Meeting+1

As a general rule, Representatives should become familiar with several items in their preparations for the Conference, from the UN system as a whole, to the specifics of their country's position on the topics of discussion for their respective committees. Research and preparation can be looked at in six areas:
 * The introduction for our MUN experience:**
 * RESEARCH AND PREPARATION**

1. The UN System as a whole: it is vitally important for each Representative to understand the basics of the organization which they are simulating, the United Nations. A well-prepared Representative should not only know the basics of the UN's structure, but should have a good understanding of how the body they will be working on fits into the organization. In building this base of knowledge, Representatives will better understand what their simulation can or cannot do within the UN system, what they can make recommendations on, what they can reasonably "demand," and what issues are beyond the purview of the body they are simulating.

2. Current statistical information and a general background of the represented nation's history and policies: This is the first key to understanding what actions a nation may prefer on the specific issues. Research should include, but certainly not be limited to, such areas as population, government type, natural resources, and trade data for the nation being represented. Traditional allies and adversaries should also be noted. Additionally, a country's history can be crucial to its contemporary actions, including the question of whether that country was previously colonized, or possibly a colonial power, when the country gained statehood, and what means were used in gaining independence (civil war, violent struggle, peaceful movement, etc.)

3. Specific background of the nation's viewpoints on the issues to be discussed at the Conference: This is the center point of most Model UN preparation; focused research on the issues being discussed in each committee and on your government's position on those issues. Research can come from a variety of sources, beginning with UN documents (often found on the internet or in paper form in a library or documents depository) and moving to articles, periodical sources, books, and internet resources beyond the UN web site. UN resolutions and reports on the issues under discussion are especially helpful because they provide a quick reference to what has already been accomplished by the UN, and to what still needs to be done in the future. These documents also frequently provide voting information, which allows Representatives to quickly determine their country's past positions on issues. Contacting the represented country's Permanent Mission to the UN can also be helpful, but the level of assistance provided varies with each countries policies and the resources they have available to help others. Also, for some countries it will be very easy to find specific information to determine a position on most or all topics, and for others this information will be difficult to come by or simply not available. When clear-cut information is not available, it is incumbent on the representative preparing to make the best possible interpolations of what the country's policy would be, given the facts available. This might include knowing the countries background, their traditional allies, the stance of a regional group with whom they tend to agree, or a variety of other factors. Regardless of the facts available, knowing exactly what a country would do in a given situation is not always possible. Representatives should strive in their research to know as much as they can about the country and its stance on each topic, and to educate themselves enough to make reasonable policy assumptions on issues which are not totally clear.

4. The current world situation as it applies to the nation: This is a subset of the previous two areas of research, but is important enough to be mentioned in its own right. There is a significant difference between the policies of the only remaining superpower and a nation with very little military might. Even more significant at the UN is the difference between the policies of the relatively rich, industrialized nations and the relatively poor, developing (and especially least developed) nations on many issues. Additionally, a nation which is currently involved in a civil war, or a nation which is under UN sanctions, may have contrary and unique responses on some issues which are very different than those of the remainder of the international community. Knowing where the nation you represent fits in the current world geo-political context, as a compliment to your country specific research, can answer many questions which will come up during the simulation.

5. A specific background of the perspectives of nations with differing viewpoints on the issues: This is one of the more difficult areas in preparation. While it is reasonable to expect that a Representative will know who their general allies and adversaries on a given issue should be (regional partners, long-standing allies, etc.) it is very difficult to have detailed information on what the policies of each country in the simulation will be on a given issue. Limitations in preparation time by definition require that participants focus primarily on the policies of their own country, often learning about others through references in their own research. This is an area where complete knowledge will serve participants well, but it is much more likely that each Representative will be learning the formal policies of the other countries in the committee when they give speeches from the floor and confer behind the scenes in caucus sessions.

6. The rules of procedure for MUN: While substantive discussions of the issues form the basis of any good simulation of the UN, the rules of procedure are what is used to facilitate the substantive debate which occurs. In general, these rules are intended to provide an even playing field, allowing each country to accomplish its individual goals in speaking their policies, while also maximizing opportunities for the group to reach agreement, or even consensus, on the issues. Several levels of preparation are possible on the rules. For new Model UN participants, it is recommended that each person has a working knowledge of the principle motions which can be made during the simulation. There will be a tutorial regarding the rules during the first day of the Conference to assist in bringing everyone onto an even playing field. Many Model UN Conferences might use slightly different rules of procedure, and in some cases the contrasts are significant. In order to best facilitate everyone's experience, it is incumbent upon every participant to learn and use the rules.

Our DUMUN country assignments are:

Our YMUN country assignments are: Cote d'Ivoire (8 delegates: DISEC, ECOFIN, Legal, SOCHUM, SPECPOL, UNDP) Kuwait (7 delegates: ISEC, ECOFIN, Legal, SOCHUM, SPECPOL).

=Collecting Country Information | Research Overview Model UN Preparation Guide= First, you will need to learn about your country so you can address the issues raised at the conference as a real UN delegate from that country. To represent your country accurately, start by answering the following questions:
 * Describe the organizational structure and government type of my country's government. Describe the existence (or lack) of citizens influence on government. Explain how my country's system of government come into existence.
 * Describe the types of ideologies (political, religious, etc.) and their respective influences regarding my country’s government.
 * Explain how domestic issues affect my country's foreign policy.
 * Identify then describe (the who, what, when where, cause & effect) three significant (political, social or economic) events during my country’s history.
 * Deduce how the geography and global location of my country might affect its political and economic relationships.
 * Inference qualities of my country's neighbors which could influence my country's foreign policy.
 * Identify at least four countries which are political allies with my country? Explain why the aforementioned countries are allied with mine.
 * Identify at least four countries which are political adversaries with my country? Explain why the aforementioned countries are in opposition to mine.
 * Infer how my country's economy affects its foreign policy?
 * Deduce the reason(s) why my country was admitted as a member to the United Nations when it was.
 * dentify intergovernmental organizations outside the UN system such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). How do these alliances affect its foreign policy?
 * Identify regional organizations such as the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) or the Organization of American States (OAS) which my country is involved with. How do such alliances affect my country's foreign policy?
 * Does your country belong to any trade organizations or agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)? How do these relationships affect foreign policy?
 * Identify three habits of the trade relations of my country’s economy?
 * Identify my country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Hypothesize how the GDP relates to my country's economic status/situation relative to the contiguous countries.