Meeting Agenda for 1/27/2012

Explaining 10 mins

1.      Start of Semester 2

2.      We have 7.5 weeks until the March 22-23 Conference in Milwaukee, WI.

3.      Morning meetings around 7:15 to 7:35 in the library for training.

4.      Read through the WHSMUN Delegate Handbook, Vocabulary for MUN, and research on the internet about MUN → Self Driven

5.      Research on Turkey (Read the news, Wikipedia, CIA World fact book…)

6.      Position Paper are due on March 2 ( in 5 weeks)

Explaining 15 mins

7.      Gathering information (via http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/modelun/prep.html):

 (1)-Know the UN system.

 

(2)-Become familiar with the your country's history, culture, political structure, and current political affairs. In addition to resources you may find at your school, university, or public library and on the internet, it may be useful to read fiction and non-fiction books (e.g., biographies) written by authors who live in your country. They may offer insights into the culture you are learning about.

(3)-Learn about your country's viewpoints on as many of the issues that will be discussed at the conference you will be attending as you can.

(4)-Know your allies and your opposition. In order to adequately represent your country during the conference, you will need to interact with delegates from other countries. Knowing their positions on your topic will help you predict their arguments during debate. This will be very useful in helping you decide in advance where it might be useful to seek cooperation or compromise.

(5)-Be familiar with current statistical data on your topic and country.

 (6)-Review the rules and procedures for your conference. These rules are intended to create a level playing field allowing each country to accomplish its individual goals in speaking about their policies while maximizing opportunities for the group to reach agreement or even consensus on the issue. Each conference publishes a set of rules and procedures that are derived from those used by the UN. There are many resources on protocol and parliamentary procedure available through MUN sites and books.

 8.    Tips for MUNer’s

• Remember it is not your opinion you are expounding but the country you are representing.
• Be willing to continuously improve and refine you capabilities.
• Do mock trials with team members.
• Technique matters - so practice it.
• Be aware of different political perspectives - East vs. West and North vs. South.
• Compromise is an art, treat it that way.
• Get hooked on MUN, this will change your life.
• Learn from your experience.
• Hold a debriefing session after each conference to discuss things that worked and things that did not work.
• Keep a record of your feedback and plans for improvement.
• Congratulate your team members (and other players!) on their contributions to the team and the conference.