Pioneers Attend Prestigious Model United Nations Conference in Quebec, January 2010

At the end of January, eight Lewis & Clark delegates set out to Canada to attend the prestigious Model United Nations conference known as McMUN. The conference is an annual event taking place in Montreal, organized by students from McGill University. The LC students, including one freshman, one sophomore, and six upperclassmen, ventured to Canada to take part in a mock session of the United Nations, attending committee sessions with over 1,600 other delegates hailing from universities all over the world. The LC delegation was assigned Poland as the country it would represent and engaged in a variety of topics in different committees at the conference, including the Disarmament and International Security Committee, the World Trade Organization, and the Industrial Development Organization. Two delegates also got the chance to represent government and military leaders from the Zimbabwean and Indian Cabinet in a historical committee set in 1971.

While an event like McMUN, and Model United Nations in general, might sound like an abstract concept, conferences present students with a hands-on approach to international relations. Imagine a room with anywhere from ten to three hundred students, all sitting at tables, in front of them placards displaying their country’s name. In each room is a different committee, from the United Nations Environmental Program to the Security Council. Sometimes there are as many as thirty such committees, depending on the size of the conference. Within each committee, a moderator oversees the debate on issues and calls on delegates to speak and make procedural votes. During breaks in the discussion, called un-moderated caucuses, the delegates get together in groups of their allies to write resolutions. You might see the delegate representing the United States putting together a resolution with the delegate from Great Britain, or the representative of Iran persuading the delegate from China to get on board with their proposal. Once enough caucuses have occurred and a number of resolutions proposed, the delegates vote on whether or not to pass each resolution. Following the vote, a committee will go on to discuss the next topic and hopefully form more resolutions.  At the end of most conferences, outstanding delegates are recognized for their efforts. Outstanding delegate awards are given to participants who make an extraordinary contribution to their committee, often by being dominant in debate and/or making a special effort to resolve issues through diplomacy, leading to the production of superior resolutions. Although Lewis & Clark performed well in Montreal and has won several ‘best delegation’ awards in the past, this unfortunately was not the case at McMUN.

The experience in Montreal was extremely positive and rewarding for the LC delegation on multiple levels. An important part of a liberal arts education is the chance for students to take the concepts we learn in the classroom and apply them to other situations. Model United Nations creates the opportunity for students from all fields of study to do this. In many international relations courses, students learn about past and current conflicts on an abstract level, gleaning their knowledge from textbooks and lecture. Model UN goes beyond the abstract level to give students a forum for discussing and producing comprehensive solutions to issues they learn about in the classroom. In historical committees like the one at McMUN, students are able to evaluate past efforts at alleviating crises. Many students have noticed an improvement in their public speaking skills and in their ability to negotiate controversial issues as a result of their participation in Model UN. The speeches delegates make are often held in front of hundreds of fellow students and only sound arguments protect delegates from malign follow-up questions. Often delegates’ own opinions differ from the view of the country they are representing, and while it can be difficult, arguing on the other side of  personal beliefs encourages students to consider alternative points of view and improves their ability to debate. By giving students a place to practice and enhance all these abilities, Model UN cultivates skills that are relevant to their future endeavors. For anyone considering a career in diplomacy, public policy, or business, or just wanting to improve their communication skills, Model UN should be an opportunity you consider. We are grateful for the generous funding we received from the Associated Students of Lewis & Clark Finance Committee. Without its support this trip would not have been possible.