My Experience At NAIMUN: DC’s Model UN Conference

Story and photo by Judah Hillman.

From February 12-16, my school, Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy, attended a specialized program called The North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) and entered into the world of diplomacy. Model UN is a program where students imitate delegates from countries around the world through debate and negotiation to solve global issues.

NAIMUN is the largest student-run Model UN conference in the world. Since 1963, over 3,000 high school scholars from around the world gather in Washington, DC each year to represent a country and roleplay as delegates in one of the more than 40 mini-simulations that make up the event. On the six committees I attended, students brainstormed, debated, and constructed solutions to pressing global problems. I represented Ecuador in the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

During the opening orientation, the event coordinators, most of whom are current students at Georgetown University, provided key information about the event and opened the conference with the bang of a gavel. After the opening orientation, delegates were split into previously assigned committees. Our job as a committee was to select one of two topics as our focus for the entire conference. Our topic options were "Promoting Green Spaces in Urban Environments" or "Protecting Local and Independent News Media. We had time to research and prepare months beforehand and had to give an opening speech on which topic our group should choose. I chose to prepare a speech advocating for "Protecting Local and Independent News Media." I was nervous for that opening speech because I prepared notecards to help me remember my speech, but many delegates had memorized theirs and didn’t need flash cards. Not having that kind of skill made me feel a slight sense of inferiority and insecurity, but I still went up and gave it my all. Even though my topic, ”independent media,” was not passed, I still felt a profound determination to do the best I could.

During the second committee, we broke off into separate groups of 10-20 to brainstorm global solutions on which we would later share with our desired alliances. I spoke with several delegates that included Korea, The Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic. We spoke about our solutions for 60 seconds each as a way to determine alliances. I, for one, felt insecure about my own debating and public speaking abilities, so I didn’t participate, which I now regret. 

As delegates, we worked together to construct a working paper of solutions related to protecting independent media. The working paper later became the framework for a more defined paper with solutions that delegates would vote later in the conference. This was the most significant part of the conference because delegates worked together for hours to complete it. I did my part by helping to write a clause relating to education which addressed potential discrepancies in access to the internet between countries to make our solution more feasible. 

During the fourth session, all the blocs merged to continue working with shared ideas to write our resolution paper. The papers were then voted on and debated for whether they pass or fail.  

During the final debate, Russia made an argument against my bloc’s paper and lied about our paper being harmful to the environment. Because of that, our resolution paper didn’t pass despite the hours of long and hard work we poured into it, which naturally upset my bloc. 

On a positive note, near the end of the conference, the organizers hosted numerous fun events including social events. These were dance mosh pits with loud music and a performance by Georgetown’s arts and dance department with an ice cream bar where we indulged in treats. My most memorable moment was working with the UNESCO delegates to raise more than $500 to help support a tech organization. Once we raised enough money, we got to watch the committee chairs eat spicy ramen as a reward. My committee laughed as we watched the poor chairs sweat and huff over the spice. 

Overall, my time at NAIMUN was fun, and I really hope I can continue to be involved in Model UN and similar organizations in college.

Judah Hillman is a senior at Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy.