Delegates flock to Model UN conferences from all over the world to debate theoretical solutions to real world issues such as human rights, hunger, women’s rights, access to healthcare, refugee crises and more. But what many MUN participants don’t pay much attention to is the fact that most conferences are taking steps to allow delegates opportunities to partake in real life solutions to issues around the globe.
Through community service projects and charitable donations, delegates are able to channel the energy that they put into the simulation of being a world leader and change-maker, to actually making positive change in many communities.
When going to conferences, charity is often not the first thing that crosses a delegate’s mind. Usually, everyone is so focused on debate and awards to take a second to realize how much charitable work is being done. Secretariats take endless amounts of time and effort to select a charity that they believe to be influential, and take even more time to fund-raise. Many conferences, such as NAIMUN and CMUNC, have done great jobs raising money. In 2012, for example, NAIMUN raised over 24,o00 dollars for the charity, charity: water. That is a huge feat that definitely deserved recognition!
Another example of a conference that’s gone out of their way for community service is Cornell Model UN Conference. In 2013, they were able to raise enough money to send soccer balls to war-torn countries.
Their secretary general at the time said in an interview, “So many of the conflicts in this world occur because of people having a difference of opinions. Model U.N. helps students learn how other views come about, in a peaceful way,” said their secretary general at the time in an interview.
CMUNC raised money through creative efforts such as partnerships with local restaurants. But despite these great achievements, there is still so much more we can do to incorporate charity into MUN.
If charity is so overlooked in Model UN, how can we, as the model UN community, give it a bigger role at conferences? Many conferences have already taken this thought into account and, in fact, came up with creative ideas on how to make raising money for different organizations as fun and effective as possible. To feed the competitive spirit of delegates, many conferences have created competitions between committees to see who can raise the most money. Other conferences have hosted in-committee auctions, sold candy grams, raffle tickets, and allowed the committee who raised the most money to pie members of the secretariat in the face. These tactics are fun ways to bond with committee members and raise money all at the same time.
Other ideas for how conferences can raise even more money is to perhaps give recognition to schools who raise the most money prior to the conference, to donate a portion of the money made from merchandise sales, and include a mandatory donation as part of conference fees. Secretariats can even organize hands-on community service projects at some point during the conference to allow delegates to get connected with their communities and put their humanitarian skills to action!
Overall, the Model UN community has done a great job so far at incorporating community service and charity into conferences, and the efforts of secretariats and delegates around the world deserve so much more recognition. As Model UN becomes a more popular activity we should connect it more to real humanitarian and charitable work. This, and not competition, is the true spirit of MUN.
Keep doing what you’re doing to not only simulate making the world a better place, but actually doing it!
ISM students spread the word for BKB Charity at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York.
