Unit 2: Brief explanation of the method MUN
- Participants are placed in the ‘EU Youth Democratic Council’ (‘City Youth Democratic Council’ for the implementation with young people) where they represent members of that body.
- Each of them (they can also work in pairs) selects a social topic related to environment/ culture/ sports/ education/ economics/public health/ public security/ politics/ etc. which is influenced by anti-democratic measures. Every delegate is called to develop critical thinking of the anti-democratic issues its special topic faces and possible new policies and to prepare a presentation.
- The topic presentation and speech by each delegation follows. (10 min. per presentation)
- The final step of the process is the discussion between the participants. The delegates defend and promote new policies in order to resolve the existing conflicts in society. They suggest solutions with the form of resolutions and create alliances between them. The best-performing delegations that pass their written policies (‘draft resolutions’) with a majority vote receive an award. (60 min.)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Watch this video to find out more about Model United nations.
Presentation of the Committees – Distribution of topics
- Environment Committee
- Culture and Cultural Heritage Committee
- Council on Public Security and Crime Prevention
- Labour/Employability Organization
- Education Committee
- Health and Social Welfare Organization
- Foreign and European Affairs Office
Assignment of the role of delegate / representative for each committee
- Each committee will have to choose in a transparent and fair manner their representative who will talk on behalf of all the members of the committee during the next phases of the process.
Research on the selected topic
Each committee will have to research on social topics that are related to their committee and are influenced by anti-democratic measures.
- It is better to do some research previously and provide some examples of social topics connected with each committee. This way the delegates will be able to have a more specific focus as to the research they will be required to do in order to gain a greater understanding on the matter.
- The participants could also have support in this critical thinking process by seeking for online material (articles, newspapers, videos, etc.)
When the delegates finish with their research on the topic they have selected, they will need to prepare a presentation with suggested new policies that must be implemented in order to provide possible solutions on the matter.
Example of social themes
Climate change and violent extremism
- https://www.undp.org/blog/could-climate-change-mean-more-violent-extremism
- https://www.clingendael.org/publication/how-climate-change-fuels-violent-extremism
World Heritage in danger due to armed conflicts or other matters
COVID-19 Impact on Terrorism and Violent Extremism
- https://eucrim.eu/news/council-conclusions-covid-19-impact-on-terrorism-and-violent-extremism/
- https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8633-2021-INIT/en/pdf
Structure of presentation
1.Short introduction on the topic under examination
- The representative of each committee needs to present shortly the topic under examination and give some background information about it.
Tips and tricks for the delegates:
- Name at least three regions or nations in which the issue is most pronounced.
- Name at least two things these regions or nations have in common that could be the source of the issue.
- Name three relevant historical events that led up to the issue.
2.Examples of 3-5 anti-democratic tendencies that are connected to each committee’s topic and require a solution in order to promote and ensure social justice, equality and prevent situations of polarisation to rise.
- Articles, reports or other material can be used as proofs that will make the statement of the committee more concrete and will demonstrate the importance of each example.
Tips and tricks for the delegates:
- Break down the topic – issue into sub-issues and provide examples of them. This will make the initial topic more manageable and easier to understand.
- What factors have made this issue so prominent and difficult to solve?
3.Possible solutions – new policies that need to be implemented
- The representative of each committee needs to stress and highlight the importance of finding solutions for the issues connected to the topic under examination in order to get as much votes as possible for the new policies that their committee is suggesting to implement.
Tips and tricks for the delegates:
- Research previous solutions on the matter adopted by other nations or international bodies.
- What were their goals? Where those goals accomplished?
- Can you adapt some elements of the previous solutions and form new policy suggestions?
Public speech
The representative of each committee will have to give a public speech presenting the findings of their research as well as their policy suggestions to provide solutions on their topic.
Tips and tricks for the delegates:
- Interesting Facts: Facts demonstrating how serious a global issue is or how it affects your country specifically can help engage the audience.
- A Quote: Start with a quote from a well-known global figure. It can help the audience feel more connected to you through their connection to the person you’re quoting.
- A Question: By starting your speech with a rhetorical question, you can assure that your listeners are really thinking about the issue and how it may affect them or other people.
- A Story or Anecdote: A more personal appeal in the form of a story or anecdote can carry with it some emotion and demonstrate the real human effect that global issues have on individuals, rather than just statistics about large groups of people in tragic situations.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Tips and tricks for the delegates:
- Make a Clear, Positive and Succinct Argument
- The Why: Speak briefly about the components of the problem that your plan will seek to address and cite relevant information about how the issue affects your country specifically.
- The What: Make a clear statement of your committee’s suggested solution for the issue, and briefly explain actionable plans for what you want the international community to do.
- Conclude with a call to action
- A memorable Model UN speech should persuade the audience, not just inform them of issues, so you need to finish with a call to action.
Creation of alliances – Amendments – Draft resolutions – Vote – Award
During this step the committees are invited to form alliances in order to make their arguments stronger and get more votes in the final voting procedure. They can form alliances of two or more committees and combine their policy suggestions in order to gain more support and votes.
After they decide on the new amended policies, the alliances will have to draft their resolutions. A resolution is the main result of the work of your committee and is meant to “resolve” the problem that a committee is focused on. UN uses resolutions to make decisions and they are written by groups of Member States collaborating on their ideas. Resolutions have two main functions: to determine what the United Nations will do about the issue, and to recommend or request that individual Member States undertake actions to help solve the issue.
There is a very specific format to resolutions, and three main sections: the header, the preamble, and the operative section.