for the more experienced delegates.
Other perks
And of course, one cannot forget the social bit: going to a conference is a lot of fun! You meet people your own age, from all over the world who are interested in world issues. Inside conference hours there is always opportunity to socialise, but there are also always social events connected with the conferences, so you can let go of that stiff diplomat mask for a while.
(photo by Renan Dincer of TIMUN)
The delegates come together to simulate a session in an organ of the United Nations, for example the General Assembly, the World Health Organisation, UNDP or the Security Council. The sessions have a set topic. Each delegate represents a nation’s government and negotiates on the issue as if he or she were in fact that government.
Model United Nations is an extraordinary opportunity for students from all subjects to engage in world affairs. The variety of committees allows delegates to discuss topics that interest them and that are relevant to their studies. In addition, they will learn a lot about diplomacy, negotiations and international relations.
For example, a student may represent Iceland in the World Health Organisation, and discuss the topic of eradicating malaria. In that case, the student will find out what Iceland’s position is on the issue, and along with other delegates, which represent other nations (say, Ghana, India and Mexico) discuss the topic, and try to reach a consensus on the topic, written down in a resolution stating what principles they base their action on, what they wish to achieve and how it would be achieved.
Taking part in MUN allows you to work on a lot of skills:
Research
Researching the topic on debate is the most important thing you can do before any conference. Knowing and understanding your nation’s beliefs allow you to negotiate, speak on the issue, convince others that your position is correct and hopefully result in your (re)solution to the issue being chosen.
Negotiation, cooperation and compromise
Negotiating is the most basic skill of the diplomat, and you, as a delegate must practice this at all times during your MUN conference. You will come to know, and promote, your nation’s policy and become able to explain in plain terms how your nation’s position is the solution. It doesn’t matter whether you or some other delegate wrote the resolution you are debating, just be clear about what you want, and present it well.
Public Speaking
Closely related to the first point, the skill of public speaking is a second that you will improve upon by partaking in MUN. Though, if you are an excellent negotiator, you might not have to speak in public at all, as other nations will put forth your views for you, but don’t count on it!
Argumentation
Closely related to public speaking, the ability to construct a coherent argument is fundamental to any good delegate. Which is why research is so important. You need to be able to justify your country’s position, supporting it with different types of evidence.
Resolution Writing
A resolution is an official paper stating the UN organ’s position on a certain issue. Basically, a resolution is an attempt to give a unified response to an issue in writing. As you may well understand, a resolution is entirely dependent on your other skills. Writing a resolution is the hardest thing a delegate does, as the differences between stances come out much more clearly when you debate something in writing. However, practicing to write resolutions will also teach you a lot about presentation and clarity, and is very useful for the more experienced delegates.
Other perks
And of course, one cannot forget the social bit: going to a conference is a lot of fun! You meet people your own age, from all over the world who are interested in world issues. Inside conference hours there is always opportunity to socialise, but there are also always social events connected with the conferences, so you can let go of that stiff diplomat mask for a while.
(photo by Renan Dincer of TIMUN)