Dear First-Timers;

if you are about to join an MUN conference soon and also if your mind is complicated about everything you are just in the right place!

Before moving to tips just don’t forget that each MUNerhad their first conference. They are just like you.

Let’s start!

  1)DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK!

When you attend an MUNconference your first guiders will be your committee directors. So don’t hesitate to ask questions or to give “Point of Information” to your chairs. You will meet with lots of committee directors and each has different styles but no matter what they should be guiding you in a kind and nice way. You should read the study guides and the procedures before you attend the conference but still if you don’t understand what is happening it is your right to ask. You can consult your committee directors, your USG of your committee and any delegate that you believe they know what is going on.

 

 2)SOCIALIZE!

Mun will improve your English and it will make you earn a certificate but in four days you can make life-lasting friendships. What important is that you should find friends that are improving and kind to you. Don’t be shy to attend the social events because usually they are fun and you can see people dancing and the next day they are debating super serious. It is nice to know people like this. Also, you can meet with the people you know in another conference too.

 3)ALWAYS BE THE FIRST ONE IN THE LINE! 

Well, I believe food is important. Each mun conference has coffee breaks, lunch, and surprising foods. If you want to get food you should always be early. Otherwise, you might have to wait for hours and miss the lunch break games.

4)MAKE MEMORIES!

Each conference and each committee will have a different place in your heart, mind but when the conference ends you should have nice memories left behind. So even if you don’t understand or like the committee and the topics at least try to enjoy the fun parts of MUN and do not forget that maybe you will find another committee that you will love. So do not quit at the first conference because you should see a lot more!

5)TRY TO UNDERSTAND OTHER PERSPECTIVES! 

You will see lots of people and probably your committee will be full of new delegates. Usually, first-timers are given the General Assembly Committees. That means your committee will have people that have different ideas and opinions. Even if you don’t agree with their opinions you should respect and try to understand why they think like that because these kinds of conversations will teach you a lot about people’s perspectives.

 6)DRESS CODE 

Since MUN is an academic place your appearance must be appropriate and tidy. Don’t forget that your words are valuable but you care about the dress code will make it much shinier.

7)DON’T BE LATE!  

It depends on the conference but most of the conferences cancel your certificate if you miss 2 of the sessions. You should always be on time for your committee and to the conference. If you live in a traffic area usually committee directors are indulgent. Don’t forget to set your alarm.

8)BE ACTIVE! 

I believe you should enjoy the conferences as much as you can. Don’t waste your time sitting in the committee the whole time trying to be active, have fun and improve yourself. You can have a talk with your committee director about the charms and the difficulties about conferences or you can be a fashion icon in the fashion show or you can dance until your foot hurts. Only you can decide what to do but I can tell you that there are a lot of things to do!

9)LEARN! 

MUN conferences are a place where you will meet with new global issues and information. You should research the informations and the words you don’t know. As a result, you will improve yourself in a cultural and language way.

10)BE CONFIDENT!

I believe one of the most important things is being confident. If you are a shy, introvert person, mun conferences are a great place to change that! In the first place, it will be challenging for you to have the floor, to give an ambassador speech but do not leave the conference without giving one speech because after it will make you feel much more confident. You can choose not to do anything during the conference but when it ends and when you put your head on the pillow before your sleep makes sure you don’t regret. You don’t have you do it in the first conference but try to give yourself more chance and at least attend two conferences to see if you will be a MUN person or not.

As a result of these 10 tips, I can say that MUN is something worth trying for and it has lots of benefits. I believe if you follow these steps with the voice of your heart you will have great times! Thanks for reading this article.

-Lara Melis Büyükceylan