While the Covid-19 pandemic has postponed and canceled real-life Model UN conferences for the foreseeable future, this doesn’t mean that your team has to go on pause as well. In fact, Model UN can be a way for your team to stay entertained while the world remains stuck in quarantine; if you spend this time productively, you’ll be prepared with new skills and extra practice when conferences begin again.

Continue to Host Virtual Meetings

Meeting with your team virtually will keep your members engaged, which is critical to making sure that your team doesn’t die out over quarantine. Platforms such as Zoom and WebEx that have been used for other events forced to go virtual allow you to continue holding regular meetings.

Since teams aren’t attending any conferences at the moment, it is an opportune time to review procedures and teach skills that are usually ignored in the rush of conference preparation.

Show delegates how to write an excellent position paper or opening speech, which will make them more confident going back into real-life conferences. If you have contact with new delegates, contacting them in advance and asking them to join in will also be helpful; they can get a head start on learning how to do MUN. Make sure to announce the time to all of your members in advance so that they will remember to show up!

Hold Model UN Simulations Within Your Club

Simulations should always be part of appropriate preparation for Model UN conferences, but making sure that delegates maintain their skills during quarantine is especially important.

Allowing delegates to practice what was discussed in a virtual meeting lets them improve, and doing so in an environment of people who they are already comfortable with will be especially beneficial.

Additionally, this will allow you to improve your chairing skills, which may come in handy if your school hosts its own conference. If you choose to host these simulations yourself, putting in the effort to make a realistic committee goes a long way, such as providing background guides and expecting position papers.

Encourage Your Team to Participate in Virtual Model UN Conferences

If you want your team to get more practice during quarantine but aren’t confident in your chairing abilities, virtual Model UN conferences will give delegates a conference-like experience with less effort on your part. With many of these conferences being free and beginner-friendly, they can be a low-risk, high-quality opportunity to practice MUN from home.

Not only will your team have more committee options to choose from, which may be helpful for delegates who specialize in specific types of committees, but they don’t require as much preparation on your end either.

Furthermore, these conferences will allow them to practice with a wider variety of delegates, just like in a real-life conference.

Quarantine can be a valuable opportunity for your team to take the time to become better at MUN. Putting in some work now will make sure that your team’s skills don’t regress. While the pandemic has been a difficult time for many people, having fun doing MUN from home will set you up for success on the circuit once conferences restart.

Related Article: Online Model UN Conferences Explained

Related Article: A Guide to the Online Simulation