Here is a list of the issues each committee will be discussing at the conference:
ECOSOC
- People-Centered Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
- Harnessing Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Development
- Safeguarding the Health of Refugee Children and Youth
- Rebuilding Community Security in Post-Conflict Iraq and Syria
- Improving the Security of United Nations Peacekeeping Personnel
- The Situation in Ukraine
- The Montreal Protocol: Mobilizing for Climate Action
- Enhancing Economic Competitiveness through Global Access
Position Papers
Once students knew their assigned committees, preparation began with the position paper. The NMUN website provided a position paper guide and a committee background guide around July. Both of these resources are a critical part of doing sufficient research. Committees are required to submit one, two-paged paper stating their country’s position on both issues. The position paper guide gives strict guidelines on formatting that must be followed. This includes font type and size, Arial 10 pt. Position papers are typically in 3-paragraph format. In the first paragraph, you will set the stage for your issue and explain why it is important. In the second paragraph, you will talk about what’s already been done or discussed to remedy your issue. This is on a national and international level. The most important paragraph is the last paragraph. Here you will explain your proposals to fix or potentially fix the issues. The key here is you want your proposals to be convincing; something that will actually get the international community involved. Anything over the two page limit will not be considered. Students will typically type one page per issue. You don’t have to do this. The important part is just being clear and convincing on both issues in two pages. All the submitted position papers were posted November 2. This helps decide who you want to work with. Students downloaded and printed copies of every position paper for their committee and highlighted their proposals to determine the top 15 countries they wanted to work with. This is important for caucusing preparation.
Caucusing
This is arguably the most important part of preparation for the conference because it encompasses about 80% of what we’ll be doing at the conference. Caucusing is just simply a collaboration with other countries (same committee) on proposals to write resolutions. We will talk resolutions later. The goal of caucusing is to find other countries within your committee whose positions align with the position of your country. That way you can collaborate and potentially consolidate proposals and get them passed into resolutions. We spent several class sessions caucusing. This also helps you strengthen and sharpen your proposals.
Speeches
Speeches are another important part of preparation for the conference. Students will give three main speeches: Setting the Agenda Speech, Position Paper Speeches, and Caucusing/Resolution Speeches. The Setting the Agenda speech is the speech that students have the lowest probability of giving, so we will talk about this one first. This one is self-explanatory. Each committee has two issues. Setting the agenda simply means discussing which issue is tackled first. In the set the agenda speech, you will try to convince the committee why you believe one issue should be discussed first over the other. Since this is the lowest probability speech, this one is practiced the least. There is a strong chance that you will be giving a position paper speech. These are roughly 90 seconds to 2 minutes, simply stating your position and your proposals. You want to sound convincing so other countries will want to work with you. Caucusing speeches are simply a synopsis of caucusing you did and what you worked on. You can also use this as an opportunity to talk about future caucusing and invite other nations to join you. You can also talk about any resolutions you are working on or want to work on. Speeches have to be good and convincing so these are practiced almost every class period.
Resolution Writing
The last part of our preparation is resolution writing. Resolutions are the result of conference research, debate, and negotiation. They are typically the typed results of a committee’s deliberation and will provide a committee’s statement on an issue. They will include suggestions and recommendations to the UN and other Member States. Sponsors are the principal authors of these working papers. Signatories are not authors, they just agree with the principles in the working papers. We want to be sponsors on as many resolutions and working papers as possible. Resolutions also have specific formatting requirements and will contain perambulatory (overview of the problem and past actions) clauses and operative (action to achieve in the future) clauses. We practice how to write these, but we are not allowed to come to the conference with any pre-written resolutions.
Dress Rehearsal – November 6
The twenty students attending NMUN China are not only representing the University of Arkansas but also their respective country and committee. Therefore, it is important for delegates to act in a diplomatic fashion. This is not just for your committee. Delegation awards are given by country, not just committee. So it is important for all students on all committees to act as ambassadors. Part of acting and looking like an ambassador is dressing formally. Stapp required students to dress up once before the conference to simulate an actual conference performance. We practiced speeches, caucusing, and resolution writing in the procedures that will actually be in place during the conference. Students felt more comfortable and confident in their business professional attire.
Other prep includes designing our T-shirt, ordering our business cards, and securing our entry visas for China. Students collaborated on a T-shirt design for NMUN China. Students voted for their favorite color and design. Blue won! We have a team shirt and we should get them a few days before we depart for China. Here is our final design:
Stapp also required students make business cards for their committee to pass to other delegates for caucusing purposes. Visas are required to enter China. Sarah Malloy from the study abroad office was a tremendous help in securing those. We also had to pick roommates, give Stapp our contact information, and make sure the study abroad office had a copy of our flight itinerary and a photocopy of our visas. We also talked about the recommended typhoid vaccine for China. Staying healthy is a must and getting sick over there would be disastrous. We talked a lot about health, safety, money, adaptors, and all other necessary measures before departing overseas. Now that all the housekeeping, logistics, and prep are taken care of, we are now ready to depart for China!
--
Follow along with Eric and the Model UN delegation at https://esw2018nmun.home.blog/.
Follow along with Eric and the Model UN delegation at https://esw2018nmun.home.blog/.
