Leiden MUN
Leiden MUN is an independent, non-profit, student-led MUN programme. Every academic year, we select, train and send different delegations composed of talented and motivated students to the most prestigious Model United Nations conferences worldwide. This year, we'll be sending delegations to Harvard, Madrid and Paris.
The Leiden MUN programme is cherished for its extensive Preparatory Track, enabling our students to improve their debating, lobbying, and public speaking skills. For this reason, our delegates’ performances have been awarded at every conference we attend.
Model United Nations
Model United Nations is a concept that is nearly as old as the United Nations itself. In short, it is a simulation of a UN debate. Students from all over the world participate in MUN conferences, which are held in a great number of countries and cities. As an MUN participant you represent a country, such as the Russian Federation. As the representative of this country, you will participate in a debate that is currently on the agenda of the UN, such as climate change or cyber security. The goal is to bring forward well-researched solutions for these problems that satisfy your own country’s policies.
Therefore, in order to participate, you need to do extensive research on your country’s profile, the topic, and the committee itself. The latter is important because every issue will be discussed in a separate committee of the UN (e.g. DISEC or ECOSOC). You must then take your research a step further by looking into the ideas and policies of your opponents. After all, you will need to choose your allies carefully as you form blocks with other countries, together enshrining your solutions in a draft resolution which will ultimately be voted on.
Each delegation ranges from ten to twenty delegates. After a selection procedure you will start an eight-week preparatory track. The selection procedure is where we determine whether you have the motivation and interest to commit to our programme. You can find more information about the Leiden MUN programme under the 'programme’ page.