Sammy Guerrero
Before serving as an SK student mentor and an SK Model UN Institute instructor, Sammy served as Director General of Harvard Model UN's Boston conference, overseeing the organization of one of the most prestigious MUN conferences in the world.
To put it mildly, Sammy has seen it all when it comes to MUN. So we asked him for his top five tips for success as a MUN delegate.
1) Do your research!
Before the conference, make sure to do your research on key information. Know what kind of country you will represent—are you a full-fledged autocracy? A stable democracy? Somewhere in the middle? This will help to determine who your allies may be. After understanding your country, read the background guide from your country’s lens. Identify the issues that your chair would like to debate. If the primary focus of your committee is climate change, what elements of climate change? If your committee is focusing on international security, is the focus on nuclear weapons, conventional weapons, or something else? Make sure to research these issues, knowing the pros and cons of advocating for certain positions (poke holes in your opponents, strengthen your policies).
2) Act confident, even when you don't feel confident
If a speech topic you are unfamiliar with is proposed, do not fret! Give it your best shot and try to extrapolate your country’s position. Moreover, when it comes to presenting working papers and draft resolutions or answering questions during a Q&A session, every delegate is nervous. Don’t let your nerves inhibit you from volunteering for presentations and Q&A. Chairs take careful note of who is presenting and running Q&A, often identifying these individuals as leaders in their bloc.
3) Raise your placard often
A big distinguishing factor for chairs when deciding awards is whether a country took risks and was a consistent participant. Chances are, if you don’t know what your country’s stance is on a particular issue, neither does your chair. You therefore wouldn't be “punished” if you accidentally break your country’s position. Thus, raise your placard and give the best speech that you can. If you’ve done a good job doing your research, you are fully prepared for anything that could be thrown your way.
4) Own the document for your working paper and resolution
In Model UN, delegates often utilize online platforms to collaborate on document writing. When using such platforms, ensure that you always retain ownership and editing access to the document. As a member of Model UN staff, I have witnessed instances of delegates losing editing privileges to documents that they started by accidentally handing over ownership to others. Given the nuances of online technology, these issues often take a while for conference staff to resolve, meaning that delegates can fall behind in committee. I always recommend that delegates retain access to their ownership and editing privileges to avoid these issues.
5) The enemy of my enemy is my friend
In addition to having sponsors, signatories often have a lot of power in deciding which resolution passes. Oftentimes, a resolution requires either ½ or ⅔ majority to pass. Make sure to appeal to smaller countries and/or delegates operating on the periphery of blocs to gain a sufficient amount of support for your paper to pass.
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