preparing for an mun conference

8/9/2019 Preparing for an MUN Conference

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PREPARING FOR AN

MUN CONFERENCE

Brighton High MUN


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WHERE TO BEGIN

First, research your assigned committee. You dont have to go in-depth, but it helps to know a little about its history, whatcountries have membership, and the extent of its power.

Keep in mind, aside from the Security Council your committee

probably wont have the power to actually enforce any action ordemand that any be taken.

You can read up on past resolutions/mandates your committeehas passed to get a feel for the course of action it usually takes

Being familiar with UN procedures and having knowledge of yourcommittee is something your chair will look for. It is veryimpressive to cite relevant past actions your committee has takenor to know that your committee cannot perform a certain action(such as placing sanctions)

Know commonly used terms such as NGO and micro-financing


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YOUR COUNTRY

Before diving into your topic, get a feel for the countryyoure representing. Begin with basic research such as itsgeography, history, and culture.

CIA WorldF

actbook is a great place to begin. You can useWikipedia as well, but never cite it in an academic paper.The websites that your countrys Wikipedia article cite can

be helpful as well.

Youll always include a brief history in your position paper,

and relating how your country feels about an issue with itsculture/history shows your chair youve done research. Theylove to think you did research.


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YOUR COUNTRY

Pay attention to your countrys key trade partners and who theygenerally exchange money with.

Your country will align with some sort of bloc (Middle Eastern bloc,Southeast Asian, Latin America, etc.). They often times have similarpositions, which can be helpful if its hard to find information on your

country. They might even belong to a regional organization such asASEAN. But be cautious and remember this isnt always true. Be up on current events and try to find first hand documents of your

country. Its government website, local newspapers, and especiallyspeeches given by government officials or their UN ambassador arehelpful.

Know your policy! Literally Google [My countrys] policy. This just

means have a general idea of how your country approaches internationalissues. For example the USA likes to get involved, while China takes astrict hands-off approach.


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BACKGROUND GUIDE

Read, and re-read your background guide. Your chair wroteit, so read between the lines. It will give away what yourchair wants to focus on.

It will contain lots of helpful information, and will include abibliography of many valuable sources.

It will contain a list of questions about the topic to thinkabout. Even if they dont seem relevant, address themthoroughly. If your chair only skims your paper, they will

always look to see if you answered these questions. Theyalso act as a nice way to frame your paper.

Never plagiarize your background guide!


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YOUR TOPIC

Your background guide will give you a good head start onunderstanding your issue, but there is more information to

be found.

Remember to always check if your source is reliable, and be

aware of any bias it may have (especially if your country hasa direct role in the issue)

Ask yourself questions such as, How did this issue begin?When? Where? Why? Why is it continuing? What countrieshave the biggest stake in it? What past actions have been

taken by the UN/my country/other countries? How does mycountry feel? What are other countries positions? Whatpossible action could be taken? What prevents certainactions from being taken? Etc.


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YOUR TOPIC

Most importantly, always address the issue from yourcountrys pov. Even if your country isnt directly involved,always tie it in.

History repeats itselfand so do topics. Always check if theUN has discussed the issue or if there have been similarissues that have been dealt with. You can usually find somesort of program that was tested in another country.

Make sure youve looked into what your country has done

about the issue, what it can do, and what it cannot do.

Know the mainstream opinions that youll see come up incommittee (usually bloc position)


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DEVELOP A SOLUTION

Only stating how your country feels about the issue doesntcontribute to the committee. Remember, your goal all alonghas been to find a solution. It doesnt have to be an intricateplan, thats what resolutions are forbut your chairs like tosee innovative ideas.

There are usually solutions to be found online, but makesure everything falls in-line with your policy.

Itd hard to give general advice with such a wide range of

possible topics, but speak to us and we can help youindividually with your specific issue.


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YOUR PARTNERS TOPIC

If you have a partner, do NOT get into the mentality that youhave separate topics and theyll take of everything

The majority of the time you will only discuss one topic. If

you do get to a second topic, it is generally for a very shorttime, very rushed, and you write unfinished resolutions in20 minutes.

This being said, dont be a sitting duck. Your chairs can spotdead wood. Dont ever assume one topic will be chosen to

discussed over the other. Youll be surprised.

Its not fair to your partner to expect them to do everythingsimply because their topic was chosen.


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YOUR PARTNERS TOPIC

You are your partner are a dynamic duo. You should be able tosplit-up and confidently explain your countrys position toeveryone in committee. Then you can tell each other details,

because no one can make their rounds across the entirecommittee by themselves.

Often youll see one person speaking with their partner at theirside just observing. That partner should be participating in

writing another resolution or speaking with other delegates yourpartner cant make it to. An unprepared partner is crippling to

your performance. Some partners choose to write their position papers together. If

not, reading your partners paper once or twice will not besufficient.

You will be debating for up to 20 hours at RHSMUN imaginedebating a topic you dont understand for that long. Its not fun.


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TIPS

You wont know everything about your country, and neitherwill anyone else. Thats okay. When a topic comes up thatyoure not sure about, just use what you do know about yourcountry to make your best guess. Making things up is a

priority skill in the world of MUN. You can always contact officers for help, or even e-mail your

chair.

Print out research you think you could need in committee. Ilike to type up study guides of the key things I need to

remember and keep it in the front of my binder. This can beeasier than digging through pages of research or lookingthrough a long article.


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TIPS

Your research doesnt end when your paper does.Always keep up on current events relating to ourtopic to keep yourself refreshed on all the details.

When writing your paper, countries do not feel,they believe (Finland believes that in order to)

You are writing from the pov as your country, souse your countrys name or we

Be diligent in citing sources. We will go overbibliographies later.


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SUMMARY

Have a basic understanding of your committee, and thenbegin to research general info about your country.

Have a firm understanding of the topic. Know what hashappened in the past, what is happening currently, and what

needs to happen in the future. Address all your background guide questions in your

position paper

Solution is key!

Re-read your paper and your partners for grammaticalerrors

You have plenty of people here to help you

Good luck!

preparing for an mun conference

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