Mira Costa High School’s Los Angeles Invitational Model United Nations Conference 2011

Delegates make speeches on the topic of blood diamonds in General Assembly Plenary at Mira Costa LAIMUN

I visited the Los Angeles Invitational Model United Nations Conference (LAIMUN) hosted by Mira Costa High School this past Saturday. Over 850 delegates from 17 schools participated across 22 committees at the novice conference, which aimed to introduce students to Model UN.

LAIMUN featured a “docket-style” debate format, which differs from most Model UN conferences in the United States. Mira Costa required delegates to submit resolutions before the conference instead of position papers, which is typically required at other conferences. The chairs of each committee selected the best resolutions, assembled them into a docket, and posted them online. This docket served as the basis of each committee’s debate and delegates were expected to write amendments instead of resolutions during the conference. The only exception to this were LAIMUN’s Security Council committees.

The conference was a great opportunity for me to learn more about what makes Mira Costa, last year’s #1 ranked high school Model UN team, so successful. I had a chance to speak with several Mira Costa student leaders, including Secretary-General Mackenzie Austin and Under-Secretary-General Michael Powell, as well as advisors Bob Timberlake and Wayne Knutson, about how they research and prepare for every conference. I plan to write about what the Model UN community can learn from Mira Costa later this week.

In the meantime, click here for my LAIMUN photoblog!

Special thanks to Mackenzie, Michael, T, and K for showing me around the conference and speaking with me about Mira Costa Model UN! Congratulations to all LAIMUN delegates and staff on a wonderful conference!

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