Model United Nations is an educational simulation and academic activity in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. MUN revolves around research, speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, diplomacy and an acumen for leadership. At the heart of MUN is a yearning to illuminate oneself regarding current affairs that could have a huge bearing on the world as we know it, and to advance cogent solutions to resolve these issues.
MUN conferences seek to emulate the realpolitik of global diplomacy, with delegates deliberating two to three agendas as set fourth in the council, eventually culminating in the adoption of a resolution which seeks to forge a new path for the world. Broadly speaking, debates take place in the framework of either the Rules of Procedure of Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) or The Hague Model United Nations (THIMUN). However, special procedures are used in special committees . Each council is presided over by a chair and co-chair, who adjudicate the debate and guides the flow of the council. Each delegate represents a nation or an administrative subdivision in a designated council and he is obliged to faithfully articulate the stance and foreign policy of the nation.
Part of what makes Model UN great, though, is that it is rapidly re-inventing itself. Today, many MUN conferences hold simulations that are not UN committees. In addition to simulations of the Security Council and General Assembly, many conferences are running simulations of the US National Security Council, where delegates represent President Bush and Condoleezza Rice. Many conferences feature a Joint Cabinet Crisis, where two or more committees of delegates are linked together, and the actions taken in one committee affect the other. Some conferences feature councils such as the Dewan Rakyat, the Roman Senate, the Star Wars Galactic Senate, Historical Crisis and many more