Researching for a Model UN committee is definitely the part of this activity that everyone procrastinates. It’s daunting to be given a new assignment, knowing you’ll have to ride the entire roller-coaster of learning about this character and understanding it inside and out. Even more difficult is that is just knowing where to begin! Luckily, the training at Best Delegate’s Model United Nations Institute summer program makes the process of researching simple and—dare I say it—even a little exciting!
I attended the MUNI Crisis Program at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and below I’ve outlined 3 ways that MUNI has helped teach me to properly research any assignment that’s thrown at me.
- Understand your character’s role
This applies to all types of committees; it’s absolutely crucial to understand what your role in committee is. Maybe you’re in a presidential cabinet committee portraying the Secretary of Defense. What’s your role in committee? Your goal would be to avoid losing the war, protect your nation, or retrieve your prisoners of war from overseas. No matter the topic, you know that you are very defense and military focused, and all of the actions you take in committee should reflect that. For example, in your speeches you’ll want to be citing military statistics and vouching for defense-related solutions, rather than focusing on the agricultural news of the day. Even if your role in committee isn’t as clear as a Secretary of Defense, pick your angle. What part of your character make you unique, and how are using it to make your actions stand out?
- Understand your personal biases
Best Delegate’s Model UN Crisis Institute introduces key delegate strategies for success in any crisis committee.
No matter who you’re representing, I can guarantee your character will have a personal bias. As humans, it’s impossible to avoid them, especially when we’re debating controversial issues in Model UN committees. The tricky thing is to remember you’re representing your character’s personal bias, not your own. We all know it can be hard to disentangle yourself from you character, but that should be your highest priority. It’s even possible to make your character’s bias work for you, and I highly recommend you to do that. For example, former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was involved in the oil industry before serving, so someone representing him in a crisis committee could use that to their advantage! This brings me to my next point…
- Properly utilize your personal resources
Once again, every character has at least a few personal resources. No matter how bleak the situation may seem, you can better your position by using a little creativity. Personal wealth is a simple one—did you inherit money from a wealthy uncle? Have you worked hard and amassed some savings? Maybe you don’t have much money to your name, that’s totally fine too! Perhaps you have some strong personal connections to people in power, do any of them owe you a favor? Maybe you have the support of the general public, can you rally them to support you in any way? If you don’t think your character has access to any of these, you can still make your time in committee work for you! Do some research on where you went to school, have any of your classmates made it to positions of power? One of the ways I like to research personal resources is by comparing myself to the character I’m representing. What resources would I have if I was in their position, and how would I utilize them to my advantage? Virtually everyone has something going for them, and if you can just stay optimistic and open-minded while researching you’ll be able to find your secret weapon.
