As another early Spring semester conference, the Model United Nations at Emory (MUNE) conference was held February 6-9, 2020. Delegates from around the South and schools even further traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in a long weekend of Model UN at Emory University’s campus which was headed by Secretary-General Miguel Vivar-Alcalde. According to statistics provided by the MUNE secretariat, over 195 delegates registered for the conference with 16 schools attending. The conference centered around the Emory Student Center (ESC) as the secretariat shared that they “completely changed the aesthetic of the conference to move towards a more modern feel that was reflective of [their] growth and professionalism.”
MUNE VIII’s Secretary-General provided the following quote, “It was an incredibly rewarding experience to organize MUNE. It was so fulfilling to see the hard work pay off with such great reviews in Head Delegate feedback sessions from participating schools. It goes without saying that the Crisis Directors drove this memorable experience for delegates and that alongside the careful and meticulous planning of Secretariat made this a successful conference and one that I’m looking forward to seeing evolve in the future.”
Attending Delegations
The 16 attending delegations came from the following schools:
- Florida International University
- Tulane University
- Georgia Tech
- Seton Hall University
- University of Notre Dame
- Florida State University
- Brown University
- University of Georgia
- Georgetown University
- University of Virginia
- Indiana University – Purdue University Indiana
- Elon University
- Pitzer College
- University of Central Florida
- University of Alabama
- North Carolina State University
Committee Overview
MUNE VIII offered 12 unique committees for delegates to choose from. 10 of those were full crisis committees, including an ad-hoc, a 24 hour committee, and two sides of a JCC. One committee was full General Assembly style. The last committee was the UN Security Council with intermittent emergency updates.
General Assembly
- OAS Special Mission: The Social Conjuncture of the Republic of Honduras
UN Security Council
- South China Sea Dispute
Crisis
- Barbarians, Generals, & Emperors: The Crisis of the Third Century
- No Retreat & No Surrender: The Sixth October War
- Assad’s Cabinet to Rebuild Syria
- Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens
- Morning Star: Society At War, The Rising (JCC: The Rising v. Compact)
- “Condoms Not Coffins!”: Public Health Activism & The HIV/AIDS Epidemic
- Italian Unification Situazione
- Wakanda Forever: The Rise of the Black Panther
- 24 Hour: Chernobyl
- Ad-Hoc
This year’s Ad-Hoc topic revolved around the Harry Potter universe and took place during the Triwizard Tournament.
Committee Comments
As it should always be said, the committee comments section should serve as a balanced critique of the conference. MUN01 recognizes the hardwork and dedication that all Secretariat members put into the weekend. However, MUN01 also believes that delegates should be able to receive honest opinions and conferences gain feedback to grow and improve every year!
Committee Praises
Delegates praised the conference in several aspects. Overwhelmingly, delegates felt like crisis was well run. One delegate stated that the crisis was “efficient” and that notepads were being returned “every 20-35 min.” Another delegate praised the “fun crisis updates” and delegates felt like they had the ability to let their crisis “arc develop well.” Other delegates also praised the Delfest social on Saturday night. In-room chairing was also favorable.
Committee Critiques
Overall, there were very few critiques for the conference. One critique from a delegate was that they felt high ranking teams were given the best positions in the room, like the P5 in the UN Security Council committee.
Socials
MUNE VIII provided two socials for delegates and staff to get to know each other, their committee members, and their own teams. One social was for head delegates specifically and took place on Friday, February 7th. This social was at Tin Lizzy’s Cantina and offered head delegates the opportunity to meet the Secretariat in a laid back setting with a spread of Mexican food provided. The second social, dubbed “Delfest,” was at The Pool Hall, a bar in a nightlife strip of Atlanta. This social event took place the following night, on Saturday, February 8th. Delegates enjoyed the music and mingling the social provided from 10pm until 1am. Many delegates commented on how much they enjoyed both socials!
Awards
On Sunday, February 9th, the conference came to a close with the awards ceremony. After the award winners were quickly announced, delegates enjoyed watching a chair and the Secretary-General get pied as well as a “Best Crisis Update” voting competition.
The following teams received delegation awards:
Best Large Delegation: Florida State University
Outstanding Large Delegation: Brown University
Best Small Delegation: Georgetown University
Outstanding Small Delegation: University of Virginia
To learn more about MUNE VIII, click here to see their conference website. This conference was also recapped on Episode #43 of the podcast. Click here to listen or go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Thank you to the teams and delegates who participated in building this article with their comments and critiques. MUN01 would also like to thank the MUNE Secretariat for providing a number of stats to this article as well as photos and quotes. Congrats to all who competed in or staffed the conference!
MUN01 