Model United Nations

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• May 30, 2014
• Extracurricular Activities
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Model United Nations (also Model UN or MUN) is a conference similar to the United Nations in which students participate as delegates to various UN Committees. Participants research and formulate political positions based on the actual policies of the countries they represent.

The committees usually consist of the six committees of the General Assembly (or some subset of them), but may also include the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Economic and Financial Committee. The participants range from middle school students to graduate school students. Model United Nations involves researching, public, teamwork, and leadership skills. As of 2012, there are about 400 MUN conferences worldwide.

MUNs are usually organized by high school clubs or college clubs. Organizations that coordinate MUNs such as the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) are considered important organizing forces.

The United Nations hosts a site called the UN Cyberschoolbus which contains general information about MUNs such as: advice for researching papers for MUNs, starting MUN conferences, and methods to help finding MUNs. The program also has an international Internet forum in which participants can share information. Organizations such as the OsgoodCenter for International Studies have aided in the creation of MUNs.