Model United Nations
The term Model United Nations (also Model UN or MUN ) describes simulations for schoolchildren and students in which the work of the United Nations (UN) is simulated .
procedure
To do this, u. a. organizes conferences in schools and universities around the world, the structure of which is modeled on that of the UN. The participants are accordingly pupils or students who take on the role of a diplomat from one of the member states of the United Nations, but usually not their own. These delegates then represent the opinion of "their" country in simulated committees (e.g. in the UN General Assembly or in the Committee on Human Rights ). Current global political issues are discussed there according to an agenda and resolution texts are drafted. The delegates try to get supporters for their draft resolutions) or to win them over by compromising in the interests of their country, in order to then discuss the resolution in the committee . If it is passed in the body, the draft is often forwarded to the simulated General Assembly of the United Nations , where after a renewed discussion and vote the resolution can finally come into force.
Preparation and organization
The preparation of the participants is essential for engaging debates. Most of these are prepared in class (if they are pupils) or (in the case of students) in corresponding courses at their university. There is an intensive discussion of the problems and interests of “one's own” country. You can usually choose this one (or at least state your wishes), but usually you cannot choose your home country. In addition to the preparation of the content, it also includes learning the processes and rules, e.g. B. by practicing debates and drafting resolutions.
Various schools and universities, but also non-profit associations, are available as platforms and organizers of the conferences. Schoolchildren and students from different countries meet there and hold the assemblies. The committees offered differ depending on the organizer (including human rights, disarmament, environmental protection and economic committees); the most important UN bodies such as the Security Council are often also offered for the member states represented.
History and dissemination
Emergence
Already in the 1920s, well before the founding of the United Nations, the first simulations comparable to today's MUN conferences took place as the "Model League of Nations". The organs of the League of Nations were simulated at various colleges in the USA .
After the League of Nations became insignificant with World War II , it was effectively replaced in 1945 by the establishment of the United Nations. Just a few months later, again in the USA, the first Model United Nations seminars and conferences took place. This included the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York City , which was also created in the 1920s and re-established in 1946 .
Gradually, however, the MUN concept was also able to gain a foothold outside the USA. In 1969, for example, the “The Hague International Model United Nations” (THIMUN) was founded in the Netherlands , which, unlike the NMUN, is primarily aimed at schoolchildren.
Today's distribution
Nowadays, MUN conferences for schoolchildren and students are held all over the world. The largest are the American NMUN and the THIMUN, which takes place annually in The Hague , as well as the WorldMUN organized by Harvard University .
Some of the world's most famous universities organize MUN conferences, including Harvard , Oxford University , Sciences Po Paris , Maastricht University and the University of London .
There are also a number of English and German-speaking MUN conferences for schoolchildren and students in German-speaking countries, such as the United Nations student simulation game in Bonn , the HamMUN (Hamburg Model United Nations), which has been held annually in Hamburg since 1998, and the MUNHN conference (Model United Nations Heilbronn) in Heilbronn or the Oldenburg Model United Nations .
Both DMUN e. V. (German Model United Nations e.V.) with conferences in Kiel, Stuttgart and Potsdam as well as the GIMUN (Geneva International Model United Nations) are recognized as NGOs by the UN. Both have the "Special Consultative Status to the ECOSOC ".
MUN clubs have now established themselves in numerous cities. Its aim is to optimally prepare schoolchildren and students for MUN conferences.
languages
The working language of most of the MUN conferences is English . Meanwhile, however, there are also conferences held in another official language of the United Nations. In Germany there are also some conferences in the non-UN official language of German. Sometimes two or more languages are allowed in individual committees, with the participants often being provided with simultaneous interpretation . The student MUN conference, the "Bonn International Model United Nations / Simulation Internationale des Nations Unies de Bonn" (BIMUN / SINUB), which has been taking place in Bonn since 2002 , enables its delegates, for example, every year in alternating United Nations committees in English , French and on since 2012 Spanish to negotiate. Bilingual committees are also offered on some simulations in Canada (English / French), Mexico (English / Spanish) or Russia (English / Russian). The annual simulation of the General Assembly of the United Nations , the "Students' United Nations" (SUN), which takes place in Geneva ( CH ) , is bilingual (French / English) thanks to simultaneous interpretation.
aims
The participants in MUN conferences should be enabled to find out more about complex political problems and then to discuss them with other participants. They should put themselves in the shoes of a representative of a foreign country and thus develop an understanding of the problems and situations of other peoples and cultures.
In addition, skills in rhetoric , negotiation tactics and diplomacy , as well as, depending on the type of conference, foreign language skills should be expanded and deepened. Last but not least, dealing fairly with people who think differently and dealing with their points of view without prejudice also play an important role.
See also
- Harvard World Model United Nations
- Young UN network Germany
- European Parliament model
- Parliament simulation
- POL & IS
- MUNOL
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ HamMUN | HamMUN 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019 (British English).
- ↑ Model United Nations Heilbronn MUNHN. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .