MUN in a nutshell

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MUN in a nutshell

• July 9, 2007
• Presentation by Jovi Wong

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Sowhat is MUN?!

• MUN is short for Model United Nations
• You delegate from a certain country
• Together, you form a committee
• Which is actually the Security Council

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And why should we do MUN?

• Cause its fun! (duh)
• Its a great way to learn since youre
  interacting with other people face to face about
  issues that are affecting the world around you.
• Think about all the power you haveyoure
  essentially deciding how the worlds going to be
  run!
• If you decide to do MUN in the future, you get to
  miss school ?

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But whats the idea here?

• Goal Pass a resolution that deals with the topic
  at hand (write this down).
• Topics at hand
• Day 1 Situation in Darfur
• Day 2 Situation in Myanmar
• These are the issues youll be dealing with.
  Assuming you know which country you are, you will
  have to represent their foreign policy in debate.

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Foreign Policy?! Whaa?

• What is the position your country has on the
  issue?
• What is your countrys objective for these
  debates? What does your country plan to get out
  of this?
• How are you going to achieve these goals? Who do
  you have to be friends with?

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Things to look up tonight. Im serious.

• GDP, population, geography, defense expenses, a
  bit of political history
• Search engine your country and the topic. Whats
  happened so far?
• Whats the political situation in your country?
  Are you run by a nutbar dictator? Are you a
  democracy bent on oil?

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Now the hard part.

• But I dont have any (real or MUN) friends!
  Think
• Geography
• Politics
• Economy
• POP QUIZ (haha!)
• Write down on a piece of paper what you think
  your countrys foreign policy is on the issue
  youve been assigned. One or two sentences max.
• Now buddy up with the other delegates
  representing the same country. Compare your
  sentences.

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Where to look?

• Internet and Books
• Foreign Affairs website
• Permanent Mission to UN
• World Factbook
• Wikipedia (sorry!)
• UN website
• Search it on Google/Yahoo!/MSN, etc.
• Teachers
• Your (real) friends

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Before you put on the tie clip

• Make a little list. Put
• 1 What is your countrys perspective on the
  issue?
• 2 How big a concern is this issue to your
  country?
• 3 How does this issue affect the domestic
  and/or international interests of your country?
• 4 What (if any) actions has your country taken,
  so far, with regard to this issue? (eg. What
  treaties/agreements has it signed? What programs
  has it implemented domestically? What
  international efforts has it participated in?)
• 5 What (if any) actions, or further actions
  does your country plan to pursue in the future
  with respect to this issue?
• 6 What means of resolving the problem does your
  country propose?

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About Resolutions

• Heading
• Preambulatory Clauses
• Operative Clauses
• For veterans, were scrapping Working Papers.
  Start with Draft Resolutions.

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How to go about as a delegate.

• Speak in third person. Its pretty fun, actually.
  (e.g. The Russian Federation would like to thank
  China for its support and urges the members of
  the Security Council to consider Draft Resolution
  3, for it addresses all of the issues surrounding
  Darfur refugees crossing the Darfur-Chad border.)
• Raise your placard.
• Dont speak unless the Chair recognises you
  formally.
• You can leave the room at any time to have
  secret talks with your allies/enemies
• You will have a speaking time. Dont go over it
  unless you like getting hit by chalk.

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Formalities

• Formal Debate
• Moderated Caucus
• Unmoderated Caucus
• Point of Order
• Point of Inquiry
• Point of Personal Privilege

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Voting

• Delegates representing the United States, United
  Kingdom, France, China, and Russian Federation
  get vetoes.
• Everyone else doesnt (but dont feel bad!)
• Those without vetoes want to persuade
  veto-wielders to all vote for a resolution (one
  veto can mean bye-bye to a resolution)

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Negotiate and be nice about it.

• Remember, youre delegates, not mortal enemies.
  Thats right, if youre X, you cant be mean to Y
  outside of MUN just because they didnt vote for
  your resolution. ?

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Goodies

• There are some prizes for Best and Outstanding
  delegates who show excellent sportsmanship, move
  the debate forwards and represent their foreign
  policy accurately.
• Tip Dont get competitive.

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Summary

• Figure out your countrys foreign policy
• Fill out that list to outline what youre going
  to talk about
• Practice speaking in third person
• Look at some old Security Council resolutions
  online and see what they try to achieve
• Look at the handouts youve gotten and try to
  process as much of it as you can (its much
  easier the day of, dont worry)

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Last tidbits

• Some tips for the beginning MUNer
• TALK. Raise your placard as often as you can. Get
  your voice out there. Make the people you sit
  with listen to what you have to say and hopefully
  vote in your favour.
• Dont be intimidated. The Chair can be scary
  sometimes. Other delegates might be pressuring
  you to vote, but you dont think your country
  likes how the resolutions written. Keep your
  head and hang on to foreign policy.
• Use crisis panic to your advantage. Pull together
  what you know of foreign policy to hit the issue
  just right and get your resolution done by the
  deadline.

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Timeline

• 830-900 Briefing
• 900-1200 Committee Session I
• 1200-1230 Lunch
• 1230-230 Committee Session II
• 230-300 Wrap Up
• Sneak Peek There may or may not be a crisis! So
  make sure you read up on your foreign policy!