Model UN

[ari_zuchinni]

Anyone got any great tips for MUN...?

[Jaysun]

Definitely do your research. Be confident, assertive, and professional. Don's stress, smile and enjoy the experience!

[Amina13]

You've got to be collaborative and active in the sessions. Active participation would allow you to get the maximum benefit from the Model UN. 

Enjoy and thrive to learn new things! 

[ari_zuchinni]

21 hours ago, Jaysun said:

Definitely do your research. Be confident, assertive, and professional. Don's stress, smile and enjoy the experience!

Thank you, will do, especially the research.

[ari_zuchinni]

18 hours ago, Amina13 said:

You've got to be collaborative and active in the sessions. Active participation would allow you to get the maximum benefit from the Model UN. 

Enjoy and thrive to learn new things! 

I will try to be collaborative despite the fact that I'm pretty bad at collaboration.

Thank you Amina13

Ari

[jacquattack]

Make sure that, when you are in sessions, participate!  You are going to be bored out of your gourd if you don't do anything in them.  The chairs love to see that you are trying your best and taking an active role in the committee. 

[amelia22974]

1. Try to at least draft some resolution clauses before going to your conference. This will in essence make sure that you have some material to discuss during lobbying and will allow you to more actively participate during this session. 

2. In terms of research, come to the conference knowing your delegation's stance on the issues to be discussed in your committee (even if you don't plan to write a reso on these). The chairs will often provide research reports at conference, so you could ask your MUN director how to access these if you are unsure. 

3. Try to step outside of your comfort zone and be as assertive as possible. Trust me, MUN is one of the best opportunities for this. The more that you try to speak, or do Points of Information, the greater your confidence will become. 

4. Be diplomatic and use parliamentary protocols during debate, but by the same token, enjoy the experience, because MUN is a wonderful social opportunity!

5. If you are a first time delegate, or want to brush up on MUN procedures/ reso writing, I'd highly recommend the following doc (It's for THIMUN, but in general the protocols are applicable to most conferences).

final_mun_guide.pdf

Edited February 22, 2017 by amelia22974

[udawn]

1 hour ago, amelia22974 said:

1. Try to at least draft some resolution clauses before going to your conference. This will in essence make sure that you have some material to discuss during lobbying and will allow you to more actively participate during this session. 

2. In terms of research, come to the conference knowing your delegation's stance on the issues to be discussed in your committee (even if you don't plan to write a reso on these). The chairs will often provide research reports at conference, so you could ask your MUN director how to access these if you are unsure. 

3. Try to step outside of your comfort zone and be as assertive as possible. Trust me, MUN is one of the best opportunities for this. The more that you try to speak, or do Points of Information, the greater your confidence will become. 

4. Be diplomatic and use parliamentary protocols during debate, but by the same token, enjoy the experience, because MUN is a wonderful social opportunity!

5. If you are a first time delegate, or want to brush up on MUN procedures/ reso writing, I'd highly recommend the following doc (It's for THIMUN, but in general the protocols are applicable to most conferences).

final_mun_guide.pdf

Warning: dumb questions ahead! You don't have to answer them if you dont want to! 

what information does one need in order to write resolution clauses? Will the research we do for our countries play a big role in this? what are they REALLY based on?

[amelia22974]

19 hours ago, udawn said:

Warning: dumb questions ahead! You don't have to answer them if you dont want to! 

what information does one need in order to write resolution clauses? Will the research we do for our countries play a big role in this? what are they REALLY based on?

There is never a dumb question --- and I know MUN can be extraordinarily confusing! To answer your questions:

1) Think of a  clause as one solution to a topic. You need to identify an overarching solution in each clause and then expand in subclauses about what specific measures are going to be taken to make the solution feasible and effective. Before writing clauses, you should have a look in the UN archives (available online) of what measures have already been implemented by the UN. 

The main For instance here is a clause I wrote for the situation of the East China Sea before a conference last year:

 "  Asks that measures be taken to prevent miscommunication between all countries bordering the East China Sea, especially the PRC and Japan, through methods such as:

a)     Creating the protocol that official vessels or aircrafts must notify a nation if it is to non-routinely enter a territory,

b)    Establishing a direct hotline between maritime authorities of the PRC and Japan, as well as other bordering nations, so that any misunderstandings, such as territorial trespassing, can be immediately dealt with via verbal negotiation rather than ill-informed military aggression,

c)     Reaching consensus over the status of fishing boats, through means including:

i)               Determining where each nations’ fishing trawlers will be permitted to fish,

ii)             Establishing a means of communication with these fishing boats, whom often unknowingly cross transient borders; "

 

This example shows one possible way of constructing a clause which is, to a) identify a specific goal in your main clause (here it is "preventing miscommunication between all countries...."), and then b) to specify the specific measures you will be taking under your sub clauses. If you need to/want to add extra specificity to a sub clause, you can use a sub-sub clause.

 

2) To answer your second question, you shouldn't necessarily be referring to your country in a resolution; the resolution is for an international solution to the issue. What does matter though, is that you follow the policy line of your country. For instance, if you are representing Australia or definitely USA (under Trump) in the refugee crisis issue, you shouldn't be adopting a stance as liberal as Germany's. After all, you are striving to create a solution that is in the best interest of your country. So make sure you research how your country has interacted with an issue before. Are they involved in the issue? Is your country considered a violator of any international protocols? To what extent would your country be willing to lend resources etc. to get involved in that issue? All must be taken into account.

So to summarise, in preparing to write a resolution you should:

a) Research generally around the topic area as well as make sure you understand your country's stance;

b) Identify key issues that need to be improved within your resolution topic;

c) Make your resolution clauses the various solutions to these issues, adding specificity regarding which institutions are involved, and specific measures that can be taken.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

[udawn]

38 minutes ago, amelia22974 said:

There is never a dumb question --- and I know MUN can be extraordinarily confusing! To answer your questions:

1) Think of a  clause as one solution to a topic. You need to identify an overarching solution in each clause and then expand in subclauses about what specific measures are going to be taken to make the solution feasible and effective. Before writing clauses, you should have a look in the UN archives (available online) of what measures have already been implemented by the UN. 

The main For instance here is a clause I wrote for the situation of the East China Sea before a conference last year:

 "  Asks that measures be taken to prevent miscommunication between all countries bordering the East China Sea, especially the PRC and Japan, through methods such as:

 

a)     Creating the protocol that official vessels or aircrafts must notify a nation if it is to non-routinely enter a territory,

 

b)    Establishing a direct hotline between maritime authorities of the PRC and Japan, as well as other bordering nations, so that any misunderstandings, such as territorial trespassing, can be immediately dealt with via verbal negotiation rather than ill-informed military aggression,

 

c)     Reaching consensus over the status of fishing boats, through means including:

 

i)               Determining where each nations’ fishing trawlers will be permitted to fish,

 

ii)             Establishing a means of communication with these fishing boats, whom often unknowingly cross transient borders; "

 

This example shows one possible way of constructing a clause which is, to a) identify a specific goal in your main clause (here it is "preventing miscommunication between all countries...."), and then b) to specify the specific measures you will be taking under your sub clauses. If you need to/want to add extra specificity to a sub clause, you can use a sub-sub clause.

 

2) To answer your second question, you shouldn't necessarily be referring to your country in a resolution; the resolution is for an international solution to the issue. What does matter though, is that you follow the policy line of your country. For instance, if you are representing Australia or definitely USA (under Trump) in the refugee crisis issue, you shouldn't be adopting a stance as liberal as Germany's. After all, you are striving to create a solution that is in the best interest of your country. So make sure you research how your country has interacted with an issue before. Are they involved in the issue? Is your country considered a violator of any international protocols? To what extent would your country be willing to lend resources etc. to get involved in that issue? All must be taken into account.

So to summarise, in preparing to write a resolution you should:

a) Research generally around the topic area as well as make sure you understand your country's stance;

b) Identify key issues that need to be improved within your resolution topic;

c) Make your resolution clauses the various solutions to these issues, adding specificity regarding which institutions are involved, and specific measures that can be taken.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

This is so informative omg I hope it didn't take too much of your time/energy to type this  It was very, very helpful I can't thank you enough!! Have a nice day