One of my most favorite extra-curricular activities in Calgary is attending Model United Nations (MUN) conferences. Usually occurring over the course of two days, these events are held by various high schools across the city, draw hundreds of student participants, and are a great way to develop your public speaking skills and knowledge of international relations.
That previous sentence may have scared you. Public speaking? International relations? Doesn’t that make Model UN sound like one of the most stressful and (potentially) boring experiences on the planet? Well, I would admit that the activity isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, if arguing over topics like addressing the nuclear threat of North Korea, combating terror in the Middle East, or solving the HIV/AIDS epidemic at all interests you, I guarantee that you will find a MUN conference extremely enjoyable.
You do need at least a slight bit of interest in politics to fully enjoy the experience, however there is absolutely no requirement to be an expert in whatever issue. After all, the rest of the room will be other high school kids, just like you. I also strongly hold the belief that you should never “knock it before you try it”. In Grade 10, I wasn’t really sure if I would like participating in MUN, and the thought of public speaking honestly made me pretty nervous. However, after attending my first conference, I immediately knew that I had found an activity that was truly special. I’ve compiled some of my favorite things about MUN into this post, and I hope that after reading it, you could maybe give Model UN a shot.
1. Develop Your Public Speaking Skills
We’ve all been in the situation before of needing to give a speech, presentation, or interview. It could have been for English class, or even a job application at your local grocery store. Regardless of when we needed it, I think we can all agree that being good at public speaking would be extremely useful. The only problem is that in order to get better, you need to practice. And what if practicing terrifies you? Public speaking often ranks as one of the most common fears that humans share. How can you improve yourself if the thought of attempting to do so petrifies you?
That’s where Model UN comes in. If you really do have a desire to improve your public speaking skills, there is almost no better place to do it. Every conference is a completely judgement-free zone; everyone respects and recognizes the desire of everyone else to learn. Sure, there will be well-practiced delegates who have spoken publicly perhaps for all their lives, but at the same time the majority of the room will be people who may not be as comfortable giving a speech.
That’s why the environment is great to practice your public speaking. It is a safe environment for you to give your best shot, and you learn to further develop your feeling of self-confidence and overcome your fear of speaking. The satisfaction that you feel from having contributed is also amazing. If you are unhappy with your ability to speak in public right now, I promise that if you put your best foot forward in a Model UN conference, by the end of the process you will feel easily a thousand times better.
2. Learn to Convince People
The United Nations is an international body focused on compromise and collaboration. As a delegate, you are tasked with best representing your nation’s interests, and that often means engaging in discussion with other countries to reach an agreeable outcome for everyone. To make something clear, the speaking in Model UN is far from only giving speeches! Even if you aren’t the most comfortable with speaking to an open audience, in parts of committee called “unmoderated caucus”, the entire room is able to get up from their chairs, mingle, and discuss the issue at hand.
This is where you really learn to make good arguments. People are going to disagree with you. Delegates who represent countries that are allied with yours may have your back. Together, you will debate issues, brainstorm solutions, and come to a compromise on contentious issues. A large part of Model UN is convincing people to follow a course of action in your nation’s best interests, but after the conference you will see this skill applied to so many other aspects of life as well.
Wouldn’t you like to be able to better convince your parents to get you something you want? How about an interviewer to give you a job or position? Persuasiveness is an extremely valuable skill to possess, and Model UN is a great way to develop it. I can also vouch for the fact that these skills will also help you once it comes to personal bonding and cooperation skills once you do land a job, or find a relationship – personal or professional – that you value.
3. Learn More About International Politics/Relations
When it comes to information, we live in an age where we are practically overloaded. Go to CNN or CBC News and you can find articles on dozens, if not hundreds of happenings all over the world. How are you supposed to digest it? After all, practically no-one would find multiple hours of just reading the news particularly interesting.
But the beauty of Model UN is that it draws to attention some of the more important issues affecting the world. When a conference releases the topics that each committee will discuss, you know that your scope of reading the news and doing research is narrower. You can find more specific details, likely be a lot more open to learning, and in the process probably end up learning a lot more as well. Rather than being required to know “everything going on in the Middle East”, perhaps your topic would be narrowed to “illegal arms trade in the Middle East”. There is a significantly noticeable difference in the relative levels of knowledge required to talk about the former as opposed to the latter.
However, if the idea of research scares you, don’t worry! MUN is a lot less demanding than you think in terms of what you need to know. I already mentioned that you don’t need to be an expert on any given topic, but beyond even that, the conferences are set up in a way that is meant to be particularly open and accessible for delegates with minimum-level background knowledge. Most of the interesting things that are said come up in committee, rather than from research. The great thing, though, is that you still learn a lot just based on the synthesis of knowledge of every delegate in the room contributing their own knowledge, facts, and views on a topic. Knowing more about international relations could come in very handy for Social Studies, no?
4. Meet New People, and Just Have Fun!
My personal favorite part of Model UN conferences has to be the friends you make and the connections you form. While discussing issues of global relevance you will hear separate perspectives and work with practical strangers. However, usually by the end of the conference these “strangers” have evolved to become great friends!
The MUN community of Calgary is extremely close-knit, yet always extremely open to finding more interested students. You also don’t only connect with high school peers – coaches from across Calgary love to talk about MUN as well! The more you expand your own network, the more people you have to reach out to for help in the future with developing your professional career. Need a reference? Your MUN friend started a student organization and wants you on the team? All of these are potential benefits to be found.
And don’t forget that making new friends also makes things a lot more fun. After attending your first conference, you have people to stay in contact with, hang out with, and work with again at the next conference! While in committee itself, you can collaborate on creating solutions to issues that you can all be proud of. And if you do particularly well, you can also cheer each other on if you win awards by the end of the conference!
Hopefully these benefits can make you consider trying out Model UN. Most high schools in Calgary already have a club that you can join, but if your school does not, it’s just as easy to go to the office and consider starting one! Some popular annual city-wide conferences are the Sir Winston Churchill MUN conference in October, the Westmount Charter School MUN conference in December, the University of Calgary MUN conference in February, and Western Canada High School MUN conference in April! As well, there are often national and international experiences offered within the MUN community, with conferences in cities like Montreal and New York that attract delegates from all over the world.
Finally, another great opportunity if you are interested in getting started with MUN is to attend the Objective Resolution Calgary learning conference which will be held in early 2018, and focuses on curating a fantastic beginner-level MUN experience! For more details, stay tuned to objectiveresolutioncalgary.com, and you can also follow the Facebook page!
I sincerely hope you give MUN a shot. I promise you won’t regret it.
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I have to say that over the last three months, what I’ve been exposed to, seen first hand and taught has been like nothing else before. Volunteering on an election campaign has been a huge learning experience because I have engaged in so many activities I never would have done otherwise. I was pushed out of my comfort zone whether it be through knocking on strangers’ doors or learning how to operate a voter identification database. Most importantly, I was inspired by so many individuals, regardless of whether they were working on the same campaign as me or not. Over the last few months I have met so many engaged citizens who are deeply passionate about making this city a better place. And, for that I am thankful.
Being a young female of a minority race who is passionate about getting involved in community, it made me happy that we elected one more female councillor than last term, and a more diverse City Council in general.
