Model United Nations (MUN) is an enjoyable and academic extracurricular activity that is based on the real United Nations.
The main activity of MUN is attending “conferences”. Albany High’s MUN club attends three college “conferences” per year, two at UC Berkeley and one at UC Davis. Each conference is essentially a small-scale simulation of a real legislature — each student will have a chance to give speeches, write resolutions (which are essentially UN laws), and vote on each other’s proposals. During each conference, participants will learn valuable researching skills, gain public speaking experience, and improve their negotiation abilities. Overall, participation in MUN helps students get a taste of what it’s like to participate in the formation of government policy. There is also the opportunity for participants to win awards based on their performance. In addition to attending conferences together, the club meets every Wednesday at lunch to prepare (through research workshops and fun speech games) and discuss world events.
Logistics:
Before each MUN conference, each participant (also known as a “delegate”) is assigned a country and topic. A wide variety of issues are covered, from cybersecurity, poverty alleviation, and even fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. MUN has something for (almost) everyone. Delegates will research their topics and their country, culminating in a short one-to-three page essay called a position paper.
Before the conference begins, delegates will meet at school and then take some form of transportation to the conference. For Davis and other farther conferences, everyone will be assigned to a hotel room (everyone goes home for the night when we attend Berkeley conferences). Generally, each room will be a mix of new and experienced members. MUN is enjoyable in part because it gives people a chance to spend quality time with classmates/peers, eat good food, walk around a college campus, etc.
The conference itself:
- Each committee session will be spent in one of two modes: moderated or unmoderated caucus. Moderated caucus is a structured format in which the chairs (college students running the committee) will call on delegates at their discretion. The delegate selected has a designated amount of time (usually around one minute) to give a speech advocating their country’s position on the issue or refuting the points made by another delegate. The chairs call on people who contribute valuable information to the debate, but they also attempt to give people who have not spoken an opportunity to do so. Essentially, the main feature of moderated caucus is structure. In unmoderated caucus, there is no structure. Delegates are free to mill around the room and discuss whatever they please with their fellow delegates, as if attending a cocktail party. This is a great opportunity to hunt down others who have similar ideas to you and start planning a resolution or to find someone who disagrees and try to sway them. There is a third type called a formal caucus, which is similar to moderated caucus except instead of calling on delegates at their discretion, the chairs will compile a list of who wants to speak and go down in order. This type of caucus is used briefly at the beginning of each topic to set the stage.
- The goal of MUN is to pass resolutions. A resolution is a UN document that enumerates the UN’s policy goals, usually in the form of suggestions for UN member nations. Your goal as a delegate is to draft and pass a resolution that furthers the interests of the country you are representing. Every resolution will be voted on by all the delegates — in most committees, a majority is required to pass, so you must ensure your fellow delegates think your ideas are good ones!
- You will be doing a lot of speaking. Some of it will be in front of 30+ people. Little of it will be planned. You could try to write speeches ahead of time, but the goal of MUN is to address the concerns and arguments of your fellow delegates, which cannot easily be anticipated. Giving off-the-cuff speeches to large crowds will greatly improve your confidence — after a few years of MUN, class presentations and Socratic seminars will feel like nothing. Perhaps equally as important, unmoderated caucuses allow you to have one-on-one conversations with other members and bargain in real time. In unmoderated caucus, thinking on your feet is key to success. Many past club members have greatly improved their confidence and eloquence through MUN, so if overcoming shyness is your goal, this is the right club for you.
- You can go at your own pace. MUN is not class. No one will call on you unless you raise your placard. If you are feeling a bit scared on the first day or you don’t have anything to add to the specific topic at hand, it is totally acceptable to spend the first few hours absorbing the experience and getting acquainted with how MUN works. Any delegate can leave the room to use the bathroom, take a break, etc.
- Committee is a social experience. In the end, your goal is to win the support of your peers, whether it’s getting them to vote for your resolution against someone else’s. Email sessions with other people you meet in committee, getting lunch together, etc. are all allowed and encouraged in MUN. Another plus: people from all over the world participate in MUN, so you will have the opportunity to hear a wide variety of viewpoints and make foreign friends.
- There are awards. However, awards are only given to a small portion of delegates (from 1/5 in a small committee to 1/30 in a big one). In general, awards go to people who speak often, are prominently featured in resolutions, are polite, and are knowledgeable about not only about their topic but also their country. There are also research awards granted to those who write outstanding position papers.