MODEL UNITED NATIONS
Welcome to the UN. It’s your world.
First MUN, 2001
A prestigious role play on the way the United Nations
really operate
The Model United Nations (MUN) is an actual simulation of the System of the United Nations. It consists
in a role play which requires participants to play the part of the ambassadors
of the UN member states.
In the Model United Nations framework, participants are called “delegates”
and they resort to their own diplomatic
and negotiation skills to find solutions to the problems that the
international community is facing and which are on the United Nations agenda.
The issues discussed are all covered
by the vast mandate of the United Nations Organization and range from international peace and security, human
rights, economic and social development to environmental issues.
Therefore, the Model United Nations is an interactive learning experience that
will prove extremely enriching for each and every participant. The MUN has proved enormously successful in the last
fifty years and has been attended by 200 000
pupils and students from all over the world every year. So far, the only
African countries to have organized MUN conferences are Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius
and Zambia.
The
Organization of United Nations …
The Organization of United Nations
(UN) was created on October 24th 1945. Its founding charter outlines
the rights and duties of all Member States and regulates the main principles of
international relations, from guaranteeing the sovereign equality of member
states to forbidding the use of force.
The UN now has 189 Member states,
the most recent membership being that of Tuvalu, which joined on September 5th
2000. Its main bodies are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council, and the International Court of Justice.
The MUN: an incredible experience…
Taking part in the MUN will allow
you to:
·
Acquire thorough and useful knowledge about the United Nations,
international relations, and the current problems that the international
community is facing,
·
Develop essential skills such as research, writing, speaking in public,
leadership, solving problems and conflicts, negotiating and compromising.
·
Understand the democratic decision-making process,
·
Broaden your horizons and encourage
the openness of mind that is a crucial trait of any would-be world citizen.
·
Bring out new skills such as team spirit, eloquence, the ability to resolve tensions or even
a diplomatic vocation.
·
Meet other young lively and enthusiastic people and develop lifetime friendships!
All those who have taken part in a Model United
Nations are unanimous:
“This is a unique opportunity that should not be
missed!!!”
How do I prepare for the MUN?
Stimulating team work
The MUN targets pupils of the last
but one year of upper secondary school (18) and should be prepared by the whole class as a group.
At the actual event, some pupils
will play the part of delegates and will be divided into teams of 6
representing a UN Member State. Others will ensure supporting duties: security
guard, reception, secretary, journalist, etc.
Thorough preparation
1. First of all, you will need to familiarize yourself
with the UN, its bodies and institutions, its mandate, its activities, and its
achievements.
2. Then you need to absorb the historical, economic,
social, and cultural situation as well as the foreign policy of the country
that your team will represent.
3. Thirdly, you need to familiarize yourself with the
position of your country towards the themes that will be discussed by the
commissions in order to suggest resolutions that are consistent with its
political strategy.
4. You then need to anticipate the position of the main
opponents to the solution offered by your country’s resolution and the
arguments that they will put forward to defend their position.
5. Lastly, it is crucial to be familiar with the
procedures enforced at UN meetings and to master the writing techniques
specific to formal resolutions.
MUN in Senegal: A first
Organizers
In conjunction with the whole System
of the United Nations and the Government of Senegal, UNESCO decided to launch
the first MUN for West Africa in Senegal.
The System of the UN, the National Commission for UNESCO and the Federation of UNESCO
clubs are all part of the Organization Committee.
Participants
As a pilot project, the first MUN is
aimed at pupils of ‘première’ (upper
secondary school). The schools
associated to UNESCO, the UNESCO
Clubs in secondary schools and in other schools of Dakar and its
surroundings will be involved. Some 300 pupils will take part in the actual
conference.
The
event
·
The MUN Conference will take place
early in 2001 in Dakar.
·
Over 3 days, delegates will attend
the General Assembly and 6 Thematic Commissions. They will discuss
the points on the agenda of the 55th session of the General
Assembly: Eradication of poverty, Long-lasting peace in Africa, Refugees,
Education for all, Culture of peace, Fight against AIDS, etc. The best
delegation will receive a prize and
medal for the 1st MUN in Senegal.
·
The event will be widely covered by
the media.
Preliminary phase
·
Prior to the actual Conference,
participants and accompanying adults will attend a training during which they
will get a chance to discover the UN agencies as well as the embassies of the
countries they’re supposed to represent.
·
Each class will receive a participant’s kit containing useful
basic documents with which to prepare the MUN.
·
UNESCO will give its support to
participants during the preparation phase. They will be given access to the
documentation center.
If:
You’re in ‘première’
You’re lively and enthusiastic,
You and your friends want to learn and have a
wonderful international experience…
Wait no more, JOIN THE 1st MUN!!!
For more information or to receive an application
form, please contact:
Mrs K. Beeckman, UNESCO
BP 3311, 12 Av. L. Senghor, Dakar
Tel. 849 23 06. Fax. 823 86 22.
Email: k.beeckman@unesco.org
Web: http://www.unesco.dakar.org/news/mun/depliant.htm
The deadline for applications is
November 15th, 2000