Welcome to Why do MUN?
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!
Why do MUN?
One of the most important things you might be thinking is why do MUN? If there is anything you ever take away from MUN, this page is all you really need to remember.
Model United Nations is an activity where you combine leadership, teamwork and critical thinking all into one. I know that's a lot of things, but many of those skills will help you later on in life, be it in the workplace, in a research project or even just in a casual conversation with some friends. Even if you think that you shouldn't do Model United Nations because you aren't good at the skills mentioned above, taking part in MUN is a great way to increase your ability in those areas. After all, who doesn't want to improve and become a better version of themselves? I will talk about each of the three characteristics mentioned above: leadership, critical thinking as well as teamwork and explain in-depth how Model United Nations helps you advance your skill in that sector and how it is applicable to the real world.
Model United Nations is an activity where you combine leadership, teamwork and critical thinking all into one. I know that's a lot of things, but many of those skills will help you later on in life, be it in the workplace, in a research project or even just in a casual conversation with some friends. Even if you think that you shouldn't do Model United Nations because you aren't good at the skills mentioned above, taking part in MUN is a great way to increase your ability in those areas. After all, who doesn't want to improve and become a better version of themselves? I will talk about each of the three characteristics mentioned above: leadership, critical thinking as well as teamwork and explain in-depth how Model United Nations helps you advance your skill in that sector and how it is applicable to the real world.
Leadership
To begin with, I will explain how leadership applies to your life and Model United Nations. Nowadays, one of the biggest things colleges look for when they are reviewing applicants is how much leadership they have demonstrated during their high school career. However, there is massive problem: every organization, club or society wants a leader, but leadership is a skill that is acquired through experience, trial and error. Before you start worrying, I would like to point out that one of the many reasons to do MUN is that conferences are an excellent way to advance yourself in many areas, including leadership. Everyone has an inherent desire to be the best delegate in the room and to do so, you must be able to lead the delegates in your bloc as well as direct the tide of conversation towards a topic you are well-rehearsed in. It is important to be able to earn the respect and trust of the delegates in your bloc as without them, you can’t create a resolution or even get your ideas debated. Moreover, unless you can assert yourself as one of the or the influential voice in your group, your significance in the bloc will be downplayed, reducing your sway and undermining your ability to lead. When the topic of conversation is directed to an area that you are an expert in, it is necessary that you make your mark as a trusted source of information in this sector to ensure that the spotlight isn’t stolen from you. SInce you are very knowledgeable in this field, people will naturally be drawn to you and leaders will use this to gain support and form a group. Overall, Model United Nations conferences provide valuable experiences and opportunities to help you develop your leadership skills.
Teamwork
Moreover, unless you plan to live as a hermit, there will come a time where you will have to work with other people on a project, homework assignment or something else that requires other people. There are numerous benefits to working in a group. To begin with, cooperating with other people allows you to get a task done faster as there are two pairs of hands and two brains working instead of one. Moreover, it allows you to focus on the aspects of the project that you are most familiar or interested in as different people have different interests. In Model United Nations, although you want to establish yourself as a leader in your bloc and committee, it is also important that you get along with other people. If you alienate the people in your group and committee, your resolution will not be passed since a lot of people will have animosity against you. In some cases, you won’t be able to present a resolution since no one wants to work with you. It is an inherent human behavior to want to have a good time and estranging people will only make your conference experience terrible, so people will work hard to be negotiable and easily approachable. Teamwork is a skill that will follow you around for the rest of your life; companies will want someone who can work with others since more people means more ideas and solutions for problems. A person who cannot cooperate with others will only taint the working environment and cause everyone to be unhappy. Thus, Model United Nations gives you an opportunity to improve your ability to work in a team, a valuable skill that can only serve to help you throughout life.
Critical Thinking
Furthermore, in the complex world that we live in, it is essential that we be able to examine things from different perspectives and think without bias. Technology has connected the corners of our world, but that also means different societies with different cultures and social norms are interacting and sometimes coming into conflict with each other. In Model United Nations, you must examine an issue not through your own eyes and make decisions based on your opinion, but through the lenses of the country or person you represent. This forces you to examine issues from different perspectives as you must understand why this person or nation would make such a decision, why other parties would agree or disagree with this and be able to determine what is the best course of action for you as a delegate. As you can see, in MUN, delegates have to examine issues from different perspectives in order to find a solution that suits them and will be regarded as acceptable by the international community. In the real world, having strong critical thinking skills allows you to systematically organize your ideas, allowing for better expression and presentation, thus allowing more people to understand the message you are trying to get across. Furthermore, critical thinking prevents you from being narrow and helps you solve altercations and problems by putting yourself in the shoes of other people or examining issues from unbiased, fresh viewpoints. Consequently, Model United Nations gives people the opportunity to advance their critical thinking skills and ultimately improve their creativity and ability to solve issues.
Takeaway
Ultimately, there are numerous reasons to do Model United Nations and the three incentives here are the tip of the iceberg. The skills that you acquire in MUN will benefit you for the rest of your academic and working career. It may not be an instantaneous process, but MUN will improve your stock in life and make you a better person.