Hey Best Delegate readers – Happy New Year!

2018 brought many amazing experiences for the Best Delegate team, and we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you what our year looked like, and to thank everybody that made it possible. You likely know that Best Delegate runs a Model UN website, but each year Best Delegate also works with thousands of incredible students and teachers around the world, and we want to showcase these experiences here.

Inside Out Education Workshop in Shanghai, China

Student Workshops in the US, China, Panama, and Honduras

Best Delegate kicked off our workshops for the year in Shanghai, China. Best Delegate Marketing Manager Conna Walsh, joined by former MUN Institute Mentors Lizzy Burke and Elodie Currier, went out to China for two weeks to work with elementary and middle school students from Inside Out Education on their Model UN skills.

In March, Outreach Director Aaron Kalafarski went out to Texas A&M University to help them prepare for their upcoming MUN conferences and build a new MUN program at the school.

During the summer, Best Delegate Director of Operations Erik Leiden, along with Aaron and former Diplomacy Fellow (and MUNI alumna!) Angela Hou led a workshop in Washington, D.C., for students from China traveling with TalentsJoin Education.

Students at the Best Delegate workshop at the Escuela Internacional Sampredana in San Pedro Sula, Honduras

In the Autumn, Director of Operations Erik Leiden went out to the International School of Panama (ISP) to work with the teachers and students who lead PANAMUN, one of the largest Model UN conferences in Central America. Erik also worked with teachers at ISP to make Model UN part of their fifth grade Social Studies curriculum!

During that same week, Conna and MUNI Program Director Katrina Stevenson went to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for a workshop with the students and teachers at the Escuela Internacional Sampedrana (EIS). EIS went on later in the year to win Best Small Delegation at Yale Model Government Europe in Budapest! (Go Bulldogs!)

Director Institutes in Qatar, The Netherlands, and Singapore

Above: King Willem-Alexander at the Opening Ceremonies of the 50th Anniversary of THIMUN. {Photo from Aqua Fortis Media)

Each year, Best Delegate also leads a series of trainings for Model UN Faculty Advisors at conferences hosted by The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) around the world. In January, Best Delegate Co-Founder Ryan Villanueva attended THIMUN Qatar in Doha, Qatar, which is the largest Model UN conference in the Middle East. The following week, Erik lead a Director Institute at THIMUN in The Hague, Netherlands. This year was the 50^th anniversary of THIMUN, which lead to some awesome surprises for attendees- including a keynote speech by the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, who is a former THIMUN delegate!

In October, Erik and Ryan went to the Qatar Leadership Conference (QLC) to lead the Director Institute in Doha, Qatar. During QLC, directors also have the opportunity to step into the shoes of their delegates and debate in their own Model UN committee; this year they debated “Access to Quality Teachers in LDCs.” Over Thanksgiving, Best Delegate Co-Founder Kevin Felix Chan went to THIMUN Singapore to run Best Delegate’s final Director Institute of the year at the largest conference in Southeast Asia.

Don’t forget that Best Delegate hosts a wealth of resources and information for MUN advisors and teachers around the world on our MUN Education platform – check it out today!

Conferences in New York City, California, and Northeast India

Above: MyMUN CEO Robin Schoss awarding WFUNA Secretary-General Bonian Golmohammadi with the “Best Large Conference” award at the WIMUN 2018 Opening Ceremonies in the United Nations General Assembly Hall (Photo from WFUNA)

In February, Best Delegate partnered with the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) to host WFUNA International Model United Nations (WIMUN), a conference using actual United Nations rules of procedure to create the most accurate simulation of the United Nations in the world. 2018 was a banner year for WIMUN- not only was this the first year that WIMUN passed 1000 participants (from over 60 different countries!), but WIMUN was also recognized as the Best Large Conference globally based on the highest score among reviewers on MyMUN. This year the Secretary-General was Angela Hou (China/Canada), a former MUNI student and Diplomacy Fellow, who ran the conference along with her Senior Secretariat: USG DPI Ibrahim El-Kazaz (from the US and Egypt, now a member of the Best Delegate full-time team), ASG DPI Candice Woods (Australia), USG DGACM Elena Kisileva (Russia), ASG DGACM John Masangkay (Canada), and President of the General Assembly Nikhil Goyal (India).  WIMUN 2019 will be from January 30th to February 2nd – click here for more info!

In the Autumn, Best Delegate also partnered with the Contra Costa County Office of Education to organize CCCMUN, a Model UN conference for 400 students from Contra Costa County California schools. Special thanks to Evan Wesley from the Thirst Project for coming out as the Keynote Speaker, and to Secretary-General Romae-Anne Aquino and the UC Davis MUN team for staffing the event and creating an awesome experience for the students in attendance!

In November, Ibrahim also flew out Northeast India to train staff and help lead Northeast India International Model United Nations (NEIMUN) for 300 students from across the seven Northeast States in India. This year the conference was hosted in Dimapur, Nagaland- thanks to the NEIMUN Senior Secretariat for putting on an awesome event!

In addition to helping organize these three conferences, we also took the exciting step this year of publicly launching our newest Model UN experience for students – the Best Delegate Model United Nations Conference (BDMUNC). We’ll be hosting our own Model UN conference in Washington, D.C., from March 14-17. BDMUNC will be a new kind of Model UN conference. In the lead-up to the conference, delegates and advisors will be led through a step-by-step training process to help them prepare. Once at the conference, delegates will receive training and learn about their topic directly from international organizations that work on these issues – this year, UNICEF-USA, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Thirst Project, and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) have partnered to create awesome materials and train delegates about issues these organizations work on every day. And at the end of the conference, every student in attendance will receive not just a score report but also specific feedback from their Chair on how to improve. Interested in BDMUNC? Find out more here!

Education for Justice: Vienna Workshop with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Group Photo at the Education for Justice Model United Nations Workshop in Vienna, Austria. (Photo from Andrew Newman)

In May, Ryan Villanueva attended the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at the UN Offices in Vienna, Austria. The following week Ryan, Erik, and Best Delegate Partnerships Director Laurabeth Goldsmith served as the trainers for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Education for Justice Model United Nations workshop in Vienna. This workshop brought together the leaders of the largest Model UN conferences in the world to work side-by-side with UNODC staff to create plans for promoting the work of UNODC throughout their regions. Attendees at the workshop were the leaders of Model UN conferences in 28 different countries across North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia annually, and serve as the hosts to over 50,000 students each year. Want to learn more about how to discuss UNODC Mandates at your conference and partner with the organization? Click here!

Model United Nations and IDEA Public Schools

The 2018-2019 IDEA Model United Nations Fellowship Class

Since 2015, Best Delegate has partnered with IDEA Public Schools, a charter school network headquartered in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, to help create Model UN programs throughout IDEA schools. This summer, Best Delegate selected a group of 10 “Model United Nations Fellows”, recent IDEA High School graduates, to continue driving these efforts as they head to college. These Fellows were training at Austin College, Texas this past June, and spent the rest of 2018 to expand Model UN throughout their alma maters. These IDEA Fellows have been able to start new Model UN programs at 5 new high schools and 1 new middle school and will serve as the Senior Secretariat for a brand-new IDEA- and Best Delegate-hosted conference, IDEAMUN, this upcoming March.

The Model United Nations Institute

One of MANY weeks of the Model United Nations Institute!

Best Delegate’s flagship event each year is our Model United Nations Institute, our summer Model UN camps for high school and middle school students. This year was the biggest and best year yet for MUNI. With 870 MUNI delegates from around the world, Best Delegate lead programs on the campuses of Austin College, Georgetown University, Columbia University, Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles, and U.C. Berkeley.

MUNI 2018 was lead by Katrina and Erik, along with an awesome team of college students from around the world, including:

• Program Manager Richard Zhao (University of Toronto)
• MUN Mentors, including:
  • Nicole Arski (McGill University)
  • Madeleine Northfield (McGill University)
  • Devansh Agarwal (University of Virginia)
  • Robin de Zeeuw (Erasmus University)
  • Jennifer Min (Syracuse University)
  • Akash Kapoor (UCLA)
  • Sam Taglia (Ohio State University)
  • Caroline Rose (America University / London School of Economics)
  • Syed Fuad Adnan (Florida International University)
  • Curan Vanderwielen (Clark University)
  • Mustafa Hassoun (Emory University)
• Residential Counselors, including:
  • Lucy Stan (Colgate University)
  • Jacob Harwas (University of Pittsburgh)
  • Logan Smith (University of Miami)

This year, the MUN Institute will be hosted at more campuses and for more weeks than ever before, and registration is open! Click here to find out more!

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We’re thankful for all the awesome students, teachers, parents, partners, and staff that allowed us to work with thousands of amazing students from around the world this year and are excited to continue Bringing Out the Best in even more delegates as we enter 2019. Thank you to everybody that helped makes this year possible!

The Best Delegate Team during our staff retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand (August 2018)

Best Delegate’s 2018 Model United Nations Institute would not have been possible without the university staff that was hired to help run our programs. We owe thanks to our eleven Diplomacy Fellows, three Residential Counselors, and Program Manager that came from around the world to teach 870 students this past summer. One such fellow, Madeleine Northfield, traveled from Canada to serve as a Diplomacy Fellow for MUNI 2018.

Madeleine Northfield

Here are her thoughts on being a Diplomacy Fellow:

“Being a diplomacy fellow last summer was one of the most educational and rewarding experiences of my university career to date. Going into it I knew I was going to learn a ton from the kids I worked with, but was still blown away by the intelligence and desire to learn from every single group I worked with each week. Every time I challenged groups to work harder, talk louder or with more passion they met the challenge and the progress I was able to see in such a short period of time was incredible. More than that however, was what I learned from the people I worked with. I never could have imagined getting to be a part of such a talented, passionate and driven team. They taught me more about myself than any group of people I’ve ever worked with which has had a profound impact on my life and in the process I got to make friendships that have become some of the most meaningful and strongest I’ve ever had.”

MUNI 2018 Diplomacy Fellows / From Left to Right: Curan V, Akash K, Caroline R, Devansh A, and Madeleine N.

So what is she doing now?

Madeleine has begun her second year at McGill University where she is majoring in International Development and minoring in Economics. This year she is also serving as the Director of General Assemblies and Specialized Agencies for McGill’s Model UN team.

She has also continued to work with Best Delegate. She currently serves as the Social Media Manager on the Best Delegate Media Team and will be serving as the Under-Secretary-General of Logistics at Best Delegate’s first Model UN conference, BDMUNC.

Want to join our team this summer?

Check here for more info about the Diplomacy Fellowship and see where you could travel to this summer.

If you ask the average Model UN delegate what gives them the most anxiety, nine times out of ten the answer will be public speaking. There’s plenty of pressure riding on every speech, and knowing the amount of people listening to you can be seriously nerve-wracking. Not only do you have to make your speeches coherent, but they must be convincing too; after all, you can have the greatest ideas in the world, but if no one else in the committee room knows about them, they won’t do you any good!

Knowing the importance of public speaking, the Model United Nations Institute Summer Programs spend plenty of time focusing on this crucial skill, with great results. I entered the MUNI Crisis Program at Harvard being absolutely terrified of public speaking, and I left it much more confident, with the ability to give a pretty decent minute-long speech with little to no preparation. Since then, this skill has helped me out in more ways than one, and for that I am very grateful to the Model United Nations Institute (MUNI) program! Below I’ve outlined 5 ways MUNI helps students improve their public speaking.

Best Delegate sat down with New Hampshire-based MUN coach Cristina Drondoe to ask her a few questions about her experience at Best Delegate’s MUN Advisor Institute.

What did your week at the Advisor Institute consist of, and what do you feel you learned from these activities?

I had the privilege of attending the Advisor Institute few years ago and I am proud to say it was one of the best decisions I have made as Model UN Advisor. The timing was perfect. Back then I had only coached for one year so I was ready and determined to dedicate a portion of my summer to learning more about successfully guiding my students through the preparation stages for a conference, as well as get a better understanding of what participating in a conference entails. Since my training, I have been able to use many of the tools acquired through my experience at the Advisor Institute. Equally valuable, the connections with both Best Delegate staff as well as the other Advisors are still standing strong and I am very happy to be part of a community of people who are on a mission to encourage and support the younger generation in learning about the global issues and challenges our world faces today.

Are you interested in teaching international students about the MUN? The English Exchange Fellowship might be the right fit for you!

At the Model United Nations Institute, Best Delegate hosts private programs to help students learn English through Model United Nations.

Angela Hou has served as both a Diplomacy Fellow and English Exchange Fellow.

Here is her perspective on serving as an English Exchange Fellow:

“As a Diplomacy Fellow, I have had the pleasure of working with English Exchange students for the past three years of my time at the Model United Nations Institute. Coming from a range of backgrounds and age groups, English Exchange students undergo a transformative week-long journey at MUNI. As an English Exchange teacher, I have had the humbling experience of partaking in their immeasurable growth. From English fluency to research skills, my role supported them in their efforts to develop personal

Angela H Teaching

confidence and challenge the boundaries of their comfort zones in public speaking. I got to know the students in an inter-cultural and multi-lingual capacity, sharing moments of hard work and learning in the classroom, or bonding over occasional humour in Chinese during breaks and meals. As someone who also learned English as a second language through Model UN, my experience staffing English Exchange programs has been a personally meaningful and enriching one. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to mentor these students with amazing energy and grit, and I would highly recommend this role to anyone who is motivated and inspired by the experience of supporting students and helping them develop a voice and sense of global purpose through Model UN.”

Angela Hou

Where is she now?

Angela is currently completing her fourth year at the University of Toronto where she is studying International Relations and Contemporary Asian Studies. You can also find her at WIMUN where she is the Under Secretary-General of General Assembly and Conference Management. We are also thrilled to have her on the team for Best Delegate’s first Model United Nations Conference (BDMUNC) where she is the Secretary-General!

How can you be involved?

If this sounds like something you’d enjoy doing, you can learn more about the English Exchange Fellowship and apply here by February 1.

If you’re interested in being involved with BDMUNC, follow this link. We are currently recruiting for a Secretariat team of chairs, directors, press, and logistics officers.

This article is a guest submission from McGill student Hilary Lee.

The North American Model UN circuit commences again this winter, with its first conference being McMUN in Montréal. This year, we are seeing a lot of new committee concepts across the continent, as different schools try to redefine what this popular activity means to them. At McMUN, the secretariat and staff are inaugurating a hybrid of Model United Nations and business, which they are calling McMUN Consulting.

Mixing together different components from Model UN and Case Competitions, the McMUN staff wants to create a different type of competitive environment that connects the real world to traditional committees. Delegates will compete to crack a case for a mystery company. The goal, set by the dais, is to develop a strategy proposal that would impress company representatives while working with a real business sponsor. This idea, a self-proclaimed specialized body, is quite different from the usual on the circuit, with International Relations playing the supporting rather than the main role in the committee room.

Noticing the increasing population of business and finance students attending Model UN conferences, Eric Lee, chair of McMUN consulting, believes this could be an interesting way to attract a more diverse skillset to the existing Model UN community. Though traditionally, delegates go on to pursue policy or international relations-related careers, the dais and other staffers hope to show that Model UN skills can be applied to a more diverse net of interests. The committee is also working with a corporate sponsor, which reflects different ways in which Model United Nations conferences can integrate sponsorships while keeping true to the integrity of MUN as an educational tool.

Christopher Balian, Secretary General of McMUN 2019 wishes to “empower delegates and to give them the opportunity to have real life impact.” Students who choose to participate will definitely have a unique experience in the committee room, as everyone, from chair to undersecretary-general to delegate, will be experiencing this style for the first time. McMUN Consulting is one of many growing patterns of creativity to change up the Model United Nations landscape, and it will be interesting to see how this, and other new styles, come to impact the activity.

For many high school delegates (and new delegates who’ve never stepped into a committee before arriving on campus) collegiate Model U.N. can be an intimidating world.  Apart from the traditional challenges of attending college, the collegiate circuit differs in significant ways that can both intimidate and exhilarate incoming delegates. This article breaks down some of the major differences between high school and collegiate Model U.N. to help smoothen the transition.

Delegates-

The first major difference that students encounter are the delegates themselves. While Model U.N. delegates tend to be well-researched across the board, high school delegates are oftentimes more likely to have a broader knowledge base on a committee agenda while moving into committee. This is not to imply that collegiate students are not agenda conscious but rather that their university experience lends itself to be more conducive towards applications of their knowledge in resolutions. Collegiate students (especially those studying international relations, economics, political science, or history) are exposed to far more MUN agendas in their coursework and thus can more readily apply this knowledge in creating solutions. Due to this collegiate resolutions are typically more detailed than those on the high school circuit. The high workload that college students experience may also reduce the amount of general research on an agenda while increasing the specificity.

Additionally, college teams also tend to run into each other more often due to the smaller set of conferences to attend. Finally, while high school teams tend to possess a mix of passionately committed and tepid members, collegiate teams tend to be a bit more close-knit due to the larger variety of competing interests in college.

Committees-

While both circuits feature a diverse array of committees, there are underlying trends that characterize topics and structures across each. While high school conferences tend to lean towards general assemblies, collegiate conferences oftentimes feature far more crisis committees (with prominent conferences such as ChoMUN being entirely crisis-based). Among general assemblies, economic committees are far more prominent than on the high school circuit. Furthermore, niche general assemblies and specialized bodies are also more common on the college circuit. Within crisis committees, high-school conferences tend to lean towards war and political cabinets. Meanwhile on the college circuit, business committees and unconventional crises have more prevalence. In recent years, conferences such as NAIMUN have seen a shift towards more diversity in high-school crisis committees

Conferences-

Although the idea behind conferences remains the same, there are several distinctions that categorize each circuit. High school conferences can be organized by high schools themselves, universities, or third-party organizations. However, collegiate conferences are almost always hosted by a single school. High school conferences tend to have education as an overarching focus. Some high school conferences such as NHSMUN have operated without traditional awards to orient their experiences towards learning yet retain high-quality debate. Collegiate conferences on the other hand tend to be slightly more competition oriented yet still have fantastic learning opportunities available.

The sheer number of high school delegates also lead to a larger average conference size wherein a single city can have multiple conferences with over 500 delegates. Meanwhile in college, there are usually only one or two large conferences in a city within a year. College students are subsequently more likely to travel further within the U.S. for conferences with many schools crossing coasts depending on the weekend. However, high school students typically attend more conferences than college students within a given year and attend international conferences more frequently than teams on the collegiate circuit. In addition, high school conferences tend to feature more fleshed out background guides to assist younger delegates, while collegiate conferences place emphasis on clarity and direction in their own.

Conclusion

All in all, both high school and collegiate Model U.N. work towards similar goals and are fantastic ways to learn about the world and enjoy yourself doing so. While each circuit has its own strengths, it is truly a privilege to be able to experience both. The two circuits are intrinsically connected and moving from one into another is one of the best ways to truly get the most of out of your MUN experience.

Faculty Advisors are the teachers that lead student groups to Model UN Conferences and build Model UN Clubs. These advisors are a huge part of conferences as they often choose conferences, and prepare students for said conferences. Here are a few of the things Faculty Advisors want from Model UN Conferences…

1. Strong Learning Outcomes. Faculty Advisors want students to leave conferences with a clear knowledge of what they learned and how to improve on it. Students should be able to identify what their Model UN and academic strengths and weaknesses are, and how to improve them.
2. Every Delegate Speaks. Faculty Advisors want to encourage their students to participate in the conference, and a large part of the MUN Conference experience is public speaking. That’s why it can often be frustrating for Faculty Advisors to invest so much time in bringing students to conferences and some of them not having the opportunity to speak. That’s why it is a big deal for Faculty Advisors that every student has the opportunity and is highly encouraged to make a speech.
3. Clear and Fast Communication With Conference Staff. Advisors want to be able to reach conference staff within a short period of time in order to handle logistical issues and manage student training and country assignments.

   Students participating in simulations held at the Model UN Institute.

4. Preparation Made Easy. Faculty Advisors want their students to feel prepared and confident to perform at conferences without needing to spend too much time on it. Some of the ways this can be done include clear training guides and simple instructions on how to move forward.
5. Strong Informative Background Guides. Advisors want to see simple, clear, media-rich Background Guides that can give students a starting point for the conference while making sure they offer them academic insight into the topic. This is a great way for Faculty Advisors to guarantee students feel confident about the content of the conference.
6. Highly Trained and Highly Engaged Chairs. Faculty Advisors want to feel confident when they leave their students to more experienced student officers. Faculty Advisors care about the student leaders in the room that are role-models for their own delegates.
7. [Bonus] Advisor Workshops. Faculty Advisors want the opportunity to learn more about Model UN themselves and be able to support their students in the future, as well as learn tips and tricks that can assist their students in building their Model UN and academic success.

Here are some of the ways the Best Delegate Model UN Conference 2019 puts these things together. BDMUNC offers personalized feedback to every delegate in order to offer them strong learning outcomes. At BDMUNC, every delegate will get the opportunity to speak. BDMUNC has a 48 hour email response time to ensure strong and clear communication with Faculty Advisors. BDMUNC offers training guides, a training plan, and strong Background Guides that are made in collaboration with UN Organizations and NGOs that work directly on the topics. Best Delegate is also known as one of the leading Model UN organizations and has hired some of the top Model UN superstars to staff BDMUNC as chairs and Secretariat. Finally, BDMUNC will offer Professional Development and an Advisor Workshop for Advisors to take their Model UN journey to the next level. Learn more here.

As we come to a close on our in depth view of our summer fellowship positions, we have one final position to highlight – the Residential Counselor.

Thanks to the Residential Counselors, our students are able to explore their local city, enjoy activities on campus, and get help with simulation prep.

One such counselor, Logan Smith, served as a Residential Counselor this past summer.

Here’s what he thought serving as a Residential Counselor: 

Logan Smith

“Serving as a Residential Counselor this past summer was one of the most enriching summer experiences I’ve had. I loved being able to work with all of the brilliant young minds that attended MUNI, and provide for them a space to not only learn more about Model UN, but also about their leadership styles, the way they form relationships, and how to navigate the world as young adults. I was so fortunate to watch students make truly exponential growth in their sense of confidence, as well as in their skill as debaters. Additionally, it was great to be able to explore three cities with an incredibly rich history and relevance to our current political climate in Boston, Washington DC, and New York with our delegates: introducing them to the history that surrounds them every day. I recommend anyone looking to help young students develop their sense of confidence and learn about the world of International Affairs apply.”

Where is he now:

Logan Smith along with Lucy S. and Jacob H. our 2018 MUNI Residential Counselors

Logan is currently majoring in Jazz Performance and Political Science at the University of Miami where he is on the Pre-Law track. In addition to his studies, you can find him serving as a Resident Assistant at the University of Miami. He is also the Secretary-General of Miami-Dade Model UN. We are most excited to see him working with us at Best Delegate’s first Model United Nations Conference (BDMUNC) where he is the USG of Registration and Delegation Onboarding!

If you’re interested in serving as a Diplomacy Fellow, English Exchange Fellow, or Residential Counselor for Best Delegate’s Model United Nations Institute 2019, make sure to apply by February 1. You can find more information about the positions and apply here.

Researching for a Model UN committee is definitely the part of this activity that everyone procrastinates. It’s daunting to be given a new assignment, knowing you’ll have to ride the entire roller-coaster of learning about this character and understanding it inside and out. Even more difficult is that is just knowing where to begin! Luckily, the training at Best Delegate’s Model United Nations Institute summer program makes the process of researching simple and—dare I say it—even a little exciting!

I attended the MUNI Crisis Program at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and below I’ve outlined 3 ways that MUNI has helped teach me to properly research any assignment that’s thrown at me.

Narimane Salhi is a prominent Ambassador Coordinator for the International Careers Festival (ICF), an annual conference based in Rome that hosts four projects meant to introduce youth to the worlds of diplomacy, business, and journalism. In this guest article, Narimane shares her experience RomeMUN, the ICF’s  flagship Model United Nations conference.

Delegates huddling in an unmoderated caucus to discuss possible solutions

My journey with the ICF began as a promoter and delegate for RomeMUN 2017. I spearheaded a social media campaign for the conference and created promotional materials to present to potential delegates. Although it was difficult to balance the roles RomeMUN promoter and delegate, I survived long enough to get on a plane to Rome and arrive at the ICF with my delegation. Enjoying every minute of the conference, I decided to return next year, but as an Ambassador Coordinator and one of the many Co-Chairs at the conference.

As an Ambassador Coordinator for RomeMUN 2018, it was my responsibility to work with representatives from the Middle East and North Africa region. This meant that I not only managed promoters stationed in these areas but also had the opportunity to share my experience with the conference on a larger platform. However, this pre-conference outreach was only half of the job I had at RomeMUN. In addition to Ambassador Coordinator, I was the Co-Chair for the largest committee in the entire conference: UNESCO.

In order to better prepare delegates for the committee, I created a Facebook group as a platform to answer questions, share advice, and break the ice for nervous delegates. Seeing as RomeMUN 2018 would be many delegates’ first experience with Model UN, I wanted to make the activity as inclusive as possible and make sure that first-timers understood the fundamentals of a Model UN committee, such as the nooks and crannies of parliamentary procedure. This all led up to the first committee session, where I was able to see my delegates in action.

Although many were shy as they entered the committee room, delegates grew more comfortable around each other as hours passed on the first day. By the second session, I saw more involvement from delegates, moving debate to a whole new level. Honestly, the degree of development I saw in many delegates’ speaking and adherence to country position made it difficult to award Best Delegate in the committee.

Throughout the conference, I felt like we had created our own community. Delegates from different backgrounds, countries, and cultures were united by the ICF and their passion for international relations. As debate moved from subtopic to subtopic, we all became more knowledgeable of the issues on our agenda and shared many memorable moments. While I missed the delegates I worked with at the end of the conference, I was reassured by the fact that RomeMUN 2019 would recreate these bonds with future delegates.

If you want to learn more about any of the other projects at the International Careers Festival, check out their website!

Traveling to a different country, roughing the jetlag and exhausting transits, packing and preparing, getting visas and documentation done, and everything that comes with International  Model United Nations Conferences may seem like a lot of effort for a single Model United Nations Conference. Even with that said, your next Model United Nations Conference should be an international conference.

The fact that not everyone can attend an International Model United Nations Conference for a plethora of reasons is understandable but if you do have an opportunity you should definitely use your chance. This article thus aims essentially to provide an insight into International Model United Nations Conferences and the experience of participating in one to help you decide to book those flight tickets while you still can.

Reason 1: Forming diverse friendships

Despite the fact that Model United Nations Conferences are traditionally only a two to three-day affair, the time spent in the conference helps delegates gain a basic understanding of how life in a new country operates. Just the realization of how different life can be one flight away helps one understand how diverse different worldviews are.

This experience is only complemented by the relationships you will make with the people of different backgrounds, cultures, ideologies and ethnicities. The friendships you create in Model United Nations can be the best ones of your life. Making friends that are diverse and unique only add to your worldview by removing prejudices and unjust biases.

Reason 2: Representing your school, region and even your country in front of a plethora of diverse people

Very much like you learning about the host country of the conference, the native delegates of the country also get to learn more about your school, region, state and even country – especially with regards to your approach to Model United Nations. While it is an excellent opportunity to learn more about other nations, ethnicities, and cultures, you should always remember that you represent your culture as well.

From personal experience chairing and staffing International Model United Nations Conference, it is usually evident that delegates put in more effort and are better prepared not only because of the opportunity being a unique one but also to ensure that they do their best when they are representing major parts of their identities.

The chance to represent your background and make an impression among students from various countries and regions across the world who will for a long time associate your country and its culture with “that person I met in the International Model United Nations Conference” is one of the best experiences that Model United Nations has to offer.

Reason 3: A completely different approach to Model United Nations that can be explored

The approach to Model United Nations at your home country may seem to be the norm if you have delegated for more than two conferences and that is because people from one country usually have a similar approach to Model United Nations. Only when you go to an international conference do you get the realization of how different countries’ and people’s approach to Model United Nations differs.

There are countries where Model United Nations is done as a hobby and the circuit may not be as dominant and competitive while there are also countries where Model United Nations is seen as an academic extracurricular activity and thus the approach itself ensures greater competition and dominance based. The change in approach is usually very evident in international conferences wherein the approach is the norm and adapting to the mindset of the other delegates is a strategy required to win.

This not only makes you a versatile Model United Nations delegate but also greatly contributes to your current skills especially in committees like crisis committees wherein adapting to situations is an essential skill that dictates your performance.

Reason 4: There’s just so much to do and experience

You will be in a different city located in a different country. You will get to try food you have never tried. See places and sights that you only could on the internet. You will get to make friends who are different than you in many aspects and learn a lot from them. The opportunities and experiences are only furthered by your interest and excitement and the whole conference will be a highlight of your Model United Nations career.

So when you see an international conference you like and imagine if it will be worth the effort and the time, more often than not it will be an absolutely amazing experience. The experience will not only help improve your Model United Nations skills but will also prove to be an experience which will contribute greatly to your worldview and your life skills as a whole because you will now know how to navigate your way and live (albeit for a few days) in a completely different country.

Before going off and booking your tickets check out how to ensure a “trouble-free” team travel here to ensure that your experience remains a hassle-free one. The International experience is an essential and important part of Model UN, and thus International Model United Nations Conferences truly are truly experiences of a lifetime.

If you’re new to Model United Nations and getting ready for your first conference, fear not! We’re here to outline the five ways a new MUN delegate can make sure to be as prepared as possible for their first Model UN experience. Even if you’ve had some MUN experience the tips and tricks below might still be useful in bringing your committee game to the next level. Here are some of our recommendations for how to bring you’re “A” game to committee.

1. When you get your country assignment for a Model UN conference, the first step is to look up resources, such as the CIA world factbook and other fact sources (as found on our website), for general information about your country. What type of government system does your nation have? What size is its population? It’s important to know this so you have better background knowledge and can better research your topic specifically.

   Research and preparation is a core component of the Model UN Experience!

2. Once you know all the basic facts about your country a great way to start learning about its position on the topic of your committee is to check what the nation’s representatives have said about it at the United Nations. This can be done by checking the UN meeting minutes on their website. This resource is great for learning some of the past actions and decisions your country has made in regard to the topic.
3. Another great resource in preparing for your first MUN conference is knowing what you need help with from rules of procedure to the things you don’t understand in the background guide. By knowing the issues you need help with beforehand, you can reach out to your chairs well in advance of the conference to have any questions on content, procedure or position papers answered. This is a great way to connect with the committee well before you get on-site at the conference.
4. Once you have all the facts, background knowledge and your questions answered about the committee, a great resource for you to prepare for the conference is putting together a research binder. This can be done using a typical school binder and by placing all the relevant research, statistics and information you might need for committee. This way when you then go to write your position paper or talk to delegates about where your country stands on your committee issues, you’ll have all the information you need in one place.
5. Lastly, on-site training plays a big part in the success of first-time delegates. In order to accommodate that, the Best Delegate Model UN Conference 2019(BDMUNC) has built-in extensive delegate training during the conference. So how do we plan on training first-time delegates at BDMUNC?

BDMUNC will have a series of pre-conference resources so delegates have specific knowledge coming from our team even before they get to the conference, and then following up that knowledge with experienced college MUN-er’s. The USG of Logistics will be going over training exercises with delegates over 2 training sessions on the Wednesday and Thursday of BDMUNC. These trainings will include everything from public speaking games all the way to how to write a MUN resolution! Looking for these types of resources in a MUN conference, make sure to check out BDMUNC registration here: bdmunc.com/registration

This article is a guest submission from Yasmin Nur Habibah, staff of Media and Press Padjadjaran Model United Nations 2019. 

Padjadjaran Model United Nations (PadMUN): 7 Years of Contributing to MUN Community in Indonesia

Padjadjaran Model United Nations (PadMUN) is an annual United Nations conference simulation held by International Relations students of Universitas Padjadjaran, in the city of Bandung, Indonesia. PadMUN started in 2012, with the participation of in-campus delegates and chairs. Since then, PadMUN has been contributed to increase the number of Indonesian students getting involved in both national and international MUN—and even successfully grab some awards. PadMUN, which allows the participation of high-school delegates, has introduced MUN realm by conducting roadshows to several high schools.

Continuing its commitment on capacity building for the MUN enthusiasts, PadMUN have always held ‘MUN Clinic’ and ‘Meet the Experts’ sessions. ‘MUN Clinic’ is a one-to-one consulting method from the chairs to delegates, which allows the delegates to get meaningful advices directly from the chairs, while ‘Meet the Experts’ is a forum for the delegates to attain deeper insights about the council’s topic from International Relations scholars and practitioners. In practice, participants of both sessions provided consistent positive feedbacks over the years, citing increased understanding and command over a plethora of topics that was taken up in both of the sessions.

PadMUN has also held various side-events such as field-trips and social-nights. Such activities are aimed to provide delegates a chance to unwind and familiarize themselves with Bandung, the “city of diplomacy.” Over time, PadMUN has been able to establish collaborations with  a wide-array of exciting venues for the delegates to visit during the sidelines of the conference.

2019 will be the seventh year of PadMUN, and will bear the theme “Personalizing the International in a Globalizing World.” PadMUN seeks to continue serving as a platform for youth to develop with our tradition of substantive excellence that is wrapped with a series of exhilarating events and held in a professional manner.

Padjadjaran Model United Nations 2018

– Website: padjadjaranmun.com

– Facebook: Padjadjaran Model United Nations

Model UN Nations has connected high school and college students  around the world for years. As more and more international conferences are hosted, delegates are becoming increasingly interconnected. Now with technology and social media, friendships  fostered by a shared passion for MUN and international relations are able to transcend continents. Matthew Kim, a senior at the Hotchkiss School, hopes to facilitate and grow the true spirit and internationality of Model UN through his new app, Global Conversations.

Global Conversations Home Page

The idea for the App  was inspired by Matthew’s school trip to Sri Lanka, where he realized how sharing your experiences from different parts of the world can widen global lenses and create a more interconnected society.  “I wanted to initiate a conversation among the users to bring humanity together”, said Matthew. By working with friends on his school’s MUN team, Matthew hopes to use the app as a tool to bring delegates together regardless of their physical locations.

Global Conversations can be used by delegates, chairs, conference organizers, or anyone looking to broaden their world view. Delegates can use the app to post their position papers and research. This way, delegates can grow their resource repertoire for future conferences, gain feedback from others, and catch a glimpse into MUN communities from around the world. Chairs can also use the archive of research to choose topics and write background guides. Students of all ages can utilize  the app to learn about various international topics and current events.

Global Conversations was created with Facebook  software, and built to provide an interactive experience for all users. At the top of the website, a list of countries with the most frequent postings appear.   Below the tabs, the users can view basic facts on various countries such as the GDP, population, capital, form of government, and more. These countries are added once the contributor contacts Matthew about a country that they want to cover. The app can be accessed by anyone, but you must request to be admitted as a contributor.  “As soon as they receive an approval from me, they can post video, journals, position papers or research under the relevant country. In case of MUN organizations, they can sign up under the school name and give access to all delegates from that school to post”, explains Matthew.

Research Page on Global Conversations

As Model UN moves towards the technological sphere of the 21st century, more opportunities for “global conversations” present themselves. “Ultimately, I hope this app will be an educational platform to raise awareness of diverse humanitarian issues around the world”, says Kim. Model UN is truly a borderless activity bringing thousands of students together over a shared passion for repairing the world. With apps such as Global Conversations, delegates can have the chance to inspire others and take action on issues they are passionate about.  All in all, with exciting developments such as this, the future of Model UN looks more global than every!

For more information visit: http://globalconversation.herokuapp.com/

Participating in international MUN conferences is a fantastic way to learn more about international politics, visit exciting destinations, and forge lifelong bonds. However, the logistics surrounding moving fifteen to twenty teenagers across the world can be daunting for even the most seasoned travelers. This article will break down some of the best tips and tricks for traveling to international conferences at both the high school and collegiate level. Ideally, through this and all international week articles we hope that your MUN community feels inspired to explore the possibility of MUN around the world.

Choosing a Conference:

Perhaps the most challenging part of travelling to international conferences is the selection process. Through the last decade, MUN has exploded onto the global scene as one of the most popular activities for high school students. As a result, there are more conferences than ever before with many varying substantially in size and quality. Choosing your international conference is a combination of multiple factors that all need to be considered to find your best match (think of it a bit like the MUN Bachelor).

First and foremost, it is essential to consider the financial ramifications of travelling to international conferences. While travelling with large groups abroad is certainly not inexpensive, there are ways to reduce your base cost and still receive a fantastic learning experience. It is important to keep your geography at the center of your travel plans. For example, if your school is on the East Coast of the U.S. it will be far easier to travel to a European conference than an Asian one and the opposite usually rings through for the West Coast. If you are travelling from North America, one area to reconsider may be South America itself. Flights into South America from the continental U.S. tend to cost similar prices or even more than flights to Asian and European destinations due to a lower volume of passengers. Consider your city’s major airlines and where their high volume (usually leading to cheaper tickets) destinations are and you might just be able to snatch up a fantastic price.

Furthermore, it is also crucial to evaluate the style of the conference itself. Although the goals of Model UN are universal, rules of procedure certainly are not. THIMUN conferences, while common in Europe and the Middle East, are quite rare in North America and may be more difficult for delegates unfamiliar with the format to adapt to. Simultaneously, THIMUN’s resolution and lobbying focused procedure helps teach valuable writing skills that may not be as fleshed out at standard North American conferences where resolutions take more time to emerge as into committee. If you want to attend an international conference as a North American student but still feel comfortable right away in committee, you may want to consider collegiate-hosted conferences such as WorldMUN, ILMUNC India, or NAIMUN China all of which possess chairs familiar with UNA-USA rules of procedure.

The final major consideration you may want to take in when choosing the conference is the location itself. MUN conferences are held in practically every major city around the world but there may be certain cities that appeal to your team more or will make your life just a bit easier. Consider the composition of your team (particularly in college where it is common for not all members to be U.S. citizens) and think about choosing destinations that have visa-free or E-visa access available. Some conferences may also naturally match up better with your institution’s calendar and prevent your team from missing classes.

Visas:

If you are going to a country where you will need to get a visa for travel, it is important to start the application process as soon as possible. Some visa applications can take over 2 weeks to process at a standard time, and starting early avoids possibility of setbacks. The easiest way to learn about visa requirements is to visit the embassy website in respect to your home country. Many countries also offer group visas that may or may not be applicable to your team at a significantly lower cost so be sure to do a good amount of research before applying.

Large international conferences that tend to attract delegates from a variety of countries may also possess invitation forms to help you with your visa process. When in doubt ask, and see if there is any assistance you might be able to receive. Another common pitfall that travelers run into is passport validity. The standard rule is that you will need to have at least six months (if not more) of time before your passport expires and multiple blank pages available. Passport renewal processes have become much faster in recent years, but this does not mean that you should wait till the very last minute.

Finally, consider using a visa operator such or travel agent to help you with your applications. There may be a nearby city with a consulate that is well-known for having faster processing times that you wouldn’t be aware of without a third-party.

Flights:

Flights tend to almost always be the most expensive part of international travel, but there are ways to make sure that you’re getting the best fare possible. Naturally, consider choosing conferences that occur outside of peak travel times. You ideally don’t want to be going to a conference in Costa Rica during March or April or one in China during February because tickets are inevitably going to be much higher. Budget airlines can also be a great option especially if you are flying to Europe, but keep in mind that extra fees for baggage (there needs to be somewhere to fit all those gavels on the way back) can really offset those savings.

To book your flights, it is highly recommended that you use a flight booking engine such as Expedia, Kayak, or Skyscanner to compare fares and find the best route. Skyscanner also has a great feature where you’re able to input the dates you want to travel and find the cheapest international flights from your city by selecting the everywhere option Meanwhile Kayak can set alerts that will email you when they believe that prices for the destination you set will rise or lower based on travel trends. Even if you find a great deal on one of these websites, try to see if you can piece together a better one by combining other modes of transportation. It may cheaper to fly in to Amsterdam than Brussels but the latter is only a short, inexpensive train ride away. Remember that flight booking engines and airline websites track your cookies and tend to increase fares as you search around so clear your web history before searches to get the best prices.

Finally, booking group tickets can work in your benefit. For high school teams, by designating a faculty advisor as a group leader you will not be required to coordinate the printing of boarding passes and worry about someone forgetting their documents as they arrive at the airport. Some airlines also offer deposits on group tickets and thus don’t require a full payment upfront when booking tickets. This gives you a bit more time to collect money from team members or to fundraise if needed. Simultaneously, many airlines allow you to change passenger names on a group booking up to a certain day before the flight. This will help you save money by switching out delegated in the case of an untimely drop-out and will give you a longer selection time. Ensure that you also ask if any form of group rates are available for the tickets or for baggage to help cut costs further.

Hotels:

While you cannot beat staying in the conference hotel for convenience purposes, there are other options available for accommodation that may suit your team far better. Within Southeast Asia and areas of Europe in particular, suites can be less expensive than booking multiple rooms. A quick price check on the hotel website can save you money and secure you nicer accommodation. Once again it is  recommended that you use a hotel booking engine such as Hotels.com to compare prices.

In recent years, there has been a tremendous rise in the use of Airbnb’s for housing MUN teams. Airbnb’s allow you to save money on food with your own kitchen and can oftentimes fit more people than a standard set of hotel rooms for much cheaper. If you know your team is quite noisy it can also be a great option to prevent the noise complaints you would incur at a hotel. Airbnb’s can end up being farther than the conference venue than you may like, but there are benefits worthy of careful consideration.

Conclusion:

While international MUN conferences can be challenging to organize travel to, there are few better ways to take committee skills and apply them into real world situations. It is highly encouraged that your team investigates the possibility of international MUN travel. You may be surprised to learn that it can cost much less than you assume. Above all, this is a chance for your team to learn and grow together while still gaining the educational benefits of MUN while also being exposed to brand new styles of their favorite activity. Traveling halfway across the world for Model UN may seem daunting, but nothing could be more memorable either.

Model UN is an activity that has something to offer to learners of all ages- middle school students, high school students, college level students and adults who are involved in the activity. While there are lots of clear ways for students to get involved (check out our summer program), it is sometimes less clear how faculty advisors can educate themselves further about MUN and how best to run MUN programs. Below are the Top 3 Best Delegate training opportunities for Model UN Advisors.

1. During the summer, Best Delegate runs an Advisors Institute through our Model United Nations Institute (MUNI). MUNI provides advisors an opportunity to travel to one of our campus locations, this year’s being Georgetown University, and work with our Best Delegate and MUNI staff to learn how to run MUN clubs, programs, conferences and prepare students for all things MUN. This program is also an opportunity to meet advisors from around the world and compare experiences and make connections that can greatly benefit your MUN programs moving forward.
2. Another advisor training program offered by Best Delegate is the Director Training Institute at THIMUN Hague, Singapore and Qatar. This is a program held in collaboration with THIMUN that helps teach both advisors and university level leaders how to promote MUN in their respective regions. This is done through on-site lessons about public speaking and resolution writing as well as post conference lesson plans and videos to assist attendees year round.
3. In its inaugural conference, the Best Delegate Model UN Conference will be providing a separate programming opportunity for advisors in order to help not only delegates in their MUN skills but assist in building MUN programs for schools planning to attend. BDMUNC will be offering a Professional Development opportunity for Advisors to help empower their students. One of the key objectives of this conference is to help fill the gaps that advisors see in other MUN conferences and address the growing needs of MUN programs in becoming even more established and beneficial to students education. The best way to do that is a dual program which allows learning opportunities for those involved with MUN at all levels. Interested in this Advisor program, check out BDMUNC registrations here.

The 5th WFUNA International Model UN (WIMUN) was held last week in New York City for its largest and most diverse year yet. Two Best Delegate staffers who were on-site reflect on their experience.

What is the ‘WIMUN Approach’? Understanding WIMUN by Madeleine Northfield

WIMUN operates like  no other MUN conference I had ever been to before. The approach, dubbed the “WIMUN Approach” prides itself on using rules of procedure that follow as close to the actual United Nations as is possible in simulation form. What does this mean in committee? Well first of all, they don’t use the word committee, instead opting to use the word simulations. This is because committees are what is happening at the real UN and in MUN we are simply simulating them. Bill Yotive, the primary brains behind the WIMUN approach, helped train both staff and delegates in how to best participate in this approach. This year at WIMUN, a simulation was introduced to replicate the International Labour Organization, a UN committee which had never before been simulated at WIMUN. When talked about during the conference, the diversity in this academic experience is highly valued by the participants at WIMUN and hopefully in the years to come delegates can expect and even broader range of simulations.

Procedure at WIMUN is also very different ranging from the points one can raise to the organization of work throughout the weekend. At the very beginning of the simulation, delegates agree to the timeline of committee in a document called the “Organization of Work.” This outlines the agenda for the whole weekend and allows delegates to refer to it to better understand the timeline of the simulation. As well, there are no moderated or unmoderated caucus, only formal and informal debate which allow for speeches and writing of resolutions respectively. One of the last and most significant changes in procedure to North American MUN is that the chairs are students. Rather then have university students moderate debate, the simulation votes on students within it to moderate and assist in debate.

Overall, the differences in the WIMUN approach create an academic environment where learning and accurate simulation are the key objectives. It allows students to really get a feel for the way the UN operates. From the opening plenary to the closing of simulation being at the United Nations HQ, every aspect of the WIMUN approach feels true to the diplomatic process.

The Diversity of WIMUN 2019: A Quick Reflection by Curan VanDerWielen

WFUNA (World Federation of United Nations Associations), the organization responsible for the creation of WIMUN, ran its 5th iteration of its flagship New York City conference this past week, complete with 1,300 in attendance from 74 countries, and opening and closing ceremonies held at the actual United Nations Headquarters. This year’s conference was the largest WFUNA event on record, demonstrating how prevalent non-circuit styles of Model UN have become, despite how much attention the ‘competitive’ high school and collegiate circuits draw in North America. The diversity of participants attending the conference was perhaps its most unique attribute; conferences similar in size certainly garner international attendances, yet many participants come domestic. In the case of WIMUN, however, despite being held in the United States, the majority of participants were not American, but from a variety of locations, ranging across six continents.

WIMUN 2019 New York City was WFUNA’s largest conference to date

Considering the educational value of the ‘WIMUN Approach’ and the experience provided by WIMUN to actually hold parts of committees within the actual United Nations General Assembly Hall, I, as an American, found it strange that more American participants weren’t in attendance. Consider how much closer New York is for Americans, in comparison with the Chinese, Indian, South African, and Russian delegates who literally traveled across the globe just for the conference. And further consider how valuable genuine educational experiences regarding the United Nations can be for those in a country where international affairs, as a subject, is increasingly undervalued in most education systems, public or private. As a personal reflection, I found the phenomenon unusual. But perhaps this describes the prevalence of the ‘competitive circuit’ in North America, especially when compared to other regions where Model UN has found a strong foothold in extracurricular or educational programs. Or perhaps it demonstrates how rooted UNA-USA Model UN methodology has become in the region. Regardless, I’m extremely excited to see what WFUNA has in store for its upcoming conferences, which include WIMUN India on April 29th, and WIMUN Geneva on October 30th.

In MUN crisis committees, there are two different kinds of research you’ll need to do to prepare- research about the “topic” (meaning the committee, crisis, and historical context) and research about the person you’re representing. However, while in traditional MUN committees you may be researching UN topics using UN sources, it gets trickier for crisis topics.

This article was provided by Global Schools Program Ambassadors, a Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth Initiative.

The Global Schools Program is one of the projects lead by the Youth initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Youth), in support of UNESCO’s Global Action Program on Education for Sustainable Development (GAP-ESD). The program aims to generate interest in sustainable development in schools in an effort to empower schools and teachers globally to educate children about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).