The Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) is an annual traveling model United Nations conference that is run by the Harvard International Relations Council. The conference was first held in 1992. The conference aims to foster cultural connectivity and allow university students aged 18–25 to gain experience in diplomacy and debate.
WorldMUN uses the American style of model United Nations. Delegates are generally paired with another delegate from their delegation in dual delegations, with discussions occurring both inside and outside the rooms simultaneously.
History WorldMUN uses a bidding process to select locations for each conference. The conference is generally held in March.
Similar to other conferences, there are also workshops, social events showcasing local culture, and a global village where participant teams can share delicacies and traditions from their home countries. WorldMUN has had many guest speakers over the years, notably Pope Francis in Rome and King Felipe VI in Madrid.
From 2016 onwards, the conference began giving out WorldMUN spirit awards to teams for showing exceptional adherence to the spirit of WorldMUN and the United Nations. The team from Andrés Bello Catholic University (Venezuela) were the first recipients of this award.
The 29th edition of the conference was scheduled for Tokyo in March 2020, but was cancelled and rescheduled to 2021. However, with the continued health safety concerns and the pandemic's prevailing impact on global travel, the Tokyo conference was rescheduled again to 2022. The 2021 conference happened virtually over Zoom.
The organization works closely with a social impact-oriented group, the Resolution Project, aimed at fostering global youth leadership. The Resolution Project was founded by WorldMUN Secretariat alumni.
Committees
Committees in the past have included committees of the United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council, the subcommittees of ECOSOC, regional bodies (such as the African Union or European Union), specialized agencies of the United Nations, crisis simulation committees and, uniquely, simulations of the entire general assembly.
In crisis committees, unlike General Assembly committees, regional bodies, and specialized agencies, the actual topic, basis, and circumstances of the formal debate are only fully disclosed after the committee session begins. Delegations are rarely taken up as countries, but rather as governments, individuals, or figures that are directly related to a particular crisis. At WorldMUN these committees usually simulate formal debate in an extremely parliamentary manner and follow a sequence that is unchanging and rigid.
Specialized Agencies Source:
In MUNs, and more specifically at HMUN, specialized bodies and agencies are much smaller and fast-paced committees that a designed for delegates seeking committees with narrower mandates and faster-paced decision-making and nimble decreision-making skills in specialized and skill-warranting areas. These committees simulate formal debate in the Model United Nations manner, but within a very narrow and demanding mandate. They require delegates who are able to think in a critical manner and who are able to solve issues with the help of other delegates that may be extremely difficult to resolve, usually containing many interconnected factors.The descriptions of specialized agencies and crisis committees are based on publicly available Model United Nations training materials and conference documentation. Sources include official Harvard Model United Nations delegate handbooks and background guides, committee preparation guides published by recognized Model United Nations organizations, and educational resources on Model United Nations formats and procedures. These materials describe commonly used committee structures, procedural characteristics, and delegate expectations across conferences, though specific implementations may vary by event.
Rather than being committees of general debate, specialized bodies are those that have very specific and particular needs or demands that must be resolved. Debate within specialized agencies is policy-heavy and evidence-based, with a clear path toward what is encouraged to be accomplished through the resolution. Here, resolutions are detailed operational plans and not just broad ideas meant to solve an issue. This means that they contain everything from who acts, how programs are funded, where they are implemented, how they are implemented, and how success is monitored, among other details.
Overall, specialized agencies warrant a higher level of research, precision, and diplomacy in order to resolve real-world problems in the most appropriate and efficient manner possible. This includes aligning national policy with the agency's mandate, building expert-driven blocs, and proposing solutions that could realistically be adopted and implemented in the real world.
Some committees that would be considered specialized agencies include:
UNICEF, children's rights, health, education, and protection World Health Organization (WHO), global health and disease control UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), human rights protection and violations UN Women, gender equality and women's empowerment UNESCO, education, culture, and heritage International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), nuclear safety and non-proliferation
Crisis Committees Source:
Crisis committees are committees often regarded as more demanding than traditional General Assembly formats in MUNs. They simulate highly volatile and fragile situations, or more specifically, a crisis that is seen to rapidly change in factors and circumstances. Here, delegates must respond to unfolding events as they are presented to the committee after the commencement of formal debate, rather than follow a fixed agenda. The body operates in a state of constant uncertainty driven by frequent crisis updates released at consecutive intervals that escalate and alter the situation. The committee has a tendency to be extremely unhinged and unpredictable, which makes it difficult to adapt to. A major factor contributing to this is that, unlike General Assembly committees, regional bodies, and specialized agencies, the actual topic, basis, and circumstances of the formal debate are only fully disclosed after the committee session begins. This implies that a delegate can never be fully prepared for what is thrown his or her way, just as would be the case in a real-world developing crisis.
Delegates selected for crisis committees must, by necessity, be individuals of 'exceptional caliber'. They are expected to demonstrate intellectual judgment, problem-solving skills, and an open mindset. The ability to apply critical analysis from multiple perspectives is essential, particularly when responding to rapidly evolving crises. Without such capability, situations may escalate quickly, becoming increasingly complex and difficult to manage.
Participants must be adept at identifying the underlying causes of issues and formulating coherent, non-contradictory solutions within tight time constraints. Consequently, crisis committees are widely regarded as some of the most demanding and intellectually rigorous environments in Model United Nations, especially for those with limited prior exposure or subject knowledge.
Unlike traditional committees, delegates in crisis settings do not typically represent countries. Instead, they assume the roles of governments, key individuals, or influential figures directly connected to the crisis in question. At HMUN, these committees operate under clearly defined parliamentary procedures, as detailed in official delegate preparation materials. Proceedings follow a structured and consistent sequence, closely emulating the function of real-world decision-making bodies responding to active and unfolding crises..
Debate in crisis committees is very formal and highly action-oriented, as delegates are technically responding to a developing crisis where all actions must be taken with urgency and precision to resolve the situation. Instead of long speeches and resolutions, crisis committees mitigate crises through directives and crisis notes. Success depends on speed, persuasion, and strategic thinking rather than procedural mastery, as crisis committees are highly unpredictable and do not follow a standard procedural foundation in the same manner as other committees.
It is highly unlikely that a crisis committee would operate with double delegations, as most procedures are heavily individual-oriented and benefit singular decision-makers. Managing two delegates sharing one role would be extremely difficult. As a result, double delegations in crisis committees are considered a rarity due to the committee's complexity and demanding nature.
Overall, crisis committees require delegates to react with extreme speed and agility to constantly changing situations and crisis updates. They are generally not suited to all ranges of delegates. It takes a combination of talent, critical thinking, hard work, preparation, research, and dedication. While increased experience in MUNs or formal debate may make it slightly easier to adapt to crisis bodies, they are often described as among the more demanding committee formats within Model United Nations conferences, not only in MUNs but also when compared conceptually to real-world decision-making bodies.
Crisis committees in MUNs are usually historical or based on events and crises that have already occurred, such as World War I, World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Imperial Japanese Cabinet, and the French Revolution.
Some crisis committees focus on future-based scenarios, including AI governance crises, space warfare or space security councils, climate collapse crises, and cyberwarfare crises.
Others are fictional or ad-hoc in nature and often relate to national or global security, such as zombie apocalypses, dystopian world governments, corporate boardroom crises, or fictional UN emergency councils.
However, in the non-fictional United Nations, crisis cabinets always operate in the present tense and deal with real-world situations. These cabinets are supposedly composed of individuals with logical and decision-making abilities that operate well under high pressure situations. This makes crisis committees, both in simulation and in reality, of a constantly changing nature.
WorldMUN Conferences