How to set up a Model UN Meeting

The Model United Nations is a simulation of the United Nations System. In this simulation students assume the role of diplomats. They respect various countries and participate in debates about current issues in the UN agenda. Role-playing in a model UN meeting should enable you to learn:

> The concerns and hopes of people in different regions of the world;
> How people's lives worldwide can be improved through the UN;
> Skills and behavior which contribute to international cooperation.

Model UN meetings also help participants to understand the United Nations and appreciate the complexities and accomplishments of international cooperation. There are three basic components to the Model UN experience: first, an intensive preparation process researching the countries the participants represent; second, role-playing in a model UN debate where each participant assumes a role, usually that of an "ambassador" representing a country; and a final component evaluating the experience.

Step #1: Preparation

The first step in a model UN experience is to prepare yourself to be a delegate.
You will need to learn about three things:

> The country you are to represent
> The subject or issue on the agenda
> The work of the United Nations related to the subject or issue.

You may begin the process by doing research about the country you will represent. This particular part of the preparation is very important. You will need to know some basic facts about "your " country, which might affect its policies. Such information can be found in an up-to-date encyclopedia or a similar source. You may also want to contact the nearest diplomatic mission/embassy of the country you will represent.

Here are a few features you may want to look at: economic and political systems; social structure and values, and cultural, national and international priorities. For example, under political, topics could include: political system today ; history (former colony or former colonial power); neighbors; allies; does it belong to any regional or other grouping of nations ? In what ways does your country consider the UN important?

In addition to finding factual information, you will want to try to " get inside" to see with a delegate's eyes and feel as he or she does about the world today. The objective of your research is to ascertain the ways that your country perceives the United Nations and its application to your country's interests and policies.

The country research segment of your preparation is an ongoing activity, which will take considerable time. It will also be a group effort if the Model UN you are attending requires that a delegation of several people is needed to represent a member state.

The second stage of your preparation should focus on understanding the issues or subjects that are on the Model UN's agenda. In many instances, you and your colleagues will have to deduce what your country's views may be on these matters.

A Model UN may have a singular theme, such as human rights or economic development, or it may cover several different areas of the UN's work, such as regional conflicts, disarmament, refugees, children's issues, external debt of developing countries, or the environment. Your job is to find out what your country's position or views are on these issues and to develop a strategy for the country for the Model UN session.

The last stage of your research will focus on the UN system and its work. Understanding the role and functions of the various parts of the UN system on the issues and concerns is essential to your role as a delegate. This part of your research should help you better understand the role the UN plays in international affairs and how the UN operates as a diplomatic and policy-setting body for the international community.

Once you have researched the country you will represent, the issues on the Model UN's agenda and the UN system, you will be ready to prepare a "position paper". This should be concise, consisting of the main points you think your country would consider important for the issues to be discussed. During the simulation, you can use these points as the basis for a speech or as items you might try to have included in resolutions. As you negotiate, you will undoubtedly modify them, or you may even abandon them altogether.

Step #2: Role-playing

The second step in the model UN experience is applying the information and knowledge you have acquired during your preparation. Once you and the other delegates arrives either in the meeting room or at the conference facilities, you are no longer a student. You are the "official" representative of the country you have been assigned. You are a diplomat. Your purpose and that of your colleagues representing the other UN member states is to address the issues and the problems on the agenda and to develop a workable resolution which the largest number of nations can support.

The Model UN meetings are structured by rules of procedure which provide the ways and means for countries to express their views, to consider proposals and resolutions, and to come to decisions on resolving the issues and concerns on the agenda. You will have two principal concerns:

> To express the viewpoint of the country you represent for the purpose of sharing the ideas
   and experience of"your" government and procuring a resolution acceptable to "your" country;
> To contribute to developing an international response fair to all nations.

Most participants in the Model UN exercise will play the roles of delegates who represent a broad spectrum of political, economic, cultural and geographic backgrounds. If you have sufficient participants, delegations can include specialists in different areas of industrial development and environment, such as toxic wastes and hazardous chemicals.

Additional participants could play members of the press, interviewing key delegates, filing dispatches to home newspapers, etc. Others might be representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) invited as observers.

You should also invite a knowledgeable person to observe and comment on the meeting. Best would be someone who has worked for the UN or on a national delegation to a meeting at the United Nations. To role-play well will require serious research -- and imagination. You will need to be a skilful diplomat, aware of your nation's priorities, but flexible, sensitive to other's viewpoints, and willing to work for consensus and the common good.

Role-playing involves working in a group and making speeches. As soon as you begin the meetings, you will want to meet informally with delegates of countries with backgrounds and concerns similar to yours in order to coordinate ideas and actions. In the Model UN these groups are often called " caucus groups". These groups are all unofficial and are not bodies that can bind "your" country to any position or viewpoint. The purpose of these groups is to facilitate the negotiating process. For example, the developing countries have formed the "Group of 77", which concentrates on forming a common agenda among over 130 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Similarly, most western European countries are now grouped under the European Union (EU).
 Negotiations are very intense and can be very frustrating, especially in the larger groups. Most of the diplomatic work is accomplished during the informal caucuses producing draft resolutions, amendments and the important compromises needed to reach consensus.

Speech making during formal proceedings is another important part of role-playing. These public pronouncements permits delegates to "show their stuff" as orators and thinkers to the rest of the group. Yet not everyone is a polished speaker, and in the model UN debate substance is as important as the style at the podium. A careful balance of listing and speaking must be stuck in order to generate support and to find consensus on the problem.

The end result of the process is the adoption of a resolution or resolutions by a vote, reflecting the aggregate of interests of the member states at the meeting. Therefore, your purpose at the Model UN is not to make the best presentation or to have "your" resolution win. Successful diplomacy is reaching a consensus on a resolution or proposal.

Step #3: Evaluation

Once the simulation is over, you should evaluate what you have learned from the experience. Here are some ways you might want to do this.

> What did the meeting accomplish from the point view of the country you represented?
> How closely did the Model UN simulate the real UN?

As your country's representative you would report to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Write such a report, include your evaluation of whether the resolution passed included points considered important by "your" country, whether they did not include such points but were nonetheless acceptable, or whether they were unacceptable. You may also add your suggestions on what actions your country might take to carry out the resolutions.

You and colleagues should also discuss whether the simulation accurately reflected the situation in the world and in the UN today. An attempt should be made to explain what the main obstacles to agreements were and how such obstacles could have been overcome. Finally you might want to analyze how the real delegates at the UN addressed the same issue by looking at UN documents and resolutions on these issues.

From start to finish, the Model UN experience is an excellent way to learn about the United Nations and the International Relations. The world's issues and concerns actually come alive and you are at the center of it all. All it takes is dedication and enthusiasm to be a part of the ultimate diplomatic experience.

For further reading:

> Basic facts about the United Nations (E.00.I.21). This book provides general introduction to the role and functions
   of the United Nations and its related agencies. Very helpful for students at secondary and higher levels. Copies
   should be ordered through UN Publications.

> Everything you always wanted to know about the United Nations. A question and answer book, written for student
   and intermediate and secondary levels. For copies, write to the Public Inquiries Unit.

> Annotated preliminary list of items in the provisional agenda of the General Assembly. Issued every year prior to
   the beginning of the UN General Assembly. A must for all Model UN participants. For copies, write to the UN Publications.

> The Model UN Survival Kit. Contains four publications, which provide comprehensive information for students and
   faulty participating in a Model UN Issued annually by UNA-USA.

> Model UN Security Council Kit. A simulation package designed for use in the classroom and as a community
   program activity. A    UNA-USA publication.
 

If you want to place an order for a UN publication listed above, please write to UN Publicat ions, 2 UN Plaza, Room DC2-853, New York, NY10017. Tel (212) 963-8302; fax (212) 963-3489;E-mail: publications@un.org
For further inquiries, please contact: Public Inquiries, GA-57, United Nations, NY 10017. Fax. 212-963-0071; e-mail: inquiries@un.org