Preparing for your First MUN Conference

 Pre-MUN research
What is your country’s official name?
What region of the world is your country located in?
How big is your country? (square miles)
Who are your country’s neighbors?
How would you describe your country’s physical
features and climate?
When was your country founded?
What type of government does your country have?
Who are some of your country’s leaders?
How many people serve in your country’s military?
Who are your country’s allies? Enemies?
What is your country’s population?
What is your country’s ethnic composition?
What is your country’s official language? What other
languages are spoken?
What is your country’s capital? What are some
of the major cities?
How would you describe the quality of life in your
country?
What is your country’s total Gross Domestic Product?
What are some of your country’s natural resources?
What is your country’s currency?
What are your country’s major imports and exports?
What are your country’s biggest trading partners?

 How to write a Position Paper

Many Model UN conferences require delegates to submit “Position Papers” on their topics before a
conference starts to demonstrate their research and knowledge. Position Papers are normally 1 page per
day, and should have 3-4 paragraphs. They should be written from the perspective of the government of
your country, include a header, and answering the following questions. Your final Position Paper should
look similar to the sample on the next page.

Format-
Heading
Committee: [Your Committee Title]
Topic: [Your Topic]
Country: [Your Country] full name
School: [Your School]
 o Topic Background
o What is the definition of the topic?
o Where does the topic take place? Who is involved?
o How many people does it affect? Where, and in what ways?
o Why is this topic important?
o Past International Action
o Have there been any interesting statements by UN officials on this topic? Try to find a quote.
o What are the most important UN resolutions and treaties on this topic?
o Do any major Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) work on this topic?

Country Policy
How has this topic impacted your country?
What has your country tried to do about this topic?
What types of policies would your country want the UN to adopt (or not adopt) on this topic?
Possible Solutions
What specific plans would your country like the UN to undertake to address this issue?
What specific plans would your country like Members States to undertake in their own countries?
Why would your ideas work? Give specific plans.

Sample position paper

Guideline

 Delegates will be given no less than 90 seconds but will be cut off if delegates go on too
much longer.

 Delegates are to present information such as:

 Hook/Introduction: Hooks or introductions usually start with the delegate addressing

the committee with “Honorable chairs, fellow delegates, and most esteemed guests”
or with a statistic.

 Information on the Agenda: This part should not be long and should only contain
information that is very crucial (only major facts).

 Past Actions: This can either be past actions that have been seen or have been done
by the delegate’s country. Usually, a very short analysis of the past action is
included.

 Possible Solutions: These are solutions that the delegate has found and will likely
most be focusing on. This is very important as delegates usually hear this part and
will send notes/talk during lobbying time in order to draft resolutions.
  Conclusion: This is usually a curt ending note, and is usually a phrase that
encourages delegates to work together to have a great debate, or come up with
good solutions, etc.

 Delegates will be recognized one at a time by the chairs in the alphabetical order of their
delegation

 Any remaining time will be yielded back to the chairs.

Sample Opening Speech

[1] The outbreak of cholera in Yemen has affected 10 out of 11 provinces, taking the innocent

lives of many, and at the same time, adding onto the terrorism non-state actors have posed to

the crisis at hand. Honorable chairs and fellow delegates. [2] Al Qaeda and the Houthi, both non

state actors, are a significant problem in the status quo, as many civilian casualties are seen,

whether it be the militant groups attacking the civilians, or civilians being caught in the crossfire

between the state forces and non-state actors. [3] The Russian Federation has been very

supportive of the civilians, providing them with various forms of aid. [4] The delegate of the

Russian Federation proposes that the coalition organized by Saudi Arabia must be stopped, as

it further incites violence of the non-state actors. Lastly, countless cases of corruption are seen

in the Yemeni government, due to the oil rich countries of the coalition bribing high-level

government officials to act in favor of them. [5] The delegate of the Russian Federation looks

forward to collaborating with all delegates interested in this agenda and hopes for a fruitful

debate.

Format

[1] Hook (Introduction)

[2] Information on the Agenda

[3] Past actions

[4] Possible solutions

[5] Conclusion