Model United Nations
New York 2022

Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the debates and decision-making process of the United Nations and its organs. Students take the role of delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world current issues from the perspectives, including policies and interests, of their assigned country. They leverage their skills in debate, consensus building, critical thinking, and parliamentary prcedure, resoution drafting, and public speaking acquiried as a part of the NMUN course.

For example, a student may be assigned the role of a delegate of the United Kingdom in the UN Security Council and be expected to contribute to solving an issue such as the migration crisis by critically analysing the issue based on the UK’s interests, debating other delegates, finding common areas of agreement, and drafting a resolution for the UNSC to adopt.

Students can attend Model United Nations conferences around the world. These conferences are organized by universities, high schools, non-profit organizations and other educational groups. Conferences are offered for different academic levels, primarily university and high school level.

International Burch University has adopted a new curriculum at the Department of International Relations and European Studies for master’s and undergraduate level that includes courses on Model United Nations to prepare students to participate in the NMUN conferences.

This conference is organised by the National Model United Nation organisation of the United States of America, defined as non-profit organization that advances understanding of the United Nations and contemporary international issues.

NMUN has been a recognized non-governmental organization (NGO) formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications since 1982 and a UN Academic Impact member since 2013.

Numerous NMUN conference speakers work for the UN. Previous confernces have hosted eminent speakers such as UN Secretaries-General Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and Kurt Waldheim and Deputy Secretaries-General Amina J. Mohammed and Jan Eliasson.

UN officials have also served as advisory group members and many student delegations meet with their official national delegations during the conference.

UN facilities, including the General Assembly Hall, are generally used on the last day of New York conferences.

International Burch University will be first university from Bosnia and Herzegovina to attend the Model UN conference in New York Conference in April 2022.

This Conference will host more than 1,000 student delegates from 100 UN member states.

Cooperative, hands-on, experiential learning allows students to confront a range of topics with the perspective of their assigned country in the context of their assigned forum. Through these experiences - during preparation in committee sessions and hallway caucuses - students develop an appreciation of differing viewpoints, experience the challenges of negotiation, see the rewards of cooperation, broaden their worldview, and discover the human side of international relations and diplomacy.

Head of the Department of International Relations and European Studies at International Burch University Assist. Prof. Alija Kožljak oversees preparing the delegation to participate in the Conference.

Students will have at least five mock sessions during preparation period. A mock session is a simulation of real Model UN conference where each student represents one country, actively participate in debating, caucusing and drafting resolutions.

Since public speaking is one of the key skills to be gained through this course, International Burch University will engage public speaking experts to work with students in developing this skill. Each student will have one-to-one session with a professional in which the student speaks for one minute and is recorded to track progress.

After that, the professor and the expert will analyse the video with the student, give advice for improvement and set a personalised standard in public speaking for each student to meet until the next session. These sessions will be carried out until high standards of public speaking are met.

The core objective is to affect the lives of students and prepare them to be better global citizens through quality educational experiences that emphasize collaboration and cooperative resolution of conflict. We envision a world comprised of civically engaged people who strive for peaceful, multilateral conflict resolution and equitable, sustainable human development.

As current UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres said: