Why Organize a Model UN Conference? What Makes your Conference Special?

By: Victor Lang
Model United Nations Development Organization

With thousands of Model UN conferences around the world, why the hell would someone want to create another one?

There are actually many reasons: money, power… yeah right… There are actually 3 main reasons why people start Model UN conferences: 1. To make money, usually for their own Model UN team to attend other conferences, 2. To inflate an already lofty ego, and 3. To actually fill a void in the MUN world, fixing what is wrong with conferences… to create something truly special.

Just looking at the MUNWorld database of conferences (which I am proud to say is the most complete on the Internet) I have to say that I can identify some conferences there that are quite horrible. Most conferences are just big rooms with a hundred people debating a mundane topic for 4 days, without any real educational value except in the preparation that preceded the event. Poorly trained staff, inability to relate delegates and their faculty advisors as clients, and uncoordinated event planning skills are all hallmarks of bad conferences. However, because of the brand power, some of these bad conferences continue to be successful. A big name university may not be able to deliver true educational quality, and moreover, consistency from year to year. Usually, a university conference will take all or most of its staff from their university, typically from their traveling team. The drawback of this is that there is complete staff turnover after 4 years, and that makes control of the product quality very difficult. The issue is experience and intent. Let me elaborate.

There is no doubt that any conference worth their salt has an operations manual that is passed from year to year, and is constantly being developed. However, there are a number of intricate details that must be pre-planned that are often forgotten. For example, our hotel vendor in Chicago told us the story of a local Model UN conference that actually forgot to book hotel rooms for their staff until the actual day of the conference! This is such lame mistake to make that I could not even imagine an amateur doing this. This says to me that they have no idea how much the whole conference would cost before they started, no one in charge of this particular job, or that there were very little considerations for proper budgeting and business skill.

Let's face it, most MUN conferences suck. The Model UN business is like any other business: the competition is fierce, the margins are thin, and the clients are picky. Delegates that have been to a few conferences are able to judge and classify them based on their own experience and perceived quality, and without question they are willing to pay more for both.

The question is, what makes your conference special? Without giving away our trade secrets, let me tell you what makes the Chicago International Model UN (CIMUN) achieve 20% year-on-year growth since 2004. The key is bringing value to the delegate experience through our model of interactive simulation, treating faculty like clients, exhibiting professionalism, detailed planning (and budgeting), and delivering improvement and innovation every year (with what seems to be an excessive amount spent on R&D). The last point is the most important: at the closing ceremonies of every CIMUN, we pledge publically to improve our services at every conference. It is this ideal that drives us to succeed, and what keeps people coming back. I treat clients at Model UN like I treat clients in my real estate business: with professionalism and respect. We try to offer the best service (and services) available, and of course, to impress year after year.

CIMUN is not what you would call a “brand-name” conference, and as such marketing is difficult. The most successful marketing method that we have is simply word-of-mouth. Although we cannot complete with other conferences for the market segment of international clientele, we are in debt to the 30+ existing schools that come from our local Midwest market, as it is their enthusiasm that has allowed us to bring new ideas to the table and to strive to develop the best Model UN conference in the world. Thanks go to them for spreading the word!

So now its your turn: what makes your conference special?

- Victor