At last month’s Qatar Leadership Conference, I gave a one-hour presentation on how Model UN simulates the debate and negotiations of the UN, but not how the UN implements and reports on programs.
That’s a huge missed opportunity for Model UN.
In the presentation, I offered examples from model UN conferences that do touch on implementation, including
- MUN conferences that fundraise for NGOs, such as how Georgetown NAIMUN raised $24,000 for charity:water
- MUN conferences where students simulate NGOs, like NHSMUN, Harvard, and others
- MUN conferences where students create their own NGOs, like CalYMCA and Montessori MUN
- MUN conferences that partner with the Resolution Project, started by Harvard MUNers, who organize pitch competitions where social enterprises can win seed money and mentorship opportunities
I described a process for how Model UN conferences and programs could create service learning and social impact projects, based on a workshop I led at Taipei American School last year. As part of their NOVA Social Enterprise event, I collaborated with TAS teachers to lead students through a process that connected their Model UN program and with creating service learning projects.
Here’s the presentation below:
Do you agree that Model UN conferences should help students create service learning and social impact projects? Let me know what you think!
Ryan Villanueva
Co-Founder & Education Director