Model UN "in a Box" Simulation Kit

A Guide for Faculty and Students: Teaching Model United Nations and Running Your Own Simulation

Introduction

The Guide includes a variety of interactive preparatory suggestions, including instructions for running a practice simulation for a Model UN conference. These exercises can be used by either a Model UN class or club. Also, the exercises in the Guide have been utilized by both college and high school Model UN classes and clubs, and are appropriate at each of these levels and settings.

One complimentary copy of Model UN "in a Box" is provided to every school that registers for AMUN. Other schools or groups are welcome to purchase the guide for $34.95, plus $15 for domestic Priority Mail shipping or $35 for shipping outside the United States. If you are purchasing 5 or more copies of Model UN "in a Box" in a single order, they will be discounted 20% each.

In addition to their use as a preparation guide for individual programs, AMUN also welcomes other Model UN groups interested in purchasing Model UN "in a Box" for distribution to their participants.

You can order the Guide using our secure server. Payment can be made online by credit card, by fax including your credit card information, or by mail via check or money order. Please note that we are not able to accept Purchase Orders.

The Model UN "in a Box" Simulation Kit contains the following:

The staff at American Model United Nations (AMUN) believes that the best prepared Representatives at any Model United Nations (MUN) conference are the ones with previous experience. Since AMUN is the first MUN experience for many students each year, over time we have suggested methods to give students an understanding of what it is like at a conference, before they actually attend one. By far, the most successful method has been when schools conduct their own abbreviated simulations prior to attending a conference.

MUN preparatory simulations can be run by your club or class, and may be as small as the members of your delegation(s). You may also invite other students from your school (as either participants or observers). Additionally, a number of AMUN participants hold preparatory simulations for other schools attending AMUN from their geographic area. This allows them to practice with students outside of their own delegation, to see different styles of Representatives, and to meet some of the students from other schools prior to their arrival at the conference.

Preparatory simulations tend to focus on increasing students' knowledge of and comfort level with the rules of procedure. They also have the benefit of providing experience at speaking before a group, in a formal MUN setting, without the pressure of a full-sized committee session. This Guide will provide you with an exercise to practice resolution writing, with materials to make both the rules of procedure easier to teach and interpret, and with content background and resolutions for two suggested topics which will give the students something to speak about.

Chapter I: Teaching Model UN in the Classroom.

Despite its name, this chapter details how to prepare a group of students for a Model UN conference in either a class or club setting. It focuses on strategies for building the myriad of necessary skills that new MUNers will require in order to successfully role play their adoptive country in a simulation of the UN. This chapter also includes suggested readings, course syllabi for quarter and semester classes, and suggestions for grading students on the quality of their MUN participation.

Chapter II: Resolutions.

Perhaps the most concrete results of a Model UN simulation are the documents produced by the various committees and councils, typically in the form of resolutions. This chapter shows MUN leaders how to teach the significance of resolutions to a group and contains a classroom exercise designed to show students how to cooperatively construct their own resolutions. Exercises include how to read UN resolutions, the importance of language in resolutions, and a small group activity on writing resolutions.

Chapter III: Caucusing and Consensus Building.

Unlike resolution writing, the ability to engage in informal negotiations is a relatively abstract and challenging skill to instill in new MUN participants. This chapter outlines the concepts underlying good role playing, negotiating and compromising within a MUN setting, and contains exercises which teach students the challenges and rewards inherent in seeking consensus among their peers. Exercises include methods for effective negotiation and caucus participation and a small group activity on consensus building.

Chapter IV: Rules of Procedure.

Every MUN simulation follows a set of rules, and with few exceptions no two MUN simulations use the same rules and procedures. We have included here full copies of the AMUN rules of procedure for the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and Security Council. This chapter also presents the rationale behind all of AMUN’s rules of procedure, including our philosophy behind following or deviating from actual UN practices. This chapter will assist new MUN leaders in understanding why rules are necessary, how they are constructed, and how they are intended to be most effectively utilized during the simulation.

Chapter V: Effective Chairing.

The most important part of MUN preparation is conducting a practice simulation which integrates all of the above skills (i.e. resolutions, caucusing, consensus building and use of the rules). This chapter will instruct new MUN leaders in how to lead an effective practice simulation.

Chapters VI, VII and VIII: Preparatory Simulations.

These three chapters include all of the materials necessary to conduct a practice MUN simulation for up to 30 participants. Depending on the rules and topics one wishes to use, leaders may choose to conduct a simulation of the General Assembly or Economic and Social Council, which generally provide recommendatory solutions for Member States, or a crisis simulation of the Security Council, which deals with immediate threats to international peace and security.

Countries included in the preparatory simulations include:

Angola Argentina Belgium Bulgaria Cameroon Chile China Cuba Djibouti Egypt

France Germany Guinea India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Japan Kenya Malaysia Mexico

Nigeria Pakistan Russian Federation South Africa Spain Sweden Syrian Arab Republic Ukraine United Kingdom United States

Chapter IX: Glossary of UN and MUN Terms.

For new MUN leaders and participants, the large variety of “UN jargon” and acronyms available may seem daunting and confusing. Many relevant terms pertaining to UN and MUN institutions are defined in this glossary.

Appendices.

Multiple documents and sources are referenced extensively throughout this book, and these references are grouped into five appendices at the conclusion of the text. All handouts for classroom activities may be found in Appendix A: Handouts; sample UN, MUN and classroom-based resolutions are collected in Appendix B: Sample Resolutions; all of the necessary placards for the 30 UN Member States used in the three practice simulations are found in Appendix C: Basic Country Information and Placards; position briefings for each country for all five topics covered in the practice simulations are located in Appendix D: Country Briefings; and all source materials used in the compilation of this book and additional sources of information regarding the UN and MUN are located in Appendix E: For More Information. See the first page of each appendix for a detailed listing of its contents.

Recommendations

While using this Guide in preparing for attendance at a MUN conference, it may be useful to keep clean copies of all documents provided within this book, making classroom-use copies as needed. AMUN also strongly recommends that you copy the following documents for all students participating in AMUN, regardless of whether you utilize these exercises.

Rules of Procedure Sample Dialogues

Short Form of AMUN rules

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