A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Can you imagine the WTO Chairman describing the resolution the organization passed as: “a girl looking nice from far but less so from a closer perspective”? Can you picture UN representatives doing karaoke because they were late for the debate? It might sound like a political nightmare but what you may find surprising it all did happen during an UN conference.

Ok, fair enough: it wasn’t the real Untied Nations, only its simulation in London. Nevertheless, does it not prove politics is not necessarily as boring as we tend to think it is?

In essence, Model United Nations is a simulation of the real UN. It aims to improve participants’ debating skills, enhance their knowledge of current affairs and allow to get a bit of practical insight into the complex world of multilateral diplomacy. The main principle underlining MUN is that ‘delegates’, as they are called in the Model UN nomenclature, are not allowed to represent their own. The purpose is for participants to better understand positions of other countries. Therefore, partakers often take on the role of ‘devil’s advocate’, arguing something distinct from their personal opinion. The history of Model UN’s is over half a century long. Since the first simulation that took place at Harvard in 1955, the idea has spread all over the globe.

London International MUN is one of the biggest MUN’s. This year’s edition occurring between 19-21st February, had no less than thousand candidates from all over the world. It just so happens that out of this thousand 9 delegates represented Leuven. Apart from Model UN representing different universities (such as Leuven MUN) there also exists a very specialized MUN Society Belgium, awarded this year’s “LIMUN Best Delegation Prize”.

Each participant was delegated to a different committee, ranging from United Nations Environmental Programme, through World Trade Organization and International Court of Justice to so-called ‘historical crisis committee’: League of Nations. Everyone was asked to thoroughly research the subject of discussion. For Leuven delegate Mathijs, sitting in the Disarmament and International Security Committee it was “control of arms flows in violent militia regions” and for Justina who participated in African Union, it was “neoliberalism in Africa”. After all the detailed preparations and researching the topic back and forth, 9 Leuven delegates were more than ready to set off to London.

The conference seemed immense- 3 different venues, 18 committees and hundreds of representatives pouring through the doors of London’s Institute of Education. After the registration, delegates had just few moments to walk around London’s centre and get back in time for the opening speech by Mr Moreno-Ocampo from the International Criminal Court.

One of the most difficult tasks delegates face is to reconcile the demands of 9 hours of debating every day with the ‘social events’, which are of crucial importance for making new international friends; for example at theAnnual Diplomats Ball, which took place just few steps from Tower Bridge.

It is worth mentioning that Leuven MUN was established just few months before forming a London delegation. LIMUN has been the first international official conference in which Leuven MUN delegates participated, but beyond any doubt there are many more to come. Leuven MUN is hosting regular meetings to debate ‘hot issues’ such as global warming or piracy in Somalia. Irina who has been involved in Model UN’s for a long time and participated in over 10 conferences across the globe described the idea of MUN in few words “It has all the ingredients one could ever wish for: young people with initiative, brilliant ideas and intercultural dialogue”.

Everyone interested in participating in Leuven MUN is more than welcome. No prior experience is necessary. In order to have an up-to-date info about debates please consult Leuven Model United Nations facebook page or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |