Our names are Cate Howell and Rachel Klein and we currently serve as the Executive Director and Secretary-General of the sixtieth North American Invitational Model United Nations. This is NAIMUN’s diamond jubilee anniversary, and we are honored to build on a 60 year legacy in promoting youth education in international relations, and inspiring, educating, and empowering future leaders in international affairs. NAIMUN LX is approaching quickly, and before conference weekend arrives, we’re here to share some personal reflections on our tenures as NAIMUN LX co-executives, but also our experiences in high school Model UN more generally.
Cate
NAIMUN is the largest student-run high school Model UN conference in the world and it is the flagship conference run by Georgetown University students. I had briefly competed in Model UN in high school but the conferences my school attended were very small, local conferences run by the local YMCA. Attending a conference run by a university was a foreign concept to me, let alone traveling out-of-state for a Model UN conference. However, confused, lil freshman-year me signed up to staff, completely unaware of how this conference would change my life. Despite staffing the only virtual iteration of NAIMUN (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), I was amazed by the dedication, brilliance, and enthusiasm of the 3,000 high school delegates that attended. When applications for the Secretariat opened for the next NAIMUN, I immediately knew I had to apply.
During my tenure on the Secretariat for NAIMUN LIX, I served as the Director of Philanthropy. Philanthropy is unique to NAIMUN, as we serve as one of the largest philanthropic drives on the Model UN circuit. I was honored to raise $18,000 for our philanthropy partner, Relief Without Borders, both in-conference and through our philanthropy coalition.
NAIMUN LVIII introduced the Circuit Philanthropy Coalition to the Model UN circuit. The coalition was the brainchild of my predecessor, Ashley Bradway, and its goal was to unite the circuit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since all conferences were online because of the pandemic, we knew our philanthropic impact could be maximized if we worked together to raise money for a common cause. I continued the Circuit Philanthropy Coalition during my tenure as Director of Philanthropy and now, as the NAIMUN LX Executive Director, I am excited to continue it again for its third year. NAIMUN, at its core, is an educational experience. We strive to teach delegates about all the ways you can make an impact as a young leader, whether that is through diplomacy, collaboration, or empathy. One valuable way to make an impact is through philanthropy, hence why we place such an importance on our philanthropic drives.
Rachel
While I now serve as Secretary-General of the largest student-run conference in the world, I originally joined my high school Model UN team on a whim with no real understanding of what Model UN entailed, or more generally that international relations was a field of study and work. In my four years competing, Model UN committees were some of my most intellectually stimulating and confidence-building experiences—I did not quite know who the people who sat on the stage at opening ceremonies were or what they did, but I knew I wanted to be one of them one day and recreate the experiences that changed the trajectory of my life for other high schoolers. As Secretary-General my principal role in creating and executing our substantive vision for our conference. With 40 distinct and dynamic committees, I have worked to meld the topical interests of 70 Chairs and Crisis Managers, with the regional and temporal interests of my 12 Under-Secretaries-General with my overarching vision for a rigorous and innovative educational experience.
All of these elements are encapsulated in a theme that draws heavily from my personal experiences at Model UN conferences, my outlook on what it means to be thoughtfully engaged in international affairs and participatory in a community, and the kinds of lessons I hope NAIMUN delegates leave with at the end of the weekend. Empathy in Action, our theme for this iteration of NAIMUN, expands upon and more clearly articulates what I mean when I say that NAIMUN is about “more than Model UN.” As Secretary-General, my mission is not to teach delegates simply what to think about the United Nations, but rather to teach delegates critical thinking, narrative challenging, and question asking skills in order to meaningfully interrogate all aspects of the international system, guided by a central commitment to promoting a more just, equitable, and prosperous world. International affairs is not value neutral, and neither are the systems of both material and immaterial power it involves. What binds communities together is a shared commitment to interests, goals, and values—at NAIMUN these are not left at the door but welcomed into conversations that include diverse sets of actors not just within the UN, but within the entirety of the global community. NAIMUN is committed to teaching delegates how to nurture compassionate, empathic, and actionable diplomacy, and this mission does not, and cannot, stop at the United Nations system.
Ultimately, I am incredibly energized by the passion of our delegates, their curiosity about committees and their topics, and their eagerness to learn more to become better speakers, writers, negotiators, and diplomats. My predecessor, Kate Reeves, introduced the NAIMUN Training and Immersion Program (NAIMUN TIPs) and this year I developed eight weeks of original Model UN teaching material. In the 80 sessions my Secretariat has hosted, we’ve worked with hundreds of delegates and I am more confident than ever in the value of not only high quality Model UN training, but accessible education. I’ll be developing a set of resources for delegates that will go live on the website Wednesday night before conference begins as a condensed “here’s what you really need to know” version of the trainings so delegates can put their best foot forward and make the most of what I hope is an enriching and rewarding weekend. When I gavel in NAIMUN LX Thursday night, I’ll be honored to stand aside Cate as we kick off a weekend of dynamic committees, exciting D.C. experiences, and philanthropic impact.
