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Role Playing

MUNOL is a simulation of the UN. By its very nature, the quality and tone of debate will be dramatically different than in the "real" UN. In the UN, delegates and their staffs spend months in preparation, "behind doors" lobbying, and interacting with other nations before an issue is brought to a vote. A UN delegate, Foreign Minister or Head of State, will almost always make a prepared speech that will not be "news" to the other Representatives present. At MUNOL, delegates will only have very few days to assume the role of their nation's delegate and simulate the actions of the UN. This consolidation of time leads to many different circumstances with which each country will have to deal . Among the considerations is the fact that delegates will rarely have the opportunity to make a pre-written speech on a topic. Instead, they will often be forced to verbally react to circumstances as they arise, and they may be in a position where it is reasonable to reinterpret their nation's position in light of new facts. Delegates should not simply read from their country's established record on the issues presented; they should be prepared to compromise with the other nations represented and adapt their policies where needed to meet the current circumstances of the world as simulated Position Paper. Note that this in no way gives delegations license to act "out of character". Delegates should research and generally follow the policies of their country, modifying these as new circumstances dictate. Successful role playing involves walking a careful line on policy; avoid the extremes of either reading out a country's past statements, or creating ad hoc policy with no previous basis.

Research

It is vitally important for each delegate to understand the basics of the organisation which they are simulating, the United Nations. A well-prepared delegate should not only know the basics of the UN's structure, but should especially understand the forum in which he works. In building this base of knowledge, delegates 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 out of reach of the body they are simulating.

General background of the represented country/organisation

The second thing delegates should do is researching their appointed country. The research should be intensively, in order to represent the country adequately. The following aspects are important concerning a country:

For researching an organisation, delegates should find out about the following aspects:

General background of the issues to be discussed

To be able to follow debate and develop ideas, delegates need to be familiar with all of the topics to be dealt with in their committee. To achieve this, delegates should in the first place steadily read the newspaper and watch serious TV programs, such as BBC World or CNN International. Furthermore, They should read about the historical and political background of the issues, and study related documents from UN sources and countries or organisations.

Specific background of countries/organisations views on the issues to be discussed

This is the most important field of research and maybe also the most difficult. Information can be gained for example from UN documents, the countries Permanent Mission to the UN or the countries embassy in the delegates home country. Regardless of the facts available, knowing exactly what a country would do in a given situation is not always possible. Therefore, the delegate should strive to educate himself to his best possibilities in order to make "realistic" assumption on the countries policy to the issues.

Current world situation as it applies to the country/organisation

It is actually a subset of the previous two points, but worth mentioning. There are significant differences in the policies between a highly industrialised country and a least developed country. Knowing where the represented country fits into the current geo-political context may help the delegate answer many policy questions that may arise during the conference. The same is the case for organisations.

Rules of Procedure of MUNOL

While substantive research and discussions of the issues form the basis of any good simulation of the UN, the Rules of Procedure are intended to provide the regulatory framework. They shall make it possible for each country to accomplish its individual goals in expressing its policy, while also maximising opportunities for the group to consent on any issue. Two 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 basic rules which are explained in the Student's Guide. Experienced Model UN participants should thoroughly read the Rules of Procedure of MUNOL. Most Model UN conferences use at least slightly different Rules of Procedure, and in some cases the contrasts are significant. Therefore it would be best for every delegate to learn and use the rules as laid out for this particular conference.

General Sources of Information

The internet is of course the best source of information. A few research links are listed below, many more can be found on the MUNOL homepage. Further information can be obtained from the local or school library, by contacting the nearest embassy or foreign ministry of the country, its Permanent Mission to the UN in New York or the headquarters of the organisation.

Next to that it is vital to be up-to-date concerning world politics and especially on the issues by watching news and reading the daily newspaper or political and/or economical magazines.

Check out our Useful Links section for a compilation of some very useful research links.

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