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Boston U.N. Model Conference
Eldest Golden Bridge
member, Felicia, participated in the Boston United Nations Model
Conference over the week of February 13-19 2006. By actively
participating in this conference it brought her closer to acting as an
ambassador and researcher on foreign affairs and international concerns.
Felicia compiled a memorial scrapbook of her trip, which includes
pictures, insights, the WHO Resolution and most importantly, though
her vivid memories of international organizations up close.
How
to begin or join the Model United Nations Club:
Interested in the Model United Nations? If your school does not have
the Model U.N. club, take the initiative and begin it yourself. The United
Nations Cyber School Bus gives a step-by-step process on starting a club
[http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/modelun/start.html].
First,
get the permission of administration to find a sponsor. Second, find a
teacher to be a sponsor of the club and create fliers to advertise to
the student population.
If the
Model U.N. club exists in your school, you can benefit from the many perks
of joining. Students aiming towards a career in politics can get
experience with debate. For a little adventure, there are chances to
travel to conferences held year round. Academically, the Model U.N. club
looks great on a college transcript. Plus, if you have a passion for
world history and international relations, this is the club to showcase
your knowledge.
After
you have joined the Model U.N., your group has the choice of attending any
of the various conferences held around the world. Of course, costs and
timing must be taken into account on the conference you do attend.
However, many conferences are held in states/provinces by high schools
or colleges that could be close to your area. Once signed in to a
conference, your team will need to pick a country to represent.
Individually, you will need to choose a branch of the UN to participate
in as well. For example, the sponsor sends in a list of countries your
team is interested in representing, the conference leaders will pick
from the list a country for your team, and you will choose from the
organs represented in the conference. The Security Council is one branch
off of the U.N. that cannot be chosen unless your representative country
is involved in it.
Has the
conference been set? Your next step is to research your country. Any
background information concerning your nation’s economy and culture is
important, even its relationship to surrounding nations. A quick guide
to your country can be found on the CIA World Factbook site [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/]
For more
information on the organ you are involved in, the official U.N. site has a
break down of each branch with links to separate pages concerning recent
work of that organization, such as the World Health Organization at
[http://www.who.int/en/].
Each
organ in a Model U.N. conference will target a handful of issues in the
world. Keeping with the World Health Organization (or WHO), the main
topic could be a communicable disease, like SARS. Your job as a delegate
is to understand your country’s position on the issue. If you are one of
the countries affected by the issue, then you can take the lead in
writing a resolution to solve the problem. First and foremost, your
country wants to
a) persuade other nations to consider its opinion and
b) come to a compromise.
Part of
persuading other nations to take your point of view is getting ideas out
in the open. At the beginning of every conference, a speakers list is
set for nations wishing to give a statement on the issue at hand.
Between the speakers list, a delegate can also call for a motion to
speak as a means of replying to another country’s points. Moderated
caucuses are informal debate sessions with a chairperson as leader to
debate with others. Unmoderated caucuses are times to speak to a country
or a group of countries without the presence of an authority. Usually
during an unmoderated caucus, a working paper will be formed or even a
resolution.
However,
before you debate, an organization can delegate that its participants
write a position paper about the issue before the conference. Position
papers are a great way to get a feel for your nation’s views on a
subject. Here is a guide to writing a paper:
Imagine
the position paper as an hourglass. At the top, the widest part of the
hourglass, you want to capture the reader’s attention with the reason
why this issue is important. A good way to get an audience is through
the use of statistics. A step down from the opening is information on
what the world is doing to solve the problem. Both paragraphs are
considered the top of the hourglass, as they deal with the general idea
of the issue. The inverted part of the hourglass, or the middle, is
devoted to three or four paragraphs specifically about your country and
the U.N. Begin with your country’s stand on the issue; what are they
concerned with? Another paragraph should describe what your nation has
done to alleviate the problem. Depending on the amount of information in
the last section, you could also combine information on your nation’s
dealings with other countries on the topic, such as treaties. You can
also include a paragraph on your nation and its role in helping the U.N.
with the problem. Finally, the end of the hourglass should be two
paragraphs; one confirming your nation’s stand on helping the U.N. with a
specific plan (like the previous paragraph) and another summing up all
of the measures your nation is pulling for.
POSITION PAPER HOURGLASS
General Information on the
Issue:
What your Nation will Support:
Remember: the key to feeling confident about a conference is to know
your country, in and out. As equally important is to know the lingo of
the UN, which is all addressed at the Cyber School Bus at
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/modelun/prep.html. |
