What should I prepare for a MUN conference?

Your first Model UN conference is always an unforgettable experience, it can be one of the best or one of the worst that you will ever attend in your MUN career. Whether your experience comes out amazing or terrible, it all depends on how you prepare for your conference. Before stepping into your committee, delegates NEED to prepare these 5 things:

1. Position Paper (or Policy Statement)

2. Opening Speech

3. Research Binder

4. Resolution

5. Country Profile

MUN Position Paper

The position paper is essentially a one or two page long summary of your knowledge of the topic and the position of your country or your country stance regarding the topic. The position paper is composed of 3 parts:

1. Background of Topic

2. Past actions (Domestic and International)

3. Proposed solutions

The position paper is usually due before the committee and in some conferences, delegates need to submit their position paper in order to be eligible for awards. Aside from being a requirement to be qualified for awards, position paper is a very useful paper that you can always come back to during the conference when you need to reference your country stance.

MUN Opening Speech

The opening speech is the first speech that delegates are going to give in front of the committee that generally lasts around 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds. The opening speech is the best opportunity for delegates to convey their country stance as well as the key sub-issue that they are interested in discussing. Substantially, delegates’ opening speeches are the main way for others to decide which country they want to work with, so it is crucial to prepare a speech that conveys your country’s interest and be confident to create a good first impression with other delegates. As it is the main way to identify your allies, it is also very important to pay attention to other delegates’ opening speeches. There are many strategies to prepare an opening speech but one huge tip that you can follow is to use your position paper when you are starting out. 

MUN Research Binder

Given that many conferences do not allow the use of technology during the committee session, it would be useful to prepare a research binder as it would act as a go to source for your information related to the topic, which can include:

• Comittee’s Procedures

• Acronyms

• Past Treaties

• Organization names

An organized research binder will be incredibly useful for delegates when writing a resolution since it will shorten the time needed to gather information as well as helping delegates to make speeches as they advance along the session. Especially in conferences that apply UNA USA procedures where delegates need to make many speeches.

How to write a Resolution for MUN

A resolution is generally a document that delegates will be working on during the conference and as most conferences don’t allow pre-written resolution, knowing the format and the phrasing of a resolution would be essential skills that would help delegates to work and collaborate more efficiently.

Country Profile

A country profile is generally a worksheet where you research and fill out information about your assigned country. Having a good understanding of your own country would be essential as you need to know what is a favourable outcome for you, this will vary among different countries.