Model United Nations (MUNs) conferences are fast becoming the go-to activity for students looking to involve themselves in extra curriculars. There has been a splurge in both the number of delegates attending MUNs and MUN conferences as a whole. Students are increasingly looking to fill up the pages of their CVs and college applications with their achievements in this arena, as more and more (mostly Western) higher education institutions are placing emphasis on all-round achievement as opposed to marks alone.
The concept of Model UN has been around for a while, initially originating as a Model League of Nations, a simulation of the now defunct predecessor of the United Nations. These conferences can be held as mere educational activities within classrooms for an hour or two, or as full-blown simulations (usually between three to four days) conducted by renowned institutions like Harvard or The Hague. In India, the popular opinion is that MUNs as a concept flourished after the Cathedral Model United Nations was hosted in Mumbai, 1996. Since then, school and college calendars have been filling up with invitations to different MUNs, and there was no looking back. These conferences usually consist of three or more committees—generally modelled along the lines of the actual United Nations. Simulations of Security Councils, Disarmament and Security Committee, and the Economic and Social Council are common, while Crisis committees test the delegates’ spontaneity and abilities to think on their feet. Interestingly, fantasy and futuristic committees have featured in several conferences as well, ranging from Game of Thrones committees to the mock trial of Kim Jong Il to Harry Potter. Delegates are expected to represent their portfolios and debate on behalf of their country or character with respect to the committee agenda.
Some of the largest MUNs in India are chapters of international ones like HMUN (in association with Harvard), WIMUN (with the World Federation of United Nations Associations), and Ivy League MUN (by the University of Pennsylvania). All the above mentioned MUNs are organised by MUN Café, a brand of Worldview Global which is based in Hyderabad. These high-profile conferences have seen guests like Nandita Das, Rakesh Sharma, Amitabh Kant (CEO of Niti Aayog), and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan grace the gathering either in person or through live stream. These MUNs usually claim high delegate fees from the participants, but MUN Café has also come out with MUN for India, a zero-fee series of MUNs held around the country facilitating easy access for all who want to improve their MUN skills.
MUNs as a whole provide a variety of skill sets as well as a host of side benefits not usually mentioned on the brochures. For Mirza Al Yessa who has been to 21 MUNs, the best takeaway is the friends he has made. Other than that, he says, “MUNs have given me the ability to empathise at a greater level than I could before as it forces you to take on the persona of someone else.” Bashir Abbas will soon cross his 35th MUN and in his opinion, his research skills are the ones that have been most impacted. According to him, he has learned to ‘analyse from an international law point of view, understanding legal and non-legal precedent and what sources to trust for what kind of information.’
Aditya Soma, executive director of Worldview Global, believes that MUNs help students get to build diverse peer networks, especially when they MUN internationally. “These are powerful networks that can open up many opportunities to collaborate, partner and work together in the future,” he says. Moreover, it is extremely beneficial for ‘communication skills, writing skills, negotiation skills, and public speaking.’ The greatest impact according to him is the change that these delegates can bring. “If a MUN is delivered with even a little bit of sincerity, it is 100 per cent bound to influence students to go out and make a difference. The nature of this academic tool itself is such,” he says. These include initiatives towards sustainable development, e-waste management and solutions for pollution, all undertaken by students themselves.
Money is an added incentive for MUN participation, especially at the college level. While the bigger conferences retain their policy of non-monetary awards (including but not limited to certificates, trophies, gavels and bragging rights), numerous other MUNs around the country provide large monetary compensation along with a relatively reduced delegate fee in order to make up for a comparative lack of renown. So far, the highest monetary award for Best Delegate in the country is given by Jain Centre for Management Studies, Bengaluru. Best delegates from each of the several committees receive a whopping Rs 30,000, while honourable and commendable delegates receive Rs 11,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. Not bad at all, for four days of debate every year. Several other conferences offer anywhere upwards of Rs 5,000 per best delegate award, and considering these statistics along with the comparatively nominal delegate fee (usually Rs 1,000-2,000), as well as the sheer number of MUN conferences happening throughout the academic year, it is no wonder that the average number of delegates at these conferences are rising every year.
So, if you are in school or college and know how to gab your way out of a paper bag, what are you waiting for? Go ahead; dive headfirst into the world of Model UN. It may just be worth it.
