Model United Nations Club of Western University

ences and formulate positions that they will then debate with their fellow delegates in committee, staying true to the actual position of the member they represent. At the end of a conference, the best-performing delegates in each committee, as well as delegations, are sometimes recognized with awards. Model UN participants include students at the middle school, high school, and college/university levels, with most conferences catering to just one of these three levels (high school and college conferences being most common). Delegates usually attend conferences together as delegations sent by their respective schools' or universities' Model UN clubs, though some delegates attend conferences independently. History

Model UN began as a series of student-led Model League of Nations simulations. It is believed that the first Model League of Nations conferences were held in the 1920s, before transitioning to Model UN after the formation of the League's successor organization, the United Nations, in 1945.[7] Today, some Model UN conferences include simulations of the League of Nations among their committee offerings. It is disputed which conference was the first Model UN conference held in the world, with the major claimants being Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN),] Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN), and National Model United Nations (NMUN NY). However, it is clear that the first was held some time in the early 1950s. In recent decades, Model UN has spread to East and South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa, with major conference organizers such as Harvard and THIMUN establishing additional conferences in these regions to meet burgeoning demand. The Ivy League Model United Nations, an arm of the Model UN at the University of Pennsylvania, hosts conferences for high-school-aged delegates in India and China, as well. Procedures

In order to maintain decorum, most Model UN committees use parliamentary procedure derived from Robert's Rules of Order. However most crisis committees forgo the formality of parliamentary procedure so as to ensure smoother operation. In addition, recently the United Nations has spearheaded efforts to introduce new Model UN rules of procedure that are more closely aligned with those used by the actual UN. Since there is no governing body for MUNs, each conference differs in the rules of procedure. The following rules of procedure apply to general MUNs but may not apply to every MUN:

MUNs are run by a group of administrators known as the dais. A dais is headed by a Secretary-General. Each committee usually has a chair (also known as moderator), a member of the dais that enforces the rules of procedure. A delegate may request the committee as a whole to perform a particular action; this is known as a motion. Documents aiming to address the issue of the committee are known as resolutions and are voted for ratification. MUN committees can be divided into three general sessions: formal debate, moderated caucus, and unmoderated caucus. In a formal debate, the staff maintains a list of speakers and the delegates follow the order written on the 'speaker list'. Speakers may be added to the speaker list by raising their placards or sending a note to the chair. During this time, delegates talk to the entire committee. They make speeches, answer questions, and debate on resolutions and amendments. If there are no other motions, the committee goes back to formal debate by default. There is usually a time limit. In a moderated caucus, the committee goes into a recess and the rules of procedure are suspended. Anyone may speak if recognized by the chair. A vote on a motion is necessary to go into a moderated caucus. There is a comparatively shorter time limit per speech. In an unmoderated caucus, the delegates informally meet with other delegates and the staff for discussions

Resolutions are the basis of all debate.They are considered the final results of conversations, writings, and negotiations. Resolutions must go through a draft, approval by the dais, and consequent debate and modification. Languages

Traditionally, English has been the official and working language of most conferences, but, as Model UN has become more popular around the world, and as conferences in countries such as the United States have sought to appeal to underrepresented minorities (such as the Spanish-speaking community), committees using languages other than English, or which are bilingual, have become common. It should be noted, however, that this is still not yet a mainstream phenomenon, especially not in the United States, where most bilingual or Spanish language committees are found at conferences hosted in Puerto Rico or the South.Certain conferences will sometimes have selected committees run in languages related to their topics: for example, some Middle Eastern committees may be run in Arabic. Committees

The number of possible committees in Model UN is very large, limited only by the creativity and vision of conference organizers. In spite of differences in type and topic, most all committees share a few common characteristics. An example of this would be a dais (also known as a committee staff), which facilitates the smooth running of a committee. A dais is headed by a chair and/or director who presides over the committee, maintaining decorum, ensuring delegates follow the established procedures in committee, and guiding delegates through the resolution or directive-writing process. Another example of a common characteristic would be note passing, which allows delegates to discreetly communicate with one another and the dais during debate. Committees in Model United Nations can be divided into a variety of categories, based on

how they are run (traditional committees and crisis committees),
when they occur (historical, contemporary, and futuristic committees),
whether or not they are based on the real world (realistic and fantastical committees),
who the principal actors are (countries, country subdivisions, organizations, or individuals),
their powers (executive, legislative, judicial, etc.), and
their area of focus (political, economic, social, etc.) their size (large, medium, small, etc.) Committees at Model UN conferences can simulate a variety of bodies. From the more commonly simulated six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Security Council, to corporate executive boards and national cabinets, Model UN committees reflect the diversity of the delegates who participate in them. General Assembly committees (such as DISEC, SPECPOL, and ECOFIN)
Other UN bodies (such as the Security Council, the ICJ, and ECOSOC)
Regional bodies (such as organs of NATO, the OAS, or the EU)
Model United Nations committees may be modern, historical, futuristic, or fantastical. A special committee that does not have a parallel in the actual United Nations which deals with a crisis is known as a 'Crisis Committee. In this committee, a crisis is given to a team of students and the teams must come up with solutions. The Crisis Committee focuses on a single historical event. The event may be fictional or non-fictional.