What Do I Do?

Step 1: Do Some Research and build a Country/Character Profile

Read your background guide! On the committee's tab above, find your committee and click on the button titled "Background Guide". This is a document created by your chairs for you to learn about the topic and what they want you to discuss. 

Then, create a country profile for your country or person - make a copy of our country profile template. We would suggest using sites like the CIA World Factbook and other reputable sources to create your profile. This is so you can learn about what your country can do and what other goals it has. 

If you are a person, do some research about your stance and your beliefs and take notes! Make sure you understand what kind of power they have and what their goals are. 

Step 2: Develop a position and write a position paper

Figure out your stance. At conference, you are promoting your country/character's beliefs, not your own. Figure out your views by researching past actions and policy on the same and similar topics. Figure out motivations for why they do what they do and come prepared with a plan!

The next step is to write your position paper. Using all the research that you did, you are going to write a paper to show us all of the research you did and prepare you for the conference! Make a copy of this document if you are in a GA (ECOFIN, UNESCO, UNOOSA, WHO) or this document if you are in Senate, French Revolution, Percy Jackson, or Star Wars. 

Format your paper in MLA format. Times New Roman, font size 12, double-spaced. Your paper should be ~2 pages, but there is no hard limit. 

Papers are due at 11:59 PM on January 20th, 2025 Position papers are mandatory for consideration for a research award, but optional for participating in conference. Turn them in here. 

Step 3: Get some speech writing practice and write an opening statement!

An opening statement is a chance for you to introduce your country or role's stance on the topics up for debate in committee. It is your first opportunity to communicate your main goals and perspectives with the rest of the delegates.

Steps to write an opening statement: 

1) A formal greeting, the most common being "Honorable Chair and Fellow Delegates" but anything along those lines will work great. 

2) Introduce your role and country. For example, "The delegation of China" or "I, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer". This lets people in the committee know who you are or who you represent. 

3) Provide a little insight into the topic you are discussing. Many people like to start this off with facts. For example, "Delegates, each day over 25000 people die of starvation." This sentence draws attention to the topic at hand and gives people a little insight. This doesn't always have to be statistics; anything that can draw attention to your speech and get people interested is perfect. 

4) Write the bulk of your speech. You should speak about your stance on the main topic and a little bit about your plan to combat it. You could also speak about the plan you wrote about in your proposed solution. 

5) Have a call to action. The most common call to action is, "If you agree with my stance, send me a note or come meet me at un-mod." This lets people know what to do with the information you've given and how to reach you. 

6) Make sure you practice your speech beforehand. It's no problem to read it straight off the paper but it always sounds better when you know what you're saying and you can say it confidently. 

Step 4: Print conference packet and extra information in a binder

Review and print our conference packet and ensure you have all materials with you! Bring a laptop if you have one to write resolutions!

Step 5: Attend the conference!

Now that you have all the steps down, all you have to do is come to the conference. Don't stress if you are still unsure about procedural matters. Your chairs will teach them again at the start of the conference, and you are always welcome to email us or ask your chairs any questions that you may have. 

We can't wait to see you all there!!!