Welcome to Forming a MUN Club?
Come here for all the basic information you will want to know about MUN! Learn about the history of the activity, reasons for why you should do it and tips for leading a MUN Club at your school!
What this page is about
This page is dedicated towards helping you go through the steps of establishing your own MUN Club. Now that you already have the idea, there are six essential steps.
Step 1: Register as an official school club
The majority of high schools need clubs to go through an official process in order to become an official school club. The length of this process can vary; some schools have a limit on the number of clubs and have an official waiting process, others require extensive interviews with teachers and school administrators, while others require just filling out a form and finding an adviser. Normally, schools have all this information on their website, but you can also ask a teacher, an academic adviser or someone from the school or student office. Your student handbook might also have information on this as well.
After you become a club, there might be some regulations or rules that school clubs have to follow. Make sure that you read these carefully and abide by them at all times, since you don't want to risk having your club charter/contract revoked. Overall, the nitty-gritty details of each school might be different, but the general procedure remains the same; register with the school, and follow the rules.
After you become a club, there might be some regulations or rules that school clubs have to follow. Make sure that you read these carefully and abide by them at all times, since you don't want to risk having your club charter/contract revoked. Overall, the nitty-gritty details of each school might be different, but the general procedure remains the same; register with the school, and follow the rules.
Step 2: Advertise your club
The next step is to advertise your club. One of the first things that you will need to do is to find a classroom or meeting place so that people know where to go when the first meeting occurs. Then, you can advertise through word-of-mouth, posters, or other school functions that may be designed to help promote awareness of clubs.
Most schools have different policies on advertising, so it is best to check with someone in the school office before you do any of these actions, but if your school permits it, create and post flyers/posters that give some basic information about your club such as time, location and what it does. Make sure your posters are eye-catching, easy to look at and don't contain too many words. For example, an eye-catching statement can be "Learn to solve real world issues!" or "travel to prestigious conferences in Berkeley, Harvard and DC!". Also, include a short link that people can type into their phones, or a qr code for sign-ups so people can receive e-mail correspondence from your club. Moreover, if your school has a "club day" where clubs get to set up booths and attract members, make sure your club has a booth with poster board and sign-up sheets, since those events are a great way to attract attention to a little-known club
Most schools have different policies on advertising, so it is best to check with someone in the school office before you do any of these actions, but if your school permits it, create and post flyers/posters that give some basic information about your club such as time, location and what it does. Make sure your posters are eye-catching, easy to look at and don't contain too many words. For example, an eye-catching statement can be "Learn to solve real world issues!" or "travel to prestigious conferences in Berkeley, Harvard and DC!". Also, include a short link that people can type into their phones, or a qr code for sign-ups so people can receive e-mail correspondence from your club. Moreover, if your school has a "club day" where clubs get to set up booths and attract members, make sure your club has a booth with poster board and sign-up sheets, since those events are a great way to attract attention to a little-known club
Step 3: Stage the first meeting
For the first meeting, don't focus on trying to do to much; just introduce your club, your purpose, and mainly answer people's questions. Tell them what members will do, what events might occur throughout the school year and make sure that you have a line of correspondence to them. Especially for the first meeting, having a power point presentation might be helpful to smoothly go over all the necessary information and give a good first impression.
After you are done speaking, you should open up the floor to everyone to introduce themselves. During this period, it might be helpful to see who is new to MUN, so you can hold training sessions for your new members and give extra attention to them during conference preparation. Also, opening the floor to discussion might lead to new and interesting ideas that can help your club become more successful.
After you are done speaking, you should open up the floor to everyone to introduce themselves. During this period, it might be helpful to see who is new to MUN, so you can hold training sessions for your new members and give extra attention to them during conference preparation. Also, opening the floor to discussion might lead to new and interesting ideas that can help your club become more successful.
Step 4: Hold your training sessions
Many people who join MUN in high school are inexperienced, so it is extremely beneficial to hold training sessions for all the new delegates to help them learn about MUN. There are many tools and websites online, such as this one that can help people learn about MUN, but it is also extremely beneficial to hold simulations so people can get a feel for what conferences are like. MUN might be overwhelming for many newcomers, but you can certainly relieve the stress for many newcomers by preparing them well for their first conference.
Step 5: Plan the conferences and assign positions
As an MUN club, you will go to many conferences throughout the school year, but you should also have a clear plan of which you should be going to. It is best to space conferences out, with around 2-3 months between each to allow time for research, rest and other commitments. On the sub page "MUN Conference Logistics", there is a very detailed explanation for how to do all the logistics for conferences, and I highly recommend you to check it out. There is a lot to do in order to go to a conference, and without a clear idea of how you are going to accomplish everything, it will only end in disaster.
Furthermore, you should establish positions and appoint officers, preferably those who have experience in MUN to help you lead the club and make sure everything is running smoothly. For a MUN club, here is a list of positions that I recommend you have. Some of these can be merged, but be sure to make sure that your officers aren't overburdened with responsibilities.
Secretary General (President): Leads the club and supervises it with help from other officers
Undersecretary General (Vice-President): Helps the Secretary General with leading the club and is also in charge of publicity/outreach
Undersecretary General of Training (Head of Training): Organizes training events for new delegates
Undersecretary General of Finance (Treasurer): In charge of fundraising and manages the club's balance and expenses
Undersecretary General of Logistics (Head of Logistics, might be 2 for this position): Plans and organizes all logistics for conferences such as registration, travel/commute, hotels
Furthermore, you should establish positions and appoint officers, preferably those who have experience in MUN to help you lead the club and make sure everything is running smoothly. For a MUN club, here is a list of positions that I recommend you have. Some of these can be merged, but be sure to make sure that your officers aren't overburdened with responsibilities.
Secretary General (President): Leads the club and supervises it with help from other officers
Undersecretary General (Vice-President): Helps the Secretary General with leading the club and is also in charge of publicity/outreach
Undersecretary General of Training (Head of Training): Organizes training events for new delegates
Undersecretary General of Finance (Treasurer): In charge of fundraising and manages the club's balance and expenses
Undersecretary General of Logistics (Head of Logistics, might be 2 for this position): Plans and organizes all logistics for conferences such as registration, travel/commute, hotels
Step 6: Work out a budget
The budget is the priority of the treasurer, and in the case of an MUN club, this is quite a big responsibility as there are a lot of funds to be handled in regards to MUN conferences. You should develop a yearly budget plan that is the amount of estimated money to be spent on conferences, and an estimated amount of money that will be gained from fundraisers. Since MUN conferences are a large financial commitment, club members should be expected to donate a sum of money to cover their costs, if they can. What our school MUN club does is we overcharge a little so we have money to fall back on, and financial aid to provide to students in need of aid.