Disclaimer: The following recap was written by UNCMUNC. MUN01 thanks the conference for their hard work to write this conference recap themselves!
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Model United Nations Conference (UNCMUNC) was hosted in its 11th iteration from November 7th to November 10th. UNCMUNC XI was organized and staffed by the Carolina International Relations Association (CIRA) and this year’s conference was spearheaded by Secretary-General Rosie Tran and Director-General Brent Van Vliet.
In order to ensure all delegates had the ability to succeed in Crisis Committees, UNCMUNC XI hosted its first-ever How to Crisis Info Session. The event was attended by 24 delegates, significantly more than expected, who learned the ins and outs of Crisis Committees first-hand from our Secretary-General. Attendees to this event expressed that UNCMUNC should continue hosting events like this in the future.
The Secretary-General of the conference, Rosie Tran, had this to say about UNCMUNC XI: “UNCMUNC XI was the first time UNCMUNC was hosted for four-days rather than three-days. It was the most successful collegiate MUN conference hosted by the University of North Carolina as of yet; successful in terms of delegate experience, delegation attendance, and well-trained chairs. We had several new delegations join us and over 270 delegates registered. As a smaller conference, we’re still working on many different kinks, but I am proud to say that many delegates left UNC’s campus with a good experience. I hope to come back to UNC in 20 years and see how far UNCMUNC has developed.”
Attending Delegations
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Florida
- Northern Arizona University
- Georgetown University
- College of William & Mary
- Elon University
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- The George Washington University
- Florida State University
- NC State University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- University of Notre Dame
- Emory University
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Richmond
- UC Berkeley
- George Mason University
Committee Overview
Delegates at UNCMUNC XI participated in 12 committees, including a JCC and UNCMUNC’s second-ever General Assembly.
The General Assembly put delegates into the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) where they grappled with sustainability within the growing tourism industry. The UNWTO Committee was successful for the second GA ever fielded at UNCMUNC. This format will continue to be improved upon when it returns to next year’s conference.
UNCMUNC’s line-up of Crisis Committees featured a two-room JCC where delegates stood on either the Scottish or British side of the Jacobite Revolution – or Rebellion as the British would prefer to call it. UNCMUNC’s single-room Crisis Committees featured a range of topics which included:
- Civil rights in Birmingham, 1963;
- A murder mystery in Murder Hill, a fictional town based off of Chapel Hill;
- The 2014 Bangkok shutdown;
- Britain after the American Revolutionary War;
- The Wizarding World’s path to reconstruction after the Battle of Hogwarts;
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s “Journey of Promise”;
- An alternative history in which Germany had won WWI;
- A hypothetical Addis Ababa Conference organizing colonized African nations during the “Scramble for Africa” against European imperialism.
- UNCMUNC’s Ad Hoc saw delegates rush to solve an impending agricultural crisis in Los Angeles, 2030, offering a fast-paced experience touching on increasingly pertinent ecological issues.
Social
UNCMUNC hosted both a Head Delegate Social and a Head Delegate Lunch. The Head Del Social was at TRU Deli & Wine on Thursday night, a cozy little eatery by Franklin St., and the lunch was at Top of the Hill (TOPO) on Friday. On Friday night, the Delegate Social was held at Might as Well, a fun place to get down on the weekend. While Friday festivities ended promptly at 1am per the venue, delegates got to spend their night dancing, both on the floor and on tables, and exploring Chapel Hill’s vibrant nightlife. By “nightlife” we obviously mean the local Waffle House.
In addition, UNCMUNC hosted its first-ever Formal Gala. A black tie event, the UNCMUNC XI Formal Gala took place on Saturday, November 10th, from 10pm to 1am. The UNCMUNC XI Secretariat spared no expense in providing delegates an experience they have personally referred to as “mun prom.” The Gala was located at the Rizzo Center, a sprawling and elegant conference center, owned by the prestigious UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Attendees were encouraged to show up in their classiest outfit and spent a night conversing, dancing and enjoying a catered buffet in the gorgeous Magnolia Room. Besides some technical issues with the venue’s speakers, the night was one for the books.
Delegation Awards
Best Large Delegation – University of Virginia
Outstanding Large Delegation – Emory University
Best Small Delegation – The George Washington University
Outstanding Small Delegation – College of William & Mary
Again, thank you to UNCMUNC for this article! You can check out their conference website here.
MUN01 