*The following guest post was provided by Charlotte Clinger, USG of Outreach for Yale Model United Nations 2015*
On January 22, over 1,500 delegates hailing from over 40 countries including Jordan, South Korea, China and Turkey will eagerly arrive at Yale’s campus in order to participate in the 41st annual Yale Model United Nations (YMUN XLI). The theme of this year’s conference follows the ethos of “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow”. The philosophy of this year’s conference hopes to inundate the delegate with a comprehensive experience — one that will broaden their minds and bring a global perspective to each and every delegate through cooperation, debate and hard work with fellow peers in order to come up with new solutions to tackle some of the most difficult problems that our international community faces today.
The YMUN Secretariat has worked hard in the past few months to shape a well-rounded and educational experience. Delegates will debate under the guidance and assistance of Yale college students with backgrounds studying global health, political science, economics and history. We have improved our staffer training so that our committee sessions provide delegates with the most nurturing and personal learning experience. Staffers had already begun training a few months before the conference, attending rigorous sessions weekly on, for example, how to edit clauses and provide delegates with constructive feedback. These changes, along with innovative topics that range from a simulation of Churchill’s war cabinet to discussion about how to protect doctors in conflict zones, should provide for an incredible in-committee experience for delegates.
The learning extends beyond committee session. What sets YMUN above its other university MUN counterparts is that it is held exclusively on campus. Delegates brush shoulders with Yale students while Yale classes are in session. During Yale Day, the delegates will become immersed within the Yale experience by attending lectures, workshops and tours led by Yale students and faculty members. YMUN is also partnering this year with the food charity Heifer International, which we hope will allow delegates to explore a side of international engagement that might not be seen during committee. Through financial aid programs including a new commitment to international aid, YMUN has been able to partner with sponsors like India’s largest simulation-based organizations, MUN Café, to bring to this year’s conference a wider range of delegates than every before. Overall, the YMUN experience is a multi-faceted approach that will enable the delegate with the tools to hone one’s rhetoric, writing and comprehensive knowledge to excel at the next level of international dialogue.
