About Model UN

WHAT IS MODEL UNITED NATIONS?
edited from a brief by James P. Muldoon, Jr.
UNA-USA Director of Model U.N. & Youth Programs

Model United Nations is a very special educational enterprise. Through Model UN, generations of future leaders are learning not only about specific countries and issues, but also about the complexities of politics in a multilateral setting.

Model UN is a simulation of the United Nations system. Students assume the roles of “ambassadors” to the United Nations and debate the current issues on the UN‘s agenda. Through diplomacy and negotiation, Model UN students seek out solutions to complex global concerns such as the environment, economic development, refugees, AIDS, conflict resolution, disarmament, and human rights. Respect for the rule of law, civil discourse, the peaceful competition of ideas, and consensus-building and consensus-conversion through international governing institutions are all key ingredients in the Model UN experience.

Model UN is open to all interested students, regardless of major. A pre-med student, for example, can learn about and contribute to a committe on public health. A business major, for example, can learn about and contribute to a committee on financing development. Perhaps most importantly, in addition to content learning, Model UN teaches students of all majors the importance of tolerance and the pertinence of resolving differences through dialogue and compromise.

Today, there are over 60,000 young Americans from the sixth grade through graduate school taking part in one or more Model UN conferences each year. McMurry Model UN students each year attend the Hardin-Simmons conference and the National Model UN Conference in New York.