From November 8-9th, Model United Nations at the University of California, Los Angeles hosted its 22nd session of BruinMUN. Over 1100 participants from high school delegations around the world congregated on UCLA’s campus, debating on topics such as the investigation of alleged chemical weapons and the crisis in Syria.
BruinMUN XXII Opening Ceremonies
The number of delegates attending BruinMUN has increased from 700 to more than 1100 in the past three years, which can be largely attributed to the quality of debate, preparedness of staff and committee chairs, and the inclusion of novice committees. BruinMUN XXII secretariat and committee chairs began preparing before the 2014-2015 term started, and all general staff underwent five weeks of training. As a result of the extensive organization and preparation going into BruinMUN, the conference attracts a higher quality of debate each year. The addition of novice committees in recent years also attracted newer delegates, allowing them to participate in debate while learning the nuances of MUN.
A few of the 59 students from India attending BruinMUN through the Global MUN Ambassador Program
Other than the growth of the conference, other notable features were an outreach program to schools in India and the integration of a journalistic entity known as the International Press. Working with an organization called MUN Café, MUN at UCLA traveled to five Indian high schools in the summer to teach Model UN and recruit potential delegates for BruinMUN. 59 students from these schools were able to compete in BruinMUN through a joint initiative called the Global Model UN Ambassador program. “By partnering with MUN Café,” says outreach coordinator Rohit Reddy, “we hope to increase the diversity of our conference.”
International Press staff give a press conference in 6th Legal
Founded by Stian Brynildsen and Utkarsh Pandey in 2013, the International Press (IP) publishes editorials, holds press conferences, and reports on general BruinMUN events. As Editor-in-Chief Utkarsh Pandey states, “[The IP] is dedicated to providing BruinMUN with an in-depth analysis of committee proceedings.” This year, the independent journalistic organization held press conferences in 4th SPD, the ICJ, and UNDP, among other committees.
After two days and five committee sessions, delegates, advisors and BruinMUN staff congregated for closing ceremonies. In addition to individual committee awards, BruinMUN also presented school delegation awards. The Outstanding Small Delegation Award went to University High School, with the Best Small Delegation Award going to Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. The Outstanding Large Delegation Award went to Mira Costa High School, while Huntington Beach High School received the Best Large Delegation Award.
BruinMUN offered 20 General Assembly, Novice, and Crisis committees. Below are some highlights from these committees and the conference in general.
Professor Asli Bali from the UCLA School of Law speaks at opening ceremonies
Delegates and chairs head to their first committee session
Unmoderated caucus in WHO
The delegation of Iraq makes a speech in the Arab League
Unmoderated caucus in UNEP
USA speaks on human trafficking in UNHRC
UNHRC dais
Unmoderated caucus in Lyndon B. Johnson’s cabinet (historical crisis)
USA and Singapore present draft resolutions in Novice UNDP
Argentina makes a comment in OAS
Secretary-General Aaron Sun speaks during closing ceremonies
UNDP Chair and Director with the Best Delegate winners
BruinMUN XXII staff
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The BruinMUN XXII photo album in its entirety can be viewed here!
The official BruinMUN facebook page is here!
